Blair Museum opens for the season April 30

4/21/2011
BLADE STAFF
'Woman on Bike' is among lithophanes by Hannah Blackwell that will be featured in a new exhibit at the Blair Museum of Lithophanes, April 30 through Oct. 30.
'Woman on Bike' is among lithophanes by Hannah Blackwell that will be featured in a new exhibit at the Blair Museum of Lithophanes, April 30 through Oct. 30.

The Blair Museum of Lithophanes will open its season with a free reception from 2 to 4 p.m. April 30. Featured will be a new exhibit, Hands Illuminating Porcelain: The Lithophanes of Hannah Blackwell, continuing through Oct. 30. A recent graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Blackwell studied the 19th-century art in Hungary. The exhibit includes nine flat-panel lithophanes, lamps, and a tutorial which shows how she makes a lithophane, beginning with carving a model in beeswax, creating a plaster mold, pressing porcelain, and finally, firing the work.

Lithophanes are three-dimensional, translucent porcelain plaques which reveal their images when backlit. The museum is at Toledo Botanical Garden, 5403 Elmer Drive. Information: 419-245-1356 and lithophanemuseum.org.

The city's newest sculpture will be dedicated at 5 p.m. April 28 in Tribute Memorial Park in East Toledo, at the southern footings of the Veterans' Glass City Skyway.

Open to the public, the dedication will include remarks by U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, sculptor Evan Lewis, and others. Lewis' 40-foot-tall stainless steel and concrete structure cost $110,000, paid for with private funds, and the park cost $140,000, a mix of public and private money. It can be reached from Front Street, and parking will be at the Skyway Marina. Tribute Memorial honors the people who contributed to the massive bridge project, especially those who were injured or killed during its construction. Information: 419-254-2787.

Rembrandt's newly rediscovered self-portrait will be displayed until May 8 in Gallery 24 at the Toledo Museum of Art, flanked by two other portraits done by the 17th century Dutch Master.

The artist painted the small oil-on-copper self-portrait when he was 21 or 22 years old. It was long attributed to another artist.

Screened in the museum's Little Theater at 7:30 p.m. Friday is a free film: Entre Nos (2009), about a Colombian immigrant's attempts to survive on the streets of New York City with her two children. Linked loosely to the Botero exhibit (Botero is from Colombia), the film is 81 minutes and in Spanish with English subtitles.

And in the Glass Pavilion at 6 p.m. Friday, glassmaker Leon Applebaum will give a talk, followed by demonstrations from 7 to 10.

Rudolph Schroeder will exhibit his artwork at Georgette's Fair Trade Grounds & Gifts, 311 Conant St. in Maumee, through May. Schroeder has worked with pen and ink over acrylic paint for more than 40 years.

Jim Seaman and Don Cellini will exhibit their paintings and photographs May 3-28 at Downtown Latte, 44 South St. Clair St. An opening reception will be 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. May 7 in the shop.

The Downtown Bowling Green Art Walk will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 30, when businesses will host performers and visual artists will sell their wares. A poetry blast will be hosted by the Wood County District Public Library at 1 p.m. People are invited to help create a floral wall hanging from felted shapes that will be displayed at the Bowling Green Farmers' Market this summer. Printed maps are at participating businesses. Information at downtownbgohio.org.

Call for artists: The Wassenberg Art Center in Van Wert invites entries for its 55th June Art Exhibit. More than $1,000 in prizes will be awarded. Included styles are painting, drawing, hand-pulled prints, collage, sculpture, mixed media, pottery, ceramics, glass, jewelry, metalwork, fiber art, and wood work. Not eligible for entry are photography and computer-generated art. Information: 419-238-6837 and wassenberg@embarqmail.com.

Items for News of Art should be sent at least two weeks before the event to tlane@theblade.com.