Tara Seibel Gallery : Artist

Holiday ArtWalk 2025

2025-12-01T00:30:00.005-05:00

Little Italy Cleveland Holiday ArtWalk 2025 is almost here!

December 5-7 (Friday 5-9, Saturday noon-9pm, and Sunday noon-5pm)

We've been working on a lot of projects and getting ready to show artwork from a couple of new artists.

Melissa Bollen-Ellsworth is a local artist based in Cleveland (Rocky River). She is an award-winning painter and cartoonist. She recently won the Director's Choice Award at Creative Place for her characters Sal and Sally. You may remember her late father, Roger Bollen, who drew the famed comic strip Animal Crackers? She worked at American Greetings for many years (like I did), and so we have a lot in common. We are both working artists raising families. And we both know R. Crumb! Melissa has a handful of expressive works, one of them is a dual portrait (photo below) called "Picasso Girls." There are a couple of abstracts Melissa painted that you have to see in person!

Another artist is a talented fiber art crocheter named Kailey Prewitt based in Atlanta. She goes by YELIAK. She has many pieces on display and one in particular is a formal gown crocheted in a lavender yarn. Hand-crafted sweaters and crochet hand bags.

These pieces make wonderful and unique gift ideas. Along with plenty of other arts and crafts currently in the gallery. A very big collection of earrings, necklaces and bracelets handmade by yours truly. I also have fingerless gloves and scarves. Many paintings on canvas, as well as, fine art prints, cards and NEW posters. Oh, and new pillows made from my ink and brush sketch series of Little Italy neighborhood scenes. I hope to see you this next weekend. Please visit the other galleries as well and get something good to eat! Happy Holiday, Merry Christmas. Thanks for shopping small, and local.

––xoxo, Tara

(P.S. you can call me on pricing for the pieces below @ 216-375-0760)

Presti's Mural, Process and Unveiling

2025-11-30T23:50:00.002-05:00

This project kicked off by a phone call from Presti's owner Claudia Dibartolo. I was elated she thought of me for this project. Claudia's prerequisite for the west wall of the bakery entailed "Something bright, colorful and expressive." She called the right artist, that's what I do. She talked about wanting a piece of art that resembled a window looking out at the neighborhood. After several rounds of sketches, she picked a layout of several Little Italy neighborhood scenes fused as a 3-panel triptych graphic-art series held together with a wood-frame built into the wainscot paneled wall.

The process was straightforward and seamless, I was pleased with it. It didn't cause any major hiccups leading to "Murphy's Law of making art," catastrophes that could have happened easily if I didn't have a plan for how the work would be implemented. Part of that success was due to the stops along the way an artist/muralist needs to keep the client aware of the steps required to create such a colossal work. Also, having discussions periodically on sketches vs. final art process. After the work started to come together and all the different hierarchies of passer-by figures within the various scenes were coming along, Claudia wanted these figures to resemble real faces of her family, co-workers, and friends. So now we start getting into portraiture and likeness' which is another level of artistry. I needed to study and sketch "her people" separately on paper. I took photos of certain people she wanted painted from the kitchen, and she gave me photos of her family. I took photos of her family. One of the most challenging figures–– the original owners of the bakery, her parents. Charles and Jean Presti. I was starting to feel pressure but knew I could pull it off. This is probably why she hired me, Because I draw people. The challenge revealed itself in a fine line between caricature vs. illustration. But somehow in my style of art there needed to be a real likeness. After several sketches of her father, she approved the drawing, and I pulled it off! Her being happy was the most important thing for me. Also, that the artwork looked great to me, otherwise it would bug me for years to come. The unveiling ceremony was exciting. All of my family and friends attended and my children (Lauren, Patrick and Oscar) pulled the veil off of the mural after Joe Marinucci gave a speech about the neighborhood and how murals are important for the community.

Re-opening gallery above Presti's Bakery

2022-06-03T00:28:00.044-04:00

I got a call about the perfect space that opened up in Little Italy. I’m Thankful for all the support from the good people of Presti's Bakery! I was planning to open a new gallery, and then Covid hit. Everything changed. So I held off. At the same time, I still searched for the right space. Finding a gallery or storefront space in a trendy Cleveland neighborhood is not easy.

I've been keeping a blog of this gallery journey since 2008. In 2009, I opened the gallery above Presti's for the first time. Then a second time in 2011. Then I moved the gallery into a storefront on Mayfield Road across from Murray Hill Road. That space thrived for almost five years, until I left in 2018 when my father got struck with a fatal illness— It's been a rough last three years during the pandemic.

I was on a few waiting lists for spaces to open up. This is a good thing. I'm glad that retail was still thriving. After the riots downtown, the city took a hit.

Little Italy is a tight-knit community—Murray Hill is similar to Coventry Road. The merchants are all close. We have meetings and keep up-to-date with business duties. Everyone helps out because we are a community of shops, galleries, and restaurants.

The gallery will still be on the main drag, but perched above Presti's Bakery. This is good, Presti’s is always busy! To get to the new gallery space, enter (12107 Mayfield Rd. #202) in Google Maps. Entrance is between Presti’s Bakery and The Italian American Museum. You will need to walk up the stairs. Apologizes for not being wheel chair accessible. See you at the Summer Art Walk Friday, June 3, 5-9pm - Saturday, 1-8pm (Opening reception) and Sunday, noon -5pm.

Sustaining an Art Gallery

2021-02-16T02:07:00.000-05:00

After a long year of Covid -19, I've had some time to reflect on my time as an art gallery owner. It's work, I felt as though I was jumping through many different sized hoops to keep

the business and entertainment running in tandem. Staying active in the community. Also, keeping up with Artist relationships and their contracts. Making sure they were producing their best work. Attended merchant meetings at the Little Italy Redevelopment Corp. Planning events. The role I took on was designing the neighborhood posters for

the art walks. Other collateral was produced off those designs.

I enjoyed all of this. I felt like I was using all of the skills that I had acquired over a couple decades of being a professional designer. In my early twenties, when I graduated from college, I worked for several design firms starting in Cleveland and moving on to Chicago. Here I learned not only how to design graphics and illustrate commercially, but also edit content and work with other professionals.

Managing an art gallery is a lot of different jobs under one roof. You have to be a creative person that is also a business person. A promoter and a manager.

My husband Aaron. He has helped me with so much. I remember when I lost my design job in Chicago. I was in my twenties, it was because the firm was relocating. I was ashamed and didn't want to tell anybody I had lost my job. Especially, a guy I was trying to impress! This is when I started to see his deep compassion for humans. He's a loving, kind sweet person who is an extremely brilliant and accomplished engineer. He believed in me. I picked myself up and started freelancing. Carol Freeman of Freeman Design in Evanston brought me on board, and I will forever be grateful. I learned a lot from her. She put my menu design skills to use. We started re-designing a lot of the trendy menus for restaurants in Evanston. One of them was LULU's Dim Sum. Aaron took me there on a date, I was all excited to show off the menu I designed, but instead I spilled tea all over the table, what a mess. We are going to be married twenty years in September.

My Harvey Pekar Collab from A-Z

2021-02-15T17:27:00.004-05:00

Latest Assignment - Anna Karenina

2020-12-28T18:18:00.004-05:00

I was recommended by a local cartoonist and friend, you may know who he is (Ron Hill of the Solon and Chagrin Valley Times) to a well known artist who goes by the pen name FISH, there's a documentary film out about the cartoonist Dwayne Booth’s struggle in making a profitable career in the dying industry of the editorial and political cartoons. It’s called Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep end. It’s a great flick for any artist or people looking for a keyhole into the artists psyche. It’s a relief for working artists in the same industry to share in the creative struggles and camaraderie amongst the breed of editorial cartoonist still left penning on the planet.

The book project called Long Story Short for Akashic Books, which was similar to the Graphic Canon book project in that classic works of literature were adapted to comics. Except it's not a straight adaptation, but more of a metaphorical representation. Taking a long classic work and adapting the work to a one-page comic/cartoon page. The project was challenging and quite the creative boon for an editorial cartoonist if they were successful at solving the visual puzzle. Anyway, the artist best known as Fish, or Dwayne Booth said he thought my “cartoons were smart” and that made me feel happy! So I contributed an editorial for Anna Karenina. He was very pleased with it. The book has been published and released in stores, and you can buy it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Long-Story-Short-Turning-Cartoons/dp/1617757969/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=long+story+short+famous+cartoons&qid=1613421222&s=books&sr=1-1

“Is this Hessler?”

2020-12-15T23:47:00.003-05:00

“Is this Hessler?” Is what the passerby mumbled because we were set up at the very west end tip of Little Italy, next to the train station going into university circle. We were with Moonstuck CLE a very eclectic bohemian yet sophisticated boutique paired with a vintage clothing pop up and Artist Barbara! It was like Woodstock meets Van’s Warped Tour meets Etsy on bubbly! Lauren was there helping out in the tent and I was so impressed. She has learned so much about the biz from the days above Presti’s! We sold a lot of prints and a lot of handmade jewelry, it was too hot for crochet items, although I did sell two crochet necklaces.

I swear my Etsy shop is in the works and can’t wait to launch this fall. Stay in touch! - Tara

Graphic Canon Children's Literature / 7 Stories Press

2018-10-09T23:47:00.001-04:00

This affords the joy of being able to compare, say, Tara Seibel’s surrealist take on Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams with Peter Kuper’s paranoid visualization of Kafka’s fever dreams. ––BOOKLIST

"Some of history’s most skillful wielding of tales has refused to bend to the false divide between “children’s” and “adult” storytelling . . . On the heels of the year’s best children’s books comes a magnificent embodiment of that ethos in The Graphic Canon of Children’s Literature" --Maria Popova, Brainpickings

"These dazzlingly varied renderings run the gamut from haunting to comical while offering visceral reminders that children's stories are often densely layered, infinitely transposable, and peddle in imagery both macabre and whimsical. It is the unfettered imagination of these stories that make them not only wildly entertaining, but also vessels of forgotten truths."
--Publishers Weekly, starred review

latest commissions from a return gallery customer

2017-08-23T14:01:00.000-04:00

There are a lot of interesting ways to have fun and create art and get paid for it. By maintaining a gallery/studio, you have the opportunity to meet many different people in the public. When they have an interest in my artwork, it's a real lift to my day. This one customer in particular, Caitriona (pronounced Katrina) from Ireland, here in Cleveland working at the hospital in University Circle. She also lives in Little Italy. She started out by purchasing two different handmade venetian beaded necklaces that I made in a rosary style chain. She told me she was a fan of my posters, so I gave her a couple of them as a gift. A couple weeks later, she contacted me via my facebook fan page and asked if I do commission work. She wanted custom drawings in my particular illustration style, of her colleagues at the hospital, and an illustration of Rio de Janero. Of couse! I would love to!! I absolutely adore drawing people and places! So here are the commissions done in my digital-cartoony style of illustration :

Latest Little Italy CLE Poster

2017-08-22T14:59:00.002-04:00

I was inspired to illustrate The Algebra Tea House for the 2017 Summer Art Festival in Cleveland's Little Italy. Mainly because the artist who owns it is incredibly resourceful and full of inspiration. His space is decorated with all of his organically hand-crafted wooden furniture. He said he started his Tea House based on the fact that he could get water for free and make good tea.

Also Art Etc. is the frame shop next door. Drop by and say hello to Edie, she is so awesome to talk to and is very knowledgable when it comes to framing fine art and poster art. The Algeba House is also an art gallery as well as a cafe, where intellectuals (artists, writers, Case students) all sit around and talk about the state or our society and politics. Here is an excerpt about owner Ayman Alkayali :

"The Algebra Tea House is a cafe and art gallery located in the city’s Little Italy district that was opened by owner Ayman Alkayali to showcase his artwork and as a “hangout for artists and intellectuals.” He opened it just two weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. He said the idea of sharing cultures and religions in one space wasn’t initially embraced.

“Now we are hip, but before that we were strange and different,” Alkayali said. ”People were not used to Asians, blacks, Arabs, Jews, Muslims hanging out together and talking about communism and socialism and Obama and Hillary Clinton. And we should be discussing that. That’s our life.” —The Huff Post

Destination Cleveland (Tara Seibel Art Gallery in Little Italy)

2016-03-16T22:31:00.001-04:00

Here's a great little article about what to do when you come to Cleveland and even when you live in Cleveland! It's a wonerful reminder of all the great things we have to do on a Saturday. Marnie Mead, the writer, happens to be a patron of mine. She stopped by the gallery with her family on Father's day and purchased a watercolor "potted flowers" and a few abstract sunsets. She talks about the westside market, and University Circle, The Art Museum among other stops in the article. Going to Trader Joes and Sur La Table are a few places I take advantage of, because I live around the corner, and work in the same neighborhood! Check it out! But I'm inspired to take a trip to the West Side Market again shortly.

http://www.goerie.com/article/20140618/MAKEITERIE/306189936/destination-cleveland

Little Italy Summer Art Walk 2016 Poster

2016-03-16T00:03:00.001-04:00

is done! and getting posted, it's not printed yet, will let you know when I have prints in the gallery (dig my stained glass flower)

Short. Sweet. Film Fest Poster

2016-02-27T13:42:00.002-05:00

Poster I designed and illustrated for the Short. Sweet. Film Fest event coming March 4-6. I will

be exhibiting some of my work and giving a talk friday evening at The Metropolitan at the 9 on east 9th downtown Cle, for more info visit twitter/@SSfilmfest

Bukowski Cartoon (Saturday Post)

2016-01-14T17:56:00.001-05:00

Portrait of Josh and Mark (acrylic on canvas)

2016-01-14T14:00:00.001-05:00

a commission from two brooklynites, a hair designer and a jewelry designer for their wedding day. I was thrilled to paint this for them! Set in a victorian frame.

Winter Wonderland (Little Italy Art Walk) poster 2015

2016-01-14T12:54:00.000-05:00

Poster I illustrated for the art walk this past holiday, I have prints for sale at my gallery 10$ call me if you are interested in picking one up 216/375/0760 thank you!

A Nature Walk Exhibit ; 37 Works of Art (at Fairmount Center for the Arts)

2015-09-17T10:53:00.002-04:00

Little Italy Fall Art Walk Poster

2015-09-17T10:46:00.004-04:00

July 25th La Notte Bianca (White Night)

2015-07-22T19:07:00.002-04:00

My latest Little Italy Poster for the neighborhood event this Saturday, many volunteers helped tack them around the city (so thank you) we will be keeping our stores, shops, restaurants, galleries, museums opened after hours as a worldwide initiative to pump cultural awareness for the boutique, crafting, culinary and visual arts communities. I will be working on a painting pretty late, I may be closed for just a bit because I have to visit a friends birthday party down the street, but i will leave my cell number on the door, peace, love and creativity -Tara

June/July 15

2015-07-22T13:56:00.001-04:00

"Venice" sold to Saudi couple below - acrylic on canvas - painted outside at june artwalk 2014

"Shaker Lakes" Acrylic & Ink on Canvas - bye bye - off to Saudi Arabia , kind of sad,

but happy my art is flowing to the other side of the world,,,

Here's my darling husband Aaron, helping me wrap a piece of my soul, I didn't feel right about
letting these paintings go, he was like, "honey, this is a gallery, not a museum, do you want to sell
your art or not?" not in a pressure kind of way, he always supports me, just, i'm not sure what i want to do with these paintings, the "shaker lakes" more than "venice" I got attached. And the $$$$ helps a little, takes the edge off, you feel like a sell out. I really don't like to sell my work, that's the truth, I took all my work out of the gallery, It's currently showing at Fairmount Center of the Arts until late
September. Right now I have Jeff Suntala's watercolor's up, he's an incredible local watercolorist, you HAVE TO (I'll do a blog entry on his paintings) see his work! I also have photography by David Schwartz which is really vibrant and makes you feel like you are there.

Here's a water color I did on 300# Arches of a southwestern sunset, it's framed and hung and part
of the " A Nature Walk " solo show I have going on at Fairmount Center right now,

A watercolor and ink sunset illustration framed in a bronze pendant with venetian strung beads - sold, but i can make more!

"Albanian Sunset" Friend of mine who works in Little Italy commissioned me to

paint this for him along with another local sunset, he's from Albania, he took it home with him this

summer, I enjoyed doing it. He was really happy with it, and I really enjoy making people happy and creating sunsets from where they are from or where they have traveled.

