Mainly clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable..

Mainly clear skies. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.

Shane Luke, left, and Mark Chiodini are the founders and artists behind Shark Studios in Mebane. The two specialize in using found and donated items to create the artwork they sell in several businesses and at markets.

Shane Luke, left, and Mark Chiodini are the founders and artists behind Shark Studios in Mebane. The two specialize in using found and donated items to create the artwork they sell in several businesses and at markets.

To walk around their home in a rural area about 10 minutes outside of Mebane, one would never believe the dozens of paintings and numbingly intricate collages that decorate their home began out of nowhere, or as a strategy to fend off boredom from being home recovering from a medical issue.

Shane Luke — who today is one half of Shark Studios — had inexplicably begun having seizures that put him home from his job at Walmart for two weeks. On a whim, he picked up a few canvases, some paints and paint brushes, and a small easel. 

When Luke’s partner, Mark Chiodini, got home, he was surprised to find him with a paintbrush in hand, and working on a piece of art.

“I came home and he was sitting there, Bob Ross style,” Chiodini recalled. “I never even knew he had an inkling towards doing something artistic, at all. And there he was just painting away.”

Chiodini was inspired by Luke’s sudden desire to paint, so he picked up some supplies and joined him, and the two began using the time as a creative outlet and a form of therapy.

And then it artistically and creatively snowballed. Soon the couple was seeking other ways to express their newfound and artsy thrill. While Luke mostly kept with the paints medium, Chiodini found his mojo in collages, mostly using found objects or materials purchased at thrift stores. 

You could say Chiodini has found his niche, but you could also say his niche is found. Several of his pieces are more abstract, using Barbie dolls, Connex pieces, buttons, jewelry, tiny toys, and just about anything else people toss off or donate. The compilations are a dense scavenger hunt of familiar objects, arranged in a way that’s balanced and sometimes themed. Up close, it’s like a junk drawer on canvas. But step back, and you see a face or shape, and you see the artist’s intention.

Chiodini also uses thousands of small objects, like beads and watch pieces, to create portraits, often of celebrities or musicians. Meanwhile, Luke’s paintings run the gamut of abstract and nature-themed, including a series of peace signs

When the two developed a body of work, they started showing friends. When offers for their artwork started coming in, Luke and Chiodini — who at the time were living in Chapel Hill — began seeking opportunities and venues to exhibit their pieces, which proved to be more challenging than they expected.

“While Chapel Hill is a huge hotbed for art — there’s a lot of galleries — we went around to some of the galleries and showed them pictures and they said, ‘Well, you guys don’t have one style,’” Chiodini said. “‘You guys are kind of all across the board, eclectic.’ They thought certain artists have a style that people would want and they said we should try to hone in on a style. We just thought that was ridiculous. It’s like eating oatmeal three times a day. You just could do it, you can survive on it, but It’s not very soul-quenching to just eat the same thing.”

So, Luke and Chiodini, who by this time had named their venture Shark Studios (Shark is a mashup of the couple’s first names), changed their focus to spaces and events that might be more appropriate and fitting for their less-traditional style of art. They approached a number of bars and restaurants to hang their work, and setting up at arts and crafts markets.

In the midst of collages and paintings, a light flipped on in the collective minds of Shark Studios for another method by which to show off their creativity: switch plates. Sometimes painting on them, sometimes decoupaging pictures and clippings, Luke and Chiodini decorated hundreds of light-switch covers to sell at markets, and give away as gifts.

“We try to appeal to everybody,” Chiodini said. “I try to think about who might be at a show. If it’s kids, I bring cartoons. I’ve done light switches of people’s dogs and other pets. We do different cities. We do Carrboro a lot, and Carrboro loves the rock and roll, like Dark Side of the Moon and the Beatles, and stuff. So, I bring that because that sells better there. In Mebane, I do a lot of John Deere and farm stuff because there’s a lot of farms. It always sells like crazy.”

After moving to Mebane, Luke and Chiodini began looking for spaces to exhibit their artwork. The owners of Hyperion in downtown Mebane provided them with a large space to display and market their work. Junction on 70, where Chiodini is employed, also lets them display their pieces. The two have been pleased with how well their work has been received, and how much has sold. Part of that is the feelings Luke’s paintings evoke, part of it is the fun people have studying Chiodini’s collages. Also, part of it is the affordability of their work. Both artists believe their own thriftiness in acquiring the materials for their artwork enables them to keep their prices low.

“We like thrift stores and we’re investing in bags of jewels and beads and canvases that were a few bucks, and we spent $8 on it and sell it for $15 or $20, we made our money back we enjoyed doing it and more people will buy our stuff,” Luke said.

Luke and Chiodini are both originally from the midwest. Even though they grew up about 10 minutes from each other, they didn’t first meet until they were at a wedding party and a mutual friend introduced them. The two immediately connected and have been together for 23 years, and married the last eight.

Luke and Chiodini regularly set up their Shark Studios display and vendor booth at the monthly Mebane Makers Market and the Downtown Farmers Market. You can also see their work at Hyperion and Junction on 70. They do not have a website, but can be contacted through email at marknshark2@yahoo.com. 

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email.

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!

Would you like to receive our daily news? Signup today!