Different Paths, Same Art on the Mall: 2 UToledo Artists to Showcase Work July 26

Different Paths, Same Art on the Mall: 2 UToledo Artists to Showcase Work July 26

Art doesn't always follow a straight line.

For Stacia Bowers, it runs through the easel and toward a degree.

For Kelly Page, it wound through a business career, an M.B.A. and motherhood before landing on a folding table covered in polymer clay jewelry.

Both will set up booths when The University of Toledo's 33rd annual Art on the Mall returns to Centennial Mall on Sunday, July 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., joining more than 100 artists from around the region for the free, public art show hosted by the UToledo Alumni Association.

Bowers, a senior fine arts student from Toledo, works mainly in oil pastel - a medium she didn't touch until a drawing class forced her to move beyond the charcoal she'd relied on since high school.

"Since attending UToledo, I feel as if I have learned my own understanding of art all over again," Bowers said. "I feel I have grown so much as an artist, and that would have never happened if I didn't attend UToledo."

This will be her second year exhibiting at Art on the Mall, where she sells hand-decorated phone cases - a departure from the class assignments that make up most of her portfolio.

Last year's show taught Bowers as much about her customers as her craft, she said, from which colors and designs people gravitated toward to how to piece the cases together more cleanly the second time around. This year, as vice president of the Art Student Society, she's also organizing the group of UToledo students showing alongside her.

It's the same critique-room culture that prepared her to sell that work in the first place, she said.

"During our critiques for class, we often hear opinions we never thought of, maybe agree with or disagree with," Bowers said. "These are things we will hear in the real world when it comes to art and selling it, so I feel that has definitely helped me prepare for this upcoming festival."

Page's path to a folding table at Art on the Mall took longer and never ran through an art classroom.

She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees at Bowling Green State University before coming to UToledo for her M.B.A. in 2025 - the same year she launched Klay P Designs, her handmade polymer clay jewelry business.

As director of human resources at The University of Toledo Foundation, Page has volunteered at Art on the Mall for years. This is her first time exhibiting.

"Being selected to participate feels like a full-circle moment," she said, "because UToledo helped shape both my professional career and my confidence as a creative person."

Page said there's more overlap between her two roles than some might expect.

"At first glance, human resources and art may seem like completely different worlds, but both are centered around people," she said. "Creating jewelry allows me to recharge and express a different side of myself."

That side shows up at home, too - her two children often work clay alongside her while she makes earrings, building their own small creations out of her leftovers. It's part of why no two pieces of her jewelry come out quite the same; she often blends scraps into new custom colors she can't recreate exactly.

"I've learned that you don't have to fit into just one box," Page said. "You can be a business professional, an artist, an entrepreneur and a lifelong learner all at the same time."

Beyond the artist booths, Art on the Mall will include a young artist area for kids, live music throughout the day and food trucks and vendors set up around Centennial Mall.

Representatives from the Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan will jury the artists' work, with prizes awarded to top entries and a Best of Show honor reserved for an artist affiliated with the University.

Complimentary parking is available in Areas 1N, 1S, 2, 10 and 13, with a golf cart shuttle to help guests get purchases back to their cars.

Art on the Mall is supported this year by University of Toledo Federal Credit Union, Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, Lexus of Toledo, Mail It, Meredith Party Rentals, 13abc, Domino's Pizza and Jersey Mike's.

Full event details are available on the Art on the Mall website. For more information, contact Ansley Abrams-Frederick, director of alumni programming at UToledo, at 419.530.2586 or [email protected].