The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Watercolor works rule the day at Gallery at Lakeland
This has been such a great summer so far!
The rains and heat have provided us with the lushest July I have seen in a long time. There is a multitude of inspiration from gardens and meadows filled with blooms to birds filling the air with song and chirping wee ones, not to mention pets and wildlife amusing us to no end. Yeah, I have kittens, so I’m pretty amused.
If you cannot find your muse surrounding you, close your eyes and look inside. Creating what you feel is as touching as what you see. The act of creating is personal. If it’s appreciated by others, it’s a bonus. Actually, it’s necessary if you happen to be a professional artist. But most of us are not. Yet we yearn to make things. Just do it.
We all need art in our lives. Whether we create it or appreciate it, it touches our soul.
Artists and patrons of the 30th annual Willoughby ArtsFest braved the weather and were rewarded with a day of fine arts and craftsmanship.
“ArtFest was good, despite the weather,” said Dani Klein, owner of Stella’s Art Gallery in Willoughby. “People were happy to be out and seeing art.”
Lake Metroparks 34th annual Amateur Photo Contest at Penitentiary Glen Nature Center, 8668 Kirtland-Chardon Road, Kirtland, is open for viewing through Aug. 8.
Make a point to visit the nature center after you hike. The Wildlife Center is also a great place to sketch birds.It’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 440-2561404, 2123.
Looking for ways to repurpose and upcycle cast offs? The Ashtabula Ats Center, 2928 W,. 13th St., is hosting “somewhere between royalty and rubbish: Art by Barbara Martin” through July 31.
For more information, visit ashtabulaartscenter. org or call 440-946-3396.
The Gallery at Lakeland
“Watercolor Ohio 2021,” a show featuring work by members of the Ohio Watercolor Society, will run through Sept. 10 in the Gallery at Lakeland, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland.
OWS was formed in 1978 by a group of Ohio artists who also were members of the American Watercolor Society.
In all, 270 paintings, entered by 171 artists, were created with various water media techniques. Juror Keiko Tanabe accepted 80 paintings for the exhibit, which opened with an awards reception July 17.
Fourteen awards totaling $6,800 were presented, including 10 Ohio Watercolor Society awards, three Memorial awards and one Honorary award. Additionally, 32 paintings were selected for a traveling show to be displayed in various Ohio venues through May.
The winners are OWS Gold Medal, Thomas Schroeder; OWS Silver Medal, Frederick Graff; OWS Bronze Medal, Chris Krupinski; OWS Award of Excellence, Jack Mulhollen; OWS Award of Excellence, Jeff Suntala; OWS Award of Distinction, Thomas Sorrell; OWS Award of Distinction,
Cathy Welner; Rae and Associates Award, Yuki Hall; V. O. Baker Award, Christopher Leeper; OWS/Plaza Artists Materials Award, Trish McKinney; CAC Cathy Welner Award, Ron Beahn; Doug Pasek Award, Ed Kitchen; CAC Don Getz Award, Carol Stevens; and CAC Hal Scroggy Award, Sharon Stolzenberger.
The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
For more information, call Gallery Curator Mary Urbas at 440-525-7029 or email murbas@lakelandcc. edu.
Stella’s Art Gallery
“Size Matters: Squares” at Stella’s Art Gallery, 38033 Euclid Ave., received the most entries of any show since Stella’s moved to Willoughby. The show will be up for viewing through Aug. 9.
Congratulations to
Best of Show winner Luanne Bole-Becker, who was awarded the honor for the body of work she entered by juror Margo Jeanchild.
The winners in 2-D are Tracy Parsons, first place; Ann Dumont, second place; Tricia Kaman, third place; and Nicole Maye Luga, honorable mention.
The winners in mixed media are Dennis Mastrangelo, first place; Deborah French, second place; and Adrian Desjardins, third place.
Get your work ready for the fourth annual “Art Inspired by Northeast Ohio” show. All mediums welcome. The categories are Parks and Recreation, Northeast Ohio Events and Flora & Fauna. Artists are asked to include a statement supporting how Northeast Ohio inspired them to create their work and will be typed up and included in the exhibit.
Artwork will be accepted from 1 to 7:30 Aug. 6 and 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 7. Wendy Pittenger, display naturalist from
Lake Metroparks, will jury the show.
An opening reception will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Aug. 13. The show will run through Sept. 7 and be followed by “Photographers Only.”
Visit stellasartgallery. com or call 216-401-6965 for more information.
Valley Art Center
Valley Art Center, 155 Bell St., Chagrin Falls, is staging Art by the Falls as a gallery exhibition and artist pop-ups for the summer of 2021. Artists accepted to Art by the Falls 2020 were invited to participate in the reformatted event. The event was split into two segments, with the second one beginning on July 23 and running through Sept. 1.
Regular festival-goers have favorite artists they look for each year. I certainly do. Artists this year include jewelry, Pat Bolgar and Janice Mariano; painting/drawing, Nancy Gregg, Kat LoGrande, Nancy Minter, Mary Ann Sedivy and Leesah Tarr; photography, Wayne Heim; textiles, Julie Friedman; wood/metal/ sculpture, Tim Niewiadomski and Marcus Schafer; and mixed media, Kendra Wood.
The hallway exhibit, “Chagrin Valley Nature: A Tale of Two Views,” features artworks by Andrea Dawson and Kate Oulton. It will be up for viewing through Aug. 31.
The exhibits are open normal business hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Reservations for small groups, up to 10 people, are also available.
For more information, visit valleyartcenter.org or call 440-247-7507.