This work is in the Putnam Sculpture Collection at Case Western Reserve University. It was purchased recently from a show at the Sculpture Center but It is not on display yet -- so very few people have seen it. This work is only a few inches tall but it has a monumental quality. The color of the stone is very beautiful. The form, which is similar in shape to a human heart, is very sensuous and organic. I Believe it is one of Kiderman's best works. She creates both abstract and figurative sculptures. Visit Alice Kiderman's website to see more of her sculptures.

Each of Keri Mortimer's paintings presents a simple story. In it the present is more important than the past, but the lonely, iconic elements (the house, the factory) do allude to a human presence and activity that took place in the past. Mortimer's paintings are also about her fears, though she says "growing up in the comfortable Midwest, my subconscious had to go out of its way to find things to be afraid of."

Architect, painter, sculptor -- Tony Smith was all three. Sometimes his sculptures are grouped with Minimalism, though they don't really belong in that stylistic catagory. As the title suggests, there is some humor to this piece, and, if you could walk around it and see it from all sides, you would notice it has an anthