Diane Rose’s eponymous jewelry store on West Stadium (a red brick house she owns with her husband, podiatrist Leo Santoro) has sprouted another bloom: a tiny 400-square-foot annex called the Rosebud Gallery. “I’ve been showing my work around the country for a few years,” says Rose, a jeweler who works in gold, silver, platinum, fossils, fine gems, and diamonds. “I’ve been from Sedona, Arizona, all the way to the East Coast. I’ve been meeting unique artists, I liked their work, and the space became available.” She’s got about twenty to twenty-five artists at the moment, about half of whom are from this area. Ann Arborite Carol Hanna’s airbrushed acrylics on canvas look a little like Navajo rugs in their precise geometric lines and shapes. They’re actually paintings of Cornell University sonograms of bird songs, painted in the bird’s coloring. Each comes with a recording of the song and a photograph of the bird.
One local artist we talked to gave Rose two thumbs up–one for having the gallery in the first place, and another for taking only a 30 percent commission. “It’s been a very tough year for artists,” Rose says. “I have the space, I know the people, and I’m continually traveling with my own work, so I’m going to try to keep it fresh.
“And by the way,” she says several times during the interview, “can you let people know there’s a big parking lot in back?”
Rosebud Gallery, 2440 W. Stadium Blvd. 213-1883. Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Evenings and weekends by appointment. www.dianerosejewelry.com.
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