Morris glass exhibition in Daytonis nothing short of stunning

"Mazorca Installation" (top) with detail (bottom), William Morris, 2004, blown glass, steel, rope. 12 feet x 3 feet x 10 feet. Photographs: Rob Vinnedge.

My mouth fell open each time I entered a new room in the Dayton Art Institute's special exhibition William Morris: Myth, Object and the Animal. It's a jaw-dropping showcase for the master glassblower, who was born in Carmel, trained at the famed Pilchuck Glass School outside Seattle, worked for glass superstar Dale Chihuly, then struck out on his own before retiring from glass the year before last at the ripe age of 50.

Unlike so many Chihuly U vets, Morris' work would never be mistaken for his that of his former employer. Instead of imitating Chihuly's bright, abstract forms, Morris opted for realism. His work is deeply rooted in the natural world as well as the mythic with references to the cultures and stories of the American Northwest and Southwest, Central and South America, Africa and the ancient world. The pieces - all of them blown and sculpted glass but many of them looking as though they were molded or cast - are remarkably realistic and at the same time so fantastic in their exaggerated size and unusual pairings that they become surreal.

My favorite work is the totemic installation "Mazorca," an engrossing homage to the life-sustaining qualities of corn in which gourds, skulls, corn cobs, tools and an array of objects hang from thick pieces of rope to form a curtain. At its hem are beautiful vessels decorated with corn patterns. The colors are deep, rich, earthy - with a rich patina that makes it appear they've been dug out of the ground. The gallery is darkened, adding to the sense of mystery. There is much, much more to see including the spectacular "Cache," a 36-foot long installation composed of dozens of large, translucent tusks arranged to give the impression of the hull of a ship. Cradled within are blackened bones, skulls, weapons and tools that raise the spectre of violence and death.

Cache installation, William Morris, 1996, blown glass, metal, wood. 5 feet x 6 feet x 36 feet. Photograph: Rob Vinnedge

I was so wowed that I'm already planning a return revisit - with a few people in tow. I'm not sure when, the exhibit continues through May 31, but it could be as early as Sunday. That's when Dr. James Yood, Art Historian at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will give a lecture about the "time travel" aspect of the exhibition It's at 2 p.m. and is free for members & students, $8 for others. Oh, I should tell you that the exhibition is free for members and children ages 6 and under but is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and college students, and $5 for ages 7-18. Parking is free, as is general admission to the institute's permanent collection.


Postscript: On the way to the special exhibition galleries, you'll walk through the Institute's glass gallery, which is always impressive. It boasts some striking additions to the collection that I couldn't resist snapping a few photos of. They include Richard Jolley's whimsical "Elephant Walk" (above, left, hot sculpted glass, 2007) and David Huchthausen's kaleidoscopic "Telstar Sphere" (cold-worked, assembled glass, 2006).

Plumped up about plush

"Esther" by Lori Brown. Wool felt, cotton, faux fur & acrylic safety eyes. Machine- and hand-stitched details. Stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Approximately 8" x 10.”

"Wendel" by Lori Brown. Wool felt, cotton & acrylic safety eyes. Machine- and hand-stitched details. Stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Approximately 10" x 10.5.”

"Nellie" by Lori Brown. Wool felt, cotton, faux fur & acrylic safety eyes. Machine- and hand-stitched details. Stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Approximately 8"x7.”

Local softie Lori Brown gets a huge plug for her quirky Chimian line of plush creatures in the debut issue of Stuffed. The new publication from the ever-busy folks at Stampington surveys the growing softie scene and highlights crafters whose work is diverse but which more often than not has a similar thread of funkiness running through it.

Softies with a kooky, mismatched, hand-crafted look have really taken off. They've been mainstreamed via the adorable Ugly Dolls, which are to the early 21st century what Beanie Babies were to the late 20th. At the outset, Uglies were found in hip boutiques, indy bookstores and art museum shops. Now, the misfits are just about everywhere.

I've been spotting softies such as Lori's floppy-eared, bug-eyed ones at guerilla craft/art shows, small art galleries and alternative art spaces for about two years. Of course, they're onmipresent on Etsy, where Lori has a thriving shop. Her Chimians come are each named and come with an inventive back story, as is often the case with this new breed.

Other regional softies included among the dozens featured: fanciful patchwork animals by Andrea L. Stern of Chauncey, Ohio, and the sweet Whimsy Patch line by Kimmie Kamer of Louisville. I love the elevation of homespun/PTA-style crafts into a thriving subculture that takes things beyond ordinary. Don't you?

Postscript: For a crash course in plush, visit the Needle. It's a collaborative web site launched in early 2008 that is brimming with softies and is profiled in this issue of "Stuffed."

Calligraphy Guild added to links and a cool, offbeat web site

Yipee! The Greater Cincinnati Calligraphy Guild finally has a web site - and I just added it to the links in the rail along the right side of the page. It's a work in progress, says site designer Tiffany Vincent. Vincent herself has a wonderfully quirky web site called Curious Goods: My Collection of Wizardly Things. It brings together her passion for "movies, Victoriana, magic, science, and fiction." As someone who dotes on weird Victoriana, I immediately bookmarked it as a fave. It includes a blog, a few tutorials (making paper look old, creating fake wax seals) and her virtual cabinet of curiosities.