My daughter Lauren's Henna Hand by Cleveland Henna's Kristina Haberek who is currently going to

be moving her studio behind my Gallery! I'm so excited, she is such a good friend of mine, and she is so creative and just an inspirational woman to have around, i'm so stoked, she lives in Little Italy, she's gonna work in Little Italy, ha ha, The Land, east side for life!

Little Italy Posters

2015-05-20T15:13:00.001-04:00

I've been delighted to be the illustrator for the art walk posters for Little Italy-Cleveland's Art Walks this past year, I just finished the one for the next event, The 30th Annual Summer Arts Festivale, which is Friday, June 5, 6 & 7 this year

People in the neighborhood really seem to enjoy them, and if you are interested in purchasing

one, call me @216/375/0760

LIL' Italy Spring Gallery Hop

2015-04-16T14:39:00.002-04:00

Tara Seibel Art Gallery

12201 Mayfield Rd

Cleveland, 44106

216/375/0760

Tara Seibel Gallery will be featuring artists Nathalie Rose Snyder of Nathalie Rose Photography, paintings by George Kocar, Little Italy drawings by Ralph Solonitz.

Special edition framed prints (the rock hall!) by Milan Kecman. A new fresh line of recycled paper jewelry hand-crafted by Marie McGlathery of Paper Planet Wearables.

Crocheted fiber arts and cartoons by Tara Seibel. Saturday evening Tara will be serving chai tea with imported indian snacks.

https://www.facebook.com/TaraSeibelArt

http://taraseibel.blogspot.com/

3 Women Artitsts ; Celebrating Women's History Month

2015-04-16T14:37:00.001-04:00

My Murray Hill homey's Nathalie Rose

http://www.nathalierosephotography.com (who hangs out in little italy, she'll be set up at 78th street studio's soon) Kristina Haberek, henna artist http://www.clevelandhenna.com/ (I'm holding her henna hand) lives in Little Italy she will also be set up at 78th street soon, but will still live in the hood ;)) and my boy, photographer David Schwartz of David Swartz Photography & Studio http://www.davidschwartzphoto.com/

and lives in Little Italy on Random Road.

Above are some of my illustrated portraits of women comedians. Women Comedians are just as inspiring to me (if not more) than women visual artists. I love Lucile Ball's quote, "I'm not funny, I'm brave." It takes courage to be creative.

Gallery Pix 2014

2015-02-24T12:07:00.002-05:00

Yarn-bombed the front of the gallery (work in progress)

Creations by Celeste (Celeste Martin for Tara Seibel Gallery)

Designer Celeste Martin helping customer

digital children portraits to canvas

Jewelry displayed at Vino Veritas Winery - Little Italy

"Michigan Sunset" (sold! to movie producer friend!)

One of my many crocheted poncho creations

Susan Smaltz-Zies friend & patron (sunset lover)

Creations by Celeste (Retro Baubles)

San Francisco Sunrise - acrylic with beads on hemp

Creations by Celeste - Designer Celeste Martin galore

Linda & Ralph Solonitz (for Ralphy's show)

I love when friends come in from out of town to visit!!!

George Kocar & Ralph Solonitz

Cleveland Institute of Art students (looking for summer interns)

Above (Dan the Sign Guy) Always looking for new artists,,,

"Our Lady of Low Carbs" sold to this wonderful woman going into heart surgery @Cleveland Clinic

Gypsy Bride Sold!

My daughter Lauren sold her first painting!

my son Oscar, plein air drawing in the sun

Got Portrait?

2015-02-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

The past couple years I have been doing a lot of portraits of children and adults both painted on canvas, watercolor on paper and digital. The price depending on the size and medium can start at $250 and go up from there. Here's some examples of commissions ;

digital portraits

"Two Siblings in Japan" watercolor / ink on paper

"Boy on the Beach" watercolor / ink

"Lauren" acrylic on canvas

Self Portrait - acrylic

"Strawberry Fields Forever" Wedding Portrait Commission

"Little Italy Children in Community Garden" Acrylic on canvas

with custom crafted frame

"Gypsy Bride" watercolor/ink

"Two Pugs" digital drawing

"Young Musicians in Celtic Frame"

"Portrait of Cierra"