​Dave Ostheimer & Susan Prentice
Dave Ostheimer
My name is Dave Ostheimer. I was born in and have always lived in Sandusky, Ohio.
My first experience with art was as a young boy just hanging out at home. In high
school I took two years of Commercial Art class. Having never had any formal
education after high school, I sought out new techniques in magazines and a lot of trial
and error. I started to paint signs for friends and businesses around town in my junior
year of high school. Since then, I have excelled in airbrush, pencil, watercolor and ink.
I have been working at LEWCO, Inc. for the last 40 years as my day job. In 2017, my
wife, Sandye, and I started our business, Ostheimer Grafix, LLC. Having painted on
nearly everything from paper and cars to people, this is a true passion I will never
quiet, until my time is complete.
​
Susan Prentice
Hello, I'm Susan! I am a sunrise, sunset, wildlife, travel, street and urban decay, the
occasional wedding, family and senior photo photographer and ... a work in progress.
With all that being said, in one long-winded breath, photography has been a lifesaver,
a creative outlet, and a passion of mine.
I​ am Cleveland born and Sandusky bred, with a short ten-year stint in New Jersey.
Now, I know what you're thinking - New “Joisey” - land of the Sopranos and
smokestacks. You're not wrong, but I lived on top of beautiful Bear Mountain in
Passaic County, just 45 minutes outside of Manhattan. What a gorgeous view of the
city as you drove down the mountain! I spent a lot of time in Manhattan, where my son
did commercials. Full of hustle and bustle, life and opportunity, and always filled with
interesting folks – this is where my love for people-watching and street photography
began.
​
I am an x-ray technologist by trade (even my career choice included photography) with
a mid-life addition of a diplomate in addiction in 2002. I put that on the back burner, but
little did I know why, or where, that would lead a few years later. As it often does, life
threw me a giant curveball when I lost my only son, Christopher, to an overdose. Life
as I knew it ceased to exist. I struggled for quite some time and needed an escape
from the daily crushing grief, but also a way to honor Christopher's life and help others
and their families in the same desperate situation. I started talking to anyone I could –
city, county, and statewide – who would listen. We needed to do more – more
treatment and more guidance for families. So, in 2014, Rob Quinn and I formed a
nonprofit organization and, with a generous grant from the State of Ohio, we
purchased eight condos and 13 acres of property in Vermilion. In 2015 we opened
Genesis by the Lake, a 32-bed facility where women in recovery and their children
could live in sobriety. It remains in operation today.
​
I currently can be found in my husband Steve's chiropractic office as office manager or
spoiling my four adorable grandkids, who can do no wrong.
​
I never pass up the opportunity to meet new people and try new things. Enter The Arts
Garage. I am excited to be part of this wonderful community of talented people. It has
been said if you keep learning, you will never grow old. I recently started dabbling in
painting under the guidance of a very talented teacher and friend. I have learned that
art, in its many forms, is an outlet of mine. It's where I can bring things I see and
experience to life. Being behind the lens allows me to see things differently. I love
exploring new places and trying to soak in life as it is, always searching for the details
that go unnoticed by the typical fast-paced life we live. I've learned to slow down and
appreciate the art of creation that surrounds us. In the words of Soren Kierkegaard:
“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward."