Staff photo / Andy Gray Robyn Maas, curator of the “No Guarantees” exhibition opening April 18 at Trumbull Art Gallery in Warren, talks about the work of Mary Lou Alexander, one of 19 women artists whose work will be on display.

WARREN — Creating art is a solitary pursuit.

Artists traditionally work alone in a studio or in whatever workspace is available to them. They spend hours (sometimes days, weeks, months or even years) bringing to life a vision that might never be seen by anyone outside of that studio.

That reality inspired curator Robyn Maas to present “No Guarantees: Women Artists Connected by Persistence, Patience and Creative Necessity,” which opens April 18 at Trumbull Art Gallery.

“There’s no guarantees,” Maas said. “Just because you make something, it doesn’t mean somebody’s gonna buy it. It doesn’t mean that it’s gonna go up on a gallery wall. You do it because you have to create. It’s a need.”

Maas, who has curated several shows at TAG in recent years, merged that theme with the desire to do an exhibition focusing on women artists.

While the invited artists all are women, that might be the only common thread. Paintings dominate the work that will be displayed, but there also is fiber art, mixed media, sculpture and photography. There are artists who have shown their work internationally and those who will see their work in a gallery for the first time.

“I have ages from 23 to 85,” Maas said. “I wanted a wide range of different demographics and different kinds of art, and I also wanted artists that are a part of academia and ones that are self-taught.”

Featured artists include: Sue Anzellotti, Mary Lou Alexander, Dee Banks, Steph Blair, Dragana Crnjak, Kristina Danklef, DeJiiva, Autumn Joi Ellis, Tara Flynn, Carol Gallo, Jenna Hudock, Adrien Lucas, Julie Martin, Missy McCormick, Jacki Mountan, Susan Russo, Tracy Segreti, Leah Sydney and Summer Zickefoose.

“Susan Russo, she taught graphic design and was the head of the art department when I was at YSU, and she’s still doing amazing work,” Maas said. “She is probably my biggest mentor as a female artist.”

Some of the artists submitted work to Maas digitally because they don’t have studios, but wherever possible, the curator met with the artists in person and evaluated the work they had on hand. Maas also was interested in showcasing the artists’ most recent pieces.

“Sometimes people think their best work is their older stuff — ‘This is the best thing I’ve done, but I did it eight years ago,'” Maas said. “I also wanted to encourage people to do more work.”

Tara Flynn of Howland is one of the participating artists with limited exhibition experience. After Maas invited her to participate last December, it motivated her to start working on new paintings.

Formally trained on both flute and violin, Flynn said she draws inspiration from music, and it’s always playing when she paints. Sometimes it’s classical, sometimes it might be The Cure, whose 1989 track “Plainsong” inspired one of her canvases at TAG.

Even though “No Guarantees” hasn’t opened yet, Flynn said the experience already has her excited about exhibiting her work more in the future.

Tracy Segreti of Austintown is showing some pieces that are painted silk mounted on wood that originally were planned for an exhibition of her work that Maas wanted to do. However, Segreti is one of the artists who was displaced in 2024 when the Ward Bakery Building in Youngstown was sold, and the artists who had studios there were evicted with little notice. Segreti had been there for 33 years.

“She couldn’t do it because she had to pack her whole life up,” Maas said.

Segreti has new work as well in “No Guarantees.”

“I couldn’t do this kind of thing (painted silk) anymore, because I didn’t have the space to do it, so I went back to drawing, and then I started doing some watercolors too,” Segreti said. “It’s kind of a before and after.”

Much of the work on display will be for sale, and Maas said she hopes the exhibition draws buyers as well as viewers while it’s on display through May 29.

On Wednesday the last artists were dropping off their work, and Maas had their submissions on the floor or leaning against the walls, where they’ll be hung in time for the opening reception. It’s a puzzle with no predetermined shape, and the pieces likely will be rearranged more than once before she’s finished.

Maas also is an artist, but she won’t be displaying any of her individual work, at least not in the way the other 19 artists are.

“For me, creating is organizing this,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be my work. Organizing this is a creative process.”

If you go …

WHAT: “No Guarantees: Women Artists Connected by Persistence, Patience and Creative Necessity”

WHEN: April 18 through May 29 with opening reception 6 to 8 p.m. April 18. Gallery hours are noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

WHERE: Trumbull Art Gallery, 158 N. Park Ave., Warren

HOW MUCH: Admission is free. For more information, go to www.trumbullartgallery.com or call 330-395-4876.