ONTARIO — Tony Sansalone admits he had a self-serving interest in bringing new classes to the Mansfield Art Center.
“I had seen tufting on social media and realized the materials were kind of expensive,” he said. “I wanted to help other people make projects, but selfishly, I also wanted to try it myself.”
Tufting is textile art used to make yarn-based works like rugs, portraits or other projects. Sansalone said many students in his classes make rugs of their pets’ faces.
“The way we did classes at the art center, most of them were bringing a picture of what you want to make and we’ll figure out how to do it,” he said.
“There’s only ever been one student who brought something in that I didn’t think was possible, but she rerouted and made something she really liked.”
Sansalone, an Ontario High School alumnus, advanced his “Tufting with Tony” business to the finals of the 15th annual Arts Business Competition at the University of Wisconsin.
He is one of four finalists scheduled to present their art business ideas to three judges on Feb. 28. The four will compete for three funding prizes — $2,000, $1,000 and $500.
Sansalone will graduate with his arts administration master’s degree in May.
He said his classmates had to develop documents with business plans and what they would do with different budget levels for assignments.
“We had the option to submit these to the competition, so I did that with 40 or 50 others back in December,” he said. “I heard a lot of really cool ideas that other people had, so I was pleasantly surprised to be a finalist.”
The artist said his experience writing grants for the Mansfield Art Center helped him develop his business pitch.
Sansalone hopes to expand Tufting with Tony to Wisconsin
George Whitten, MAC executive director, said Sansalone came to the art center as a summer intern and started teaching classes.
“He can paint, draw, do ceramics — basically everything,” Whitten said. “When he discovered tufting, he said nobody else in the state was doing these classes.
“I wasn’t so sure, but lo and behold, it really took off.”
The tufting classes are two three-hour sessions hosted on two different days. Students create their artwork on day one and put rug glue on the back of it. Once the glue is dry the next day, students frame, shave and vacuum their artwork.
“We’ve had more than 150 people come through for those tufting classes, from outside of Ohio even,” Whitten said. “I think people enjoy the tufting guns so they load the yarn into those and don’t have to sew by hand.”
Sansalone said he wants to expand Tufting with Tony to the Madison, Wisconsin area with funds from the business competition.
His budget at the $2,000 top prize level would cover five tufting guns and five frames, as well as yarn, shavers and other materials.
“It can be free to students, which is our target demographic,” he said. “The $1,000 will be about the same, we just won’t have as many supplies and can’t have as many students in the class at each time.
“With $500, I would do more of a large collaborative project instead of classes.”
Sansalone said if he earns money from the business competition, he would donate the materials to a local art center in madison so they can continue classes after he graduates.
He said he is applying for museum jobs around the Midwest and East Coast, but isn’t sure where he will land yet.
“I’m open to anything,” Sansalone said. “I could end up back in Mansfield with the art center or maybe a larger arts organization.”
Whitten said Sansalone’s administrative and people skills will serve him well.
“I’d love to have Tony back at the Mansfield Art Center, but I have a feeling that a museum larger than us will want to hire him,” he said. “I know he’ll succeed wherever he ends up.”
