6-Square Jam Exhibition and Sale
Kehler Liddell Gallery
New Haven
May 8, 2026
“My Yoshi’s here!”
I rounded the corner, trailing the voice to meet the artist behind one of the works on display at a community art exhibit, “6-Square Jam,” held during Westville’s week-long ArtWalk.
Ashley Studioso was one of many artists, professional and aspiring, who participated in the event. When I caught up with her, she pointed to a digital illustration of Yoshi that she submitted in 2023.
“I’ve been influenced by cartoons, really. I just love drawing them,” she said, beaming. As a professional artist, she was a seasoned participant in the yearly exhibit. This year, she submitted a piece specifically for children to enjoy, featuring characters from The Mr. Men Show, and had already sold artwork of the beloved Cuphead videogame and show. She drew all of her pieces with a free digital painting software called FireAlpaca.
“I’m hoping to participate next year. If I have the funds, maybe I can start showing off more stuff, like having prints and stickers,” she added. This year, she mostly did commissioned work because they didn’t require up-front bulk-printing costs, unlike work sold at larger events, like conventions.
David Petrie and Marilyn Geary, the seven-time organizers of the event, made sure to level the playing field for all submitted artists. The exhibit has only a few rules: works should be six inches by six inches square.
“If you send it in, we will display it,” said Geary, who was quickly followed by Petrie: “There’s no charge to enter, which is unusual.”
“We sell all of the art at the same price, no matter who’s created it. And we display it anonymously, so that everybody sort of has an equal footing. It’s not like professionals get special treatment or anything,” Petrie said. All proceeds from the sales are donated to the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance (WVRA), a nonprofit committed to revitalizing the neighborhood.
The 6-Square Jam has had a home at the Kehler Liddell Gallery for the last two years, decorating the middle of the space with two boards of all fabric panels covered back and front with six squares. One section was for newly submitted art. The other, the “Memory Lane” board, displayed works from years past. Each piece was labeled with a variation of a code, such as 6Q26-128. The sold artworks were replaced with a pinned-up scan of the original.
Geary showed me the back of an original piece. “If somebody buys a piece of art, here is all of the artist’s information. So if somebody’s a professional artist and somebody likes their work, they can contact the artist and maybe commission,” she said.
The diversity of the six-square art was a stark contrast to the large-scale, curated, thematic work on the walls of the gallery. The children’s art was mixed amongst the adults’ art. Multiple artworks from the same artist, including those from Ashley Studioso, were distanced from each other, to give space to other work.
Petrie and Geary pointed to works inspired by Keith Haring, assigned to a class at Hillhouse. A Basquiat-inspired piece happened to be nearby as well.
“We had one artist that contributed four pieces our first live year, and he said, ‘I never painted in oils before.’ That’s what he did during Covid. He learned to paint in oils, and his stuff is sold out every year,” Petrie said. “We launched his artistic career!” Geary added.
