Why I love Art Youngstown

When I first encountered Art Youngstown, I had my doubts. They were taking on a huge challenge with little money and human resources. While working with them however, I found a group of people with a level of dedication that rivaled the former Dutton Alley Art Community. When preparing a show, people of Art Youngstown work long hours, unpaid, sometimes under extreme conditions. Almost all the founding members have full time jobs and some have small children in their care. There were times some were very ill and after a hard day of work wanted nothing more than to be home in bed. Yet they came down to the galleries to work. When I say work I mean mopping large areas of floor, washing walls, basic carpentry work, painting large areas of walls, tedious computer work, dealing with the public and fund raising, to name just a small number of chores. These are jobs for which museum workers at the Butler and McDonough are highly paid.

And the efforts of Art Youngstown have borne fruit. So many unrecognised artists who cold not break into the local art venues were given the opportunity to show their work and build their resumes. Many of these artists made dramatic sales which they ploughed back into their art businesses.

The Inaugural Exhibition brought nearly one thousand people downtown on opening night. These people then visited the clubs and the restaurants after the opening. Art Youngstown has been creating a great deal of positive energy and good will amongst the Youngstown residents as well.

What was most impressive to me was the DEMAND by the public for original art. I saw a few incidents that almost amounted to conflict between art buyers over pieces for sale at the first Art Youngstown event. Those naysayers who constantly chant "You Can't Make Money Selling Art In Youngstown" really need to get out more and experience the reality of the art business in this city.

Art Youngstown is doing things right as well. On staff they have a Certified Public Accountant who handles the finances and a Lawyer who handles the contracts and legal matters. Two of the younger staff members are very skilled in promotion and Internet Technologies.

Artists, business owners and public, please respect and support At Youngstown. They have made the downtown a better place and you are directly benefiting from their presence.

Art Youngstown-Great Room Show

Dylan Weaver, my favorite Youngstown Artist.

Timmy, you need to wear that suit out more often!

I had no idea you could play, Mr. Terlecki. A True Renaissance Man.

Rock on Art Youngstown! The large, live potted palms were a very nice touch. The Music was great as were the professional ballroom dance demonstrations. The event was like one of those wonderful dreams but I didn't wake up. When it was all over I stepped outside into the misty night. The city was full of night life with people hanging on the corners outside the restaurants and clubs and the traffic pouring from the convocation center. This is how it's suppose to be. We are a REAL CITY.

James Pernotto at Trumbull Art Gallery

The Trumbull Art Gallery will host a show of recent work by the artist James Pernotto beginning Sunday, March 2nd at 2pm. So much has been said about Jim, his career and his place in our community that I risk redundancy in this blog.
Of course you can expect to see high quality work that has been tried in the fires of time and the unforgiving , sometimes brutal ,art world. You will also meet a man of extreme dedication to his work and to the Mahoning Valley.
Jim lived in worked in Youngstown during a time when many were fleeing the city for greener pastures, and when he did eventually work for a time in Manhattan as the director of Pacifico Fine Art Gallery, he made sure his peers from Ytown found art connections in his new home. Even while in NYC he still found time to have his hand in Youngstown art concerns.
I'd like to thank Jim for the time and effort he has put into helping me with my art career over the years. When I arrived at the YSU Art Department from the deep country side of Central Ohio, I was a young, brash redneck boy with a lot of energy and not a lot of brains. Jim saw my talent, encouraged me in his printing classes, and was one of the very few people I knew that took a real concern for my future as an artist. Throughout the years he has given me valuable and hard to come by art business advice and even today, when my stubborn redneckedness rears its ugly head, he has enough patience and vision to point me in the right direction.
We are very lucky to have such a high caliber human being as Jim living and working in our city and I urge all my dear readers to make it to the opening on Sunday. I suspect you will have a great time, not only for the promised "Chocolate Decadence" to be served but because Jim does indeed know how to host and art opening.

Frederic Molden at the Star Gallery

Showing at the Star Gallery, Oakland Center for the Arts, in conjunction with their performance "The Colored Museum" are the fine paintings and installations of Frederic "The Count" Molden. A Youngstown based artist with a substantial resume', his work has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, and is in the collections of such personalities as Michael Jordan and Jerome Bettis.

When I first entered the gallery I was struck by the installation pieces that feature many fine antiques from Molden's personal collection and which are family heirlooms. The most impressive of these is the assemblage(above) entitled "The Black Press: Soldiers with Swords" which addresses a family members involvement in early print media. Detail Shot of "Belly Rubbin' With Da Back Breaker" Oil on Canvas. 4x5 feet.

Detail shot of " Jukin' With Daddy Long Legs". Oil on Canvas. 3x4 feet.

As an oil painter myself I was greatly impressed with every aspect of the paintings and is is rare for me to make such a statement. (Please note that my photos do not do justice to the high quality of the original work). The skill level is amazing as is the use of color and composition. Much of the work is heavy with history and nostalgia, which some people may feel is a negative in certain artistic circumstances. However, Molden's rich technique and insight take this genre to a new and pleasing level. In many ways I am reminded of the great African American painter from Cleveland, Huey Lee Smith, although Molden certainly has his own unique style.