New craft fair to debut: Craft Mafia at Leapin Lizard

Covington's inventive and energetic Leapin Lizard Gallery was one of the gallery casualties of the economic downturn. It closed in December but owner Lizz Godfroy is figuring out new ways to use the fantastic space in a former church on Main Street. She's cobbling together a series of events and one of those is this weekend's CraftMafia. It features a mix of craft from ceramics to jewelry. I e-mailed Lizz for a list of participants and here's the line-up - so far, it may grow:

• Covington Clay: kitschy 1950s iconic images on ceramics
  
• Jill Godfroy: stained glass and garden stones
  
• Lizz Godfroy: jewelry made from 1950s eyeglass lenses and typewriter keys
  
• Marlena Hebenstreit-Kottmyer: jewelry
  
• The Lovely Teaspoon: quirky costume jewelry made from tiny toys & trinkets
  
• Tracy Metsch: re-purposed paper goods
  
• Night Owl Crafts: jewelry, headbands, bobby pins, collages, and jewelry holders
  
• Cathie Streator: brooches, frames & more
  
• Crystal Summers, lamp-worked glass jewelry, ornaments, tiny sculpture
  
• Karen Trimble-Shell: Japanese origami paper jewelry
  
• Annette Troescher: memory boards, silly pillows, wine bottle covers, wall hangings
  
• Nancy Withers: handbags, jackets, fiber art

I admit that I'm unfamiliar with most of the crafters, which offers a chance of fab new discoveries, so I'll post follow-up images of finds. It's 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Leapin Lizard, 726 Main St.

Postscript: Lizz says a kindred group in Over-the-Rhine will host a Craft Mafia event in April. More as I find out about it ...

Ann Bain to lead collage workshop

I'm diving into collage - in a small, step-by-step way - so I was excited to learn about a day-long workshop that Dayton artist Ann Bain is leading next month for the Greater Cincinnati Calligraphy Guild. It's titled Content into Form and participants will create pieces from materials brought with them - scraps of images, old writings, rich papers, etc. Foremost among the requirements is a "personally meaningful passage" you'd like to work with.

Gulp. The latter made me wonder if I had to know calligraphy. I've taken classes with Marlene Steele at the Art Academy of Cincinnati but my skills are rusty. Not to worry, says the guild's Jo Diamantes. She says the phrase can be "calligraphed, printed, hand-written or implied in the work in some fashion. So, a student without calligraphic skills will have plenty to do."

Jo also says the guild invited Ann to lead the workshop because of her skilled use of color. "Her collages exhibit vivid use and coordination of colors within pieces and from piece to piece. She combines the arts of painting, drawing, poetry, drama, color, composition, ideas and words under the encompassing category of 'lettering arts.' In her work she likes to tune in to images, shapes, colors or textures that amplify an author’s meaning, and engage the viewer’s imagination in the process of understanding. In turning content into form, her intention is for her art to call attention, to clarify, to aspire, to inspire."

The workshop is 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. April 18 at the Junior League Hall on Columbia Parkway. The price is $85 for Guild members, $105 for others (which includes a 1-year membership in the guild). The final cost may go down, depending on how many people register. A $45 deposit is due pronto. For more details, e-mail Jo ASAP.

Master glassmaker Robert Eickholtretired after 30 years in the studio

I wandered into Indigenous yesterday when I was out and about in O'Bryonville. I was actually looking for silk ribbon and had stopped by Margot Madison to see what they had on hand. Not quite what I wanted, though I did walk away from the stationery with a few spools of velvet ribbon at the bargain price of 25 cents a yard and spotted some gorgeous paper you'll be reading about in another post.

While there was time on the meter, I dropped into Indigenous to see what was new. When I did, I found out that glassmaker Robert Eickholt has retired. The news is causing a run on his one-of-a-kind pieces, which are beautiful examples of hand-blown glass. No molds are used in the studio, which he founded in 1978 in downtown Columbus. Like many successful glassmakers, he didn't do it all on his own. The studio included a crew of artisans.

A small case at the front of the shop holds lustrous vases, perfume bottles and paperweights. Eickholt is known for the depth of the glass - it's easy to get lost in a piece - a combination of soft and bold colors, and for incorporating precious metals and rare oxides into the glass.



Postscript: O'Bryonville starts its Third Thursday Wine Walks again April 16 and they'll continue through Dec. 17. In addition to Indigenous and Margot Madison, there are a few other stops for the craft-oriented shopper, notably MiCA contemporary craft and the only Cincinnati outpost of Ten Thousand Villages.

A peek at this year's Summerfair posterand a question about arts grants

I'm bugging Summerfair for a list of locals in this year's show - word of acceptance started going out last week. While waiting, I thought I'd post an image of this year's poster as a reminder of the dates of the fine art/crafts show. Designer Sharon Martin's winning entry in the annual poster competition is light, bright and has the look of hand-stenciling despite being computer-generated.

Summerfair's been positioning itself as an overall arts organization - not just the fair - for some time now and toward that end, it awards grants to individual artists and small arts organizations. Last week, it announced the 2009 grants to the latter and I was disappointed not to see a single straight-up visual arts/crafts organization on the list.

While Covington's Center for Great Neighborhoods, the Center for Independent Living Options and Churches Active in Northside will use their grant for visual arts programs - they're essentially social service agencies with plenty of other outlets for grants that visual art and craft groups do not have access to. The other four grants went to Catacoustic Consort, Dearborn Highlands Arts Council's Reader's Theatre, Dramakinetics of Cincinnati and Know Theatre of Cincinnati.

Love social orgs savvy enough to embrace visual art and love the performing arts. But where are the small, non-profit visual art galleries such as Manifest and The Carnegie, craft groups such as the Weavers Guild and Cincinnati Book Arts Society, and artist co-ops like Tiger Lily Press? Just askin.'