Whether you find it intriguing or disturbing, you know Subliminally’s work when you see it. Perhaps you saw it on a T-shirt, a sticker, or a local art shop. However it was spotted, it surely left an impression.

There will be plenty of her work at The Garden on Sept. 9, where Jaden Rice will have her work on display while local bands Loveseat! and The Namby Pamby perform, as well as Ohio’s A-Go-Go.

Art, music go hand in hand

Loveseat! guitarist Sam Clay, who is also the drummer for Uncle Muscle and Hillbilly Casino, arranged the show, which will have Subliminally’s work inside, with music outside, as a way to merge the mediums.

“What really drove the idea was to have a collaboration, like live sound/live art collaboration, he said. “It’s a gallery inspired by one artist, and the music is the additional experience.”

Rice and Loveseat! have a strong connection. Long is a longtime friend of lead singer Mary Mitchener and has supplied the art for the band’s merchandise.

“We kind of want people to put Subliminally and Loveseat! in the same folder in their heads,” Clay said. “Not that we’re one entity, but I want it to go hand in hand.”

And Subliminally artwork and the local music co-exist nicely.

“I grew up with a lot of these people in the art community and music community, and I didn’t even know they were involved in it until I got involved in art,” Rice said.

Growing support

Growing up in Columbia City, Rice says she’s always been into art, but it’s only been the last few years that it’s been embraced.

“It’s really strange considering I grew up in a really small town, so anytime I would doodle stuff, I’d just get accused of doing graffiti or being a devil worshipper, or something weird,” she said. “So, it’s cool to see people enjoy it and actually support it.”

And that support extends well beyond her art shows, as her work can be seen on stickers around town, as well as people just walking around with her T-shirts. And while there are the supporters, she’s aware that her work is not for everyone.

“I get a lot of mixed reactions,” she said. “I’ll do Three Rivers or some out-of-town shows, where it’s predominantly older people that are showing up to art markets, and I usually don’t do that well. (I do better in) places like Chicago or Bloomington, bigger cities where there’s more mid-20s people. I’d say mainly a big part of my audience is people that are at least 14 years old to maybe 30.”

And that demographic will be at The Garden since it will be an all-ages show.

“I’m bringing some big pieces that haven’t sold just yet, and I’ve been working on a bunch since Sam got a hold of me,” she said.

Finding inspiration

The show has reengerized her creative juices. She admitted on Instagram that she did recently go through lull.

“I travel a lot for art shows, but this time I just kind of traveled for myself,” she said about getting out of town to recharge. “I just did a bunch of random stuff that I thought was cool, and weirdly, when I came back from it, I just had a bunch of different ideas.”

Regardless of the idea, her identifiable character is sure to show up in the piece.

“I sketched a lot of characters in high school, and looking back at my sketch books, I can kind of see hints of the characters (I do now),” she said. “In early 2018 is when they kind of started forming. They kind of just appeared. I’m not really sure what led me to them or why I kept drawing them. They’re just a lot of fun to draw, and I’ve based them off a lot of my own experiences, such as skateboarding and the community.”

While they might look the same, Rice says it’s not a recurring character.

“Every time I do a painting, I feel like it’s a different person,” she said.

You can purchase her artwork at Bread & Circus Art Gallery, just a short walk from The Garden, as well as at the Muse Market, although that venue will be closing this month. 

Despite the Muse on Main’s upcoming closure, Rice says she’s booked up into October. Art shows like the one at The Garden are important to her, and Clay is happy to accommodate. 

“She’s very in touch with a lot of the community, especially the music community,” he said. “So, doing a show like this just made sense.”