This show is a must see for those with a penchant for Regional Art. The entire gallery is warm and inviting and every piece in the show is compelling.

The Star Gallery is open during regular performance hours and one does not have to attend the performance to visit the gallery.

Art Youngstown Wine Tasting at the Youngstown Club

Congratulations again to Art Youngstown for yet another successful, well attended art event. Thanks to Emerine Estates and the Youngstown Club for the Wine, the use of the hall and the staff.

These pics were shot well before most of the guests arrived and the place was full by mid evening, but not uncomfortably so.

To say this event was a "wine tasting" is an understatement as the wine flowed freely and abundantly all night.

Several artists demonstrated their skill and their paintings were auctioned later in the evening. Above, Karen Wennberg (Art Youngstown's computer whiz) works on a delicate painting of a heart shaped galaxy.

Willie Duck, artist extrordinaire, creates an interior painting of the event.

The local gentry enjoying the wine warmed atmosphere.

Purple is such a fine color for a Lenten wine tasting, no?

Needless to say there were many charming, beautiful, well dressed ladies in attendance.

Ah, the music.

By the way, I still had plenty of time to make it to the Oaks for the Pavlick fight with plenty of time to spare once the Wine Tasting was over. Shame on all you art supporters who opted for a pre-fight party in a bar somewhere.

Graffiti Pics from Bear's Den

The graffiti shown is within 50 feet of Bear's Den Cabin. These are just a few of the examples to be found here. Approximately 15 are in this immediate area and more are farther downstream from the Cabin.


This piece is well over 3x5 feet and is within view of Bear's Den Cabin.

This very expressive piece, rich in emotion and drama, incorporates the use of Fluorescent Chartreuse spray enamel over moss, lichen and raw stone. It is 3x2 feet.

This is an unique piece amongst the works at Bear's Den as it incorporates a Living Tree! How original! Bravo!

This piece, modestly placed in a crevice, appears to be the latest work on a boulder that has been sandblasted. It seems those anti art park caretakers have removed previous works! It is well that they did for it allowed this talented young person to leave his artistic statement for future generations.

This piece is truly the coup de' tat of the Bear's Den Graffiti Collection. It is a large work well over 4x10 feet. Multiple colors are used and appears to be the cumulative work of several artists. One can see the anguish, joy, fears, and spiritual electricity that pulse through the veins of our youth. Those old cave painters of Lascaux have nothing on this bunch!

Gallery in the Fellows Riverside Garden

Last week a friend of mine visited me from Chicago and he insisted we have lunch at the cafe' in the D.D. and Velma Davis Education and Visitor Center at Fellow's Riverside Garden in Mill Creek Park. Once again he was jaw droppingly amazed at the view from the cafe' with the new fallen snow clinging to tree branches and Lake Glacier glistening like polished silver. We had the soup, mine being vegetable and his potato. Needless to say it was delicious and perfect for a cold winter day.

When we finished we strolled into the Andrew and Carol Weller Art Gallery within the Visitor's Center where my friend Vallene Hardman-Weeda is having a solo exhibition. The show is entitled "Meltdown: Beneath Thin Ice" with over 11 large pieces on display.

Vallene works with found natural materials (animal bones, leaves) combined with traditional materials such as ceramics. In this show she introduces modern materials such as stainless steel hooks and epoxy resin as visual elements of design rather than merely structural supports.
This show addresses issue of time, history and our place within them. Science and mythology get equal billing here, and are in fact carefully combined to present 2 sides of the same coin. Vallene even goes so far with her work as to suggest that one cannot fully experience the Mythic without embracing Science and vice versa.

My favorite work is the "Drying Specimens" series. These are mixed media pieces which feature Ginkgo leaves and various natural materials adhered to sheets of ragged paper with a glaze of golden-brown epoxy. They are suspended from the walls with stainless steel specimen clamps and underneath sheets of Plexiglas. This presentation is truly unique and I am certain I have not seen one quite like this. On a certain level these works seem mundane and distant, much as science specimens are, but due to the compositions and the compelling nature of the found objects, a haunting feeling is conjured.

Vallene is truly a professional artist and her work is very sophisticated. If you are in any way involved with the sciences such as Paleobotany, Archeology or Geology you will find this work to be provocative. Should you be a Theologian, Priest or Minister you will find plenty of spiritual material on which to meditate. I would think this show would put a smile on the face of even the most jaded Historian.

In addition to Vallene's show in the Art Gallery, there is also an informative exhibit in the John C. Melnick Mill Creek Park Museum downstairs dealing with the major renovations of the Silver Suspension Bridge. There are photos documenting the deterioration and renovation and large blueprints of the bridge.

Make sure you stop by the gift shop on your way out and check out the Easter display and gifts featuring a large rabbit tureen (rabbit soup anyone?). All very humorous and prone to get one thinking about Spring.