PEACH WEEKENDER

News of Art: Maple and Main, fiber577 kick off summer festivals

5/29/2014

BY TAHREE LANE
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Seventy-five works, such as this one by Jenny Schu, were selected for display during fiber577 June 7 and 8 at the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg.

‘Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals’ opens Friday at the Wood County Historical Center and Museum. The exhibit features 20 color photographs, including this one of Matteawan State Hospital (now Fishkill Correctional Facility) in Beacon, N.Y., taken by Christopher Payne.

fiber577, a free, two-day celebration of contemporary fiber art, will be June 7 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and 8 (noon to 5 p.m.) at the 577 Foundation in Perrysburg. Displayed will be 75 works selected for innovative use of fiber including quilts, felting, needle arts, experimental, sculpture, textile collage, and weaving. Featured artist, Amanda Ross, will show her creations. There will be artist demos and live music, fiber-producing critters (sheep and alpacas), and a hunt for fiber bombs. In a pop-up studio, visitors can make their own fiber art. The venue is at 577 E. Front St. Information: 419-872-0305, www.fiber577.com, and Facebook/fiber577.

This untitled work by Candra Boggs will be among items for sale at Maple and Main Street Art Fair in Sylvania. The fair will run from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

● Downtown Sylvania’s third Maple and Main Street Art Fair will be Saturday (11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), featuring 100 artists on Main Street (between Monroe and Erie streets), two live-music stages, a children’s tent, and food vendors. The full schedule is at sylvaniaarts.org and 419-517-0118.

● Receptions:

● Opening with a 6 to 8 p.m. reception Friday is “Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals, 20 color photographs by Christopher Payne of New York City.” At the event, Payne will speak about the endeavor for which he went to 70 shuttered mental institutions in 30 states, taking images of building exteriors and interiors, often capturing what was left behind such as shelves of cremated human remains that were never claimed.

“Few Americans realize,” he wrote, “these institutions were once monuments of civic pride, built with noble intentions by leading architects and physicians, who envisioned the asylums as places of refuge, therapy, and healing.”

The display continues through Nov. 16 at the Wood County Historical Center & Museum, 13660 County Home Rd., Bowling Green.

In addition, the museum’s lunatic asylum, built in 1885, will be rededicated and an exhibit will open, “Chasing the White Rabbit: A Historical Look at American Mental Illness,” created by Holly A. Hartlerode, museum curator.

Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m., four large murals, each painted by Derek Brennan with the face of a real person who has mental illness, will be unveiled. They’ll be part of a traveling exhibit for the Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board.

Also from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, three experts will discuss mental illness. Information: 419-352-0967 and woodcountyhistory.org.

● Opening with a 5 to 9 p.m. June 6 reception will be wearable art by Lisa Adams in the Gaslight Gallery, 117 E. Crawford St., Findlay. Adams is a jeweler who also paints scarves of silk, chiffon, and rayon and silk/wool blends. Through June, its hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wed., Thurs., and Sat., and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fri. Information: thegaslightgallery.org and 419-306-5720.

● The Arts Commission will host a 6 to 8 p.m. volunteer orientation Monday for anyone interested in assisting at its events. It will be in the commission’s office, 1838 Parkwood Ave. Information: 419-254-2787 and theartscommission.org.

● Lourdes University in Sylvania is registering youngsters 8 through 16 for art classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for three weeks during the summer. Cost, including supplies, is $180. They’ll study a range of media. Adults can take some coinciding sessions for $18 per class. To apply for a $30 scholarship, contact eszavuly@lourdes.edu, by June 2. Information: www.lourdes.edu/art.

A celebration of artist Michael McWhorter’s life is set for Friday at Calvino’s Restaurant.

● A celebration of the late Michael McWhorter’s life will be 6:30 to 9 p.m. Friday in Calvino’s Restaurant upstairs, 3143 Central Ave. He was best known for the inventive Plexiglas and found-object creations he made at his Adams Street studio. People are asked to RSVP at 510-375-7413 or carlaorvishunt@gmail.com.

● Call for artists: Public Domain has a July 25 deadline for works created from material that’s in the public domain, such as photos, illustrations, recordings, or motion pictures. A pop-up exhibit will be in Columbus Aug. 23. Information: artisticfreedomltd@gmail.com, with “Public Domain submission” in the subject line.

● A free presentation on The Fascinating World of Bees and Beekeeping by expert Roger Sutherland will be at 2 p.m. June 8 in Swan Creek Metropark’s Yeager Center. It’s presented by the Naturalists Camera Club of Toledo. Information: naturalistcameraclub.org.

● People who have mild memory loss and their caregivers are invited to a free program at 1 p.m. June 7 at the Toledo Museum of Art. This month, the tour will explore works by bird illustrators featured in the show, In Fine Feather: Birds, Art & Science. To learn about more free tours, check the museum’s calendar at toledomuseum.org.

● An Eye on the Empire: Photographs of Colonial India and Egypt, continues through June 29 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art. In the late 19th century, interest in the lands under British influence led to explorations and expeditions, and photography brought these exotic worlds to the British. Images are by leading photographers of the day such as Francis Frith and Samuel Bourne. The museum is at 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor. Information: umma.umich.edu and 734-763-8662.

Send items for News of Art two weeks before the event to tlane@theblade.com.