Author, illustrator to present children's books workshop

'Chief's Cap and Fly Whisk,' Edo culture, Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, in agate coral, glass, is in the Detroit Institute of Arts exhibit, Through African Eyes: The European African Art, 1500 to Present, through Aug. 8.

NOT BLADE PHOTO

'Great Falls Tavern,' by Tom Sorrell, won best of show in the Toledo Artists' Club's July Gallery Show.

Illustrator, author, designer, and instructor Dominic Catalano will present three workshops Tuesday, Thursday, and July 17 through Prizm Creative Community focusing on all aspects of publishing children's story books.

He is an assistant professor at Bowling Green State University where he teaches art education and the art of the picture book. He has designed and presented similar workshops on the national level for the Highlights Foundation. His illustrations have appeared in a number of children's magazines and he has illustrated 26 children's books.

He has illustrated and written books, including Wolf Plays Alone, Frog Went A-Courting, Santa and the Three Bears, Mr. Basset Plays, and Hush, A Fantasy in Verse.

All of the sessions will be at the Way Public Library at 101 East Indiana Ave. in Perrysburg. Dates and times are Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30-8:30 p.m. and July 17, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.Fee for the workshop is $75 for Prizm members and $100 for Prizm guests. To register call Debra Buchanan at 419-693-3289 or register online at myprizm.com.

'Chief's Cap and Fly Whisk,' Edo culture, Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, in agate coral, glass, is in the Detroit Institute of Arts exhibit, Through African Eyes: The European African Art, 1500 to Present, through Aug. 8.

Catalano also will give a free family program and book signing of children's books he has written and illustrated on Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the upstairs family lecture room of the library.

• Reflections is the current juried show, through July 23 at the Toledo Artists' Club, located on the grounds of the Toledo Botanical Garden, 5403 Elmer Drive. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 1-5pm; Saturday, 1-4pm. The gallery is closed on Monday. The gallery may be open some Sunday afternoons. Please call ahead at 419-531-4079.

• An opening reception for a concrete sculpture art exhibit, Art de Concrete, will be held July 16 at 5 p.m. at Kuhlman Corp. in Arrowhead Business Park, 1845 Indian Woods Circle in Maumee.

The free exhibition will run through 2010 and be open to the public from

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. In addition to a 10-foot sculpture from Lynn Olson of Valaparaiso, Ind., it will feature regional sculptors such as Beau Bilenki, George Carruth, Nancy Shufritz, Mike Sohikian, Hans Ruebel, John Sauve', and Ken Thompson.

As part of the exhibit, Kuhlman Corp. will conduct a series of concrete workshops for interested professional and student artists.

Information: 419-897-6000 or www.kuhlman-corp.com.

• The Toledo Museum of Art will celebrate Arts Gone Wild July 16-Aug. 15 with a number of events as part of the annual summer festival sponsored by 15 of the area's arts and cultural organizations. The Arts Gone Wild exhibition opens in the 'Community Gallery July 16 with a special It's Friday! celebration.

• Artomatic 419! 2011 is less than a year away, and local artists who want to participate in the anything-goes, nonjuried arts event can register now for a space.

Spaces for the event are first-come, first-served, and are limited. There is a $30 fee for a space at the event, which will be April 2, 9, and 16. To register, visit artomatic419.org/reg

ister.html.

• Toledo artist Julie Draeger will be featured from July 15 to Aug. 18 in a one-artist exhibit and sale entitled Julie Draeger's Point of View, at Inside Angles Custom Framing Gallery.

Draeger is an art teacher for Toledo Public Schools at Bowsher High School, and she also teaches at the Toledo Museum of Art.

As an artist, she works in watercolors, acrylics, and oils. Her use of color and texture, and especially design, reflects her inspiration for creating art. Her paintings appear as floral arrangements or landscapes while projecting motivation, experience, and life.

Most of the work on exhibit will be offered for sale for the first time. An opening reception will be July 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. Inside Angles is at 909 South McCord Rd.

• The Wassenberg Art Center, Van Wert, Ohio, will present Visual Communication & Design, a display of art and graphic design by students at Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne's Visual Communication and Design Department, from now through Aug. 13.

Exhibit hours are 1-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The art center at 643 South Washington St., is closed on Mondays. Admission is free. Information: 419-238-6837, 1-888-238-3837 or vanwert.com/wassenberg.