Holly Apperson and Ginny Allen are the artist duo GinHol,
who started creating mosaics together fifteen years ago, in-between demanding day
jobs. Ginny smiles and explains, “We made the decision to switch gears.”
The
pun doesn’t go unnoticed as we sit among more than a dozen decorated guitars,
banjos, mandolins and a ukulele. Now, the women are living and working as full
time artists.
“We use the term upcycled,” says Holly, “because they
reflect our three passions: bicycling, music and art.”
Ginny picks up a vibrant blue guitar decorated with stained
glass, bike chains, sprockets and a metal sunflower. “We find them and they
find us,” she says, “usually when they’re ready for another purpose.”
Each instrument takes approximately fourteen hours to
complete and the work is done in staggered stages. The artists work on five or
six at time with Holly being a sort of artistic director and Ginny more of a
mechanical engineer. “We don’t plan ahead, but we realize what each piece’s
theme will be,” explains Holly. “It’s almost like pottery; you’re not
completely sure what you’re going to get until you open the kiln.”
“We like to call the finished pieces wall jewelry,” adds Ginny.
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| Ginny Allen and Holly Apperson at Cycle Brewing |
The guitars started gaining popularity after their debut at
the first Safety Harbor SongFest, three years ago. Now the instruments are
shown and sold at a design center in Denver, Studio Adams and Cycle Brewing in
the Tampa Bay Area, and most recently Monroe Galleries in Jacksonville.
Their
next show is at the Dunedin Orange Festival – Saturday, 7/09/16 from 10am to 10pm, at Edgewater Park in
Dunedin.
They
have also been accepted to participate in the 2016 ArtPrize in Grand Rapids
from September
21 to October 9, 2016. "We will be asking all our friends and
followers to ask their friends and followers to visit ArtPrize to view our work
and vote for us," Ginny says. (VOTE CODE 64066). There are 182 venues
within the City of Grand Rapids. GinHol Mosaics has been selected by Harris
Building at 111 S Division, Grand Rapids, MI
I purchased a beautiful small guitar earlier this year and it rests perfectly on our mantle. The instruments range from $150 to about $500, depending on
size and detail. When asked what their favorite piece is among all the ones
they’ve made, the women laugh and without skipping a beat, say, “Every one.”
To
see more of GinHol’s work, visit their website or like GinHol Mosaics on Facebook
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