Art Shows Come Back To Three Sheets

Questlove pondering musical notes in mixed media. Three womxn expressed in acrylics. A snarling yet sparkling cat out of hell.

These were all part of the return of longstanding monthly event ​“Art in the Back,” at Three Sheets this past Saturday night. Though on this evening it did not include the ​“music in the front” portion — in which bands once played as part of the opening — the promise of it was in the air.

Live music is returning to the Elm Street bar and restaurant by this June, according to co-owner Rick Seiden, along with a variety of other events — some resuming, some new. He and events coordinator/Art in the Back curator Sara Scranton (a.k.a. Lipgloss Crisis) could not be more excited about it. 

“Look at us doing stuff again,” Seiden said with a big smile, noting that Three Sheets has not started booking musical acts yet, but the plan is to have mostly weekday shows and to add the Music in the Front aspect back to the art openings once a month on Saturdays. The artists for those shows have already been booked through the rest of 2022, according to Scranton. They include label design contests — something Sheets did with great success previously — with both Front Porch Brewing and Troeggs Brewing, as well as a tap handle event for charity with Lucky Soul Tattoo. 

Scranton is also bringing back popular events like Brew and Glue crafting with Hulls Brewing and Hull’s Art Supply the second Tuesday of every month, the Dating Game, and more charitable events, including a day where Scranton donates all of her tips to the New Haven Animal Shelter. There is also an art tag sale happening in June, where several artists will be selling their work at reduced prices. 

“It was hard getting this far and being here to do all this,” said Seiden. 

“But it feels so good,” added Scranton.

Before Saturday, the last Art in the Back, Music in the Front was held in February 2020. March 2020’s event was, of course, canceled; losing that event and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade show in the same weekend was ​“so heartbreaking,” said Scranton. Three Sheets reopened in 2020 operating as a mostly takeout business, then closed again from December 2020 to May 2021. During that time Three Sheets was remodeled, mostly by Seiden and co-owner Ed Turschmann. Artist Rose Martin completed her evocative circus side show themed mural in the main room. A variety of games — including bowling and pinball machines as well as a Ms. Pac-Man machine — were added to the back room. Scranton resumed her iconic chalkboard art in the bar area (as well as her Tuesday happy hours). 

Three Sheets also revamped its menu but kept old favorites such as the beet Reuben. According to Seiden, ​“95 percent of the menu” can be modified to be vegetarian or vegan. On this evening this reporter had a vegan ​“Bun Mi” hot dog — their take on the bahn mi — which I can recommend as a sweet spicy delightful treat. The side of tots with Sheets house-made smoky ketchup felt like a welcome home hug. 

And, of course, there was that art in the back room, presented by three artists: Katie Muller, Amanda Roberts (aka Medusa Moon Art), and Alyssa Sciortino, who discussed her three pieces including a self-portrait, a mantis made in homage to both the Bible story of Judith and Holofernes and the work of Gustav Klimt, and her ​“favorite one,” the Questlove piece made with sheet music. That piece was part of an entire series of sheet music mixed-media pieces. Sciortino recently moved back to New Haven after a 10-year absence and said she was ​“thrilled” to be a part of the returning series.

Also thrilled to be a part of the event were the two artists vending in the main room: Finn Lockwood and Valerie Ruby-Omen. Known as The Frankenstein Twins (and yes, they are actually twins) they not only create their own pieces, but curate The Oddities Bazaar, a once-a-year event that began in New Haven and that Ruby-Omen said they are hoping to bring back. 

On this evening Ruby-Omen was presenting her glycerin soaps, room sprays, and visual art pieces — ​“a little bit of everything” — via Byzantine Brat Aromatics. Her best seller was a new product, Crystal Visions glycerin soap. Each bar contained a real polished gemstone, and the varieties included amethyst, rose quartz, carnelian, and aventurine, which ​“sold out immediately,” she said.

Lockwood’s art, presented under the name The Strangest Places, included jewelry and stash jars made with locally grown and foraged botanicals such as coleus, pansies, and violets, among others. Lockwood was especially entranced by the violets, which was the first flower they began using last year, and they even made a new violet pendant earlier that day for this show. 

“I’m captivated by how each one is its own little art gallery,” they said.

Lockwood held a dual role on Saturday, as they were also hosting Trans Night Out, a new monthly event for the trans and nonbinary community that was being held at Art in the Back. Lockwood has been the Trans Program Curator for the Pride Center since February, and this evening’s event was the second installment of the new series. Tonight’s focus, according to Lockwood, was the filling out of the US Trans Survey Pledge Form.

“We’re trying to build partnerships in the city, build solidarity, maybe even statewide,” they said, also noting that it can be ​“so hard to find [queer and trans] community” in more rural areas and they would ​“like to spread it out as far as I can. New Haven could be a good hub for that.”

Scranton added that Sheets ​“fully supports” the LGBTQ community and will continue to host events in conjunction with the Pride Center — the next one being this Tuesday’s Lesbian Visibility Day Social Event at 6 p.m.

The vibe on Saturday night felt familiar yet reinvigorated. Old friends huddled at the bar having shots. Small groups clustered at their tables on the patio. The back room filled with art appreciators and pinball gamers. Medusa Moon’s mirrored pieces reflected the chalkboard wall covered in completed Hangman games, with the words solved as varied as ​“larynx,” ​“shrink,” and ​“onomatopoeia.” The smell of fries hung in the air. A new era was beginning, but with the atmosphere of familiarity and community that keep people coming back still afloat.

“It’s very emotional,” said Ruby-Owen. ​“I met my partner here.” She and poet Dee Ruby-Owen had their first date at Sheets in October 2018, married in October 2021 and were there together on Saturday, noting that even with the remodeling, it was still the Sheets everyone knew and loved.

“The vibe is still there. The heart is still there.”

For more information about Art in the Back or any of Three Sheets events, please visit Three Sheets’s Facebook or Instagram pages. For anyone interest in participating in an Art in the Back event please contact Sara Scranton at [email protected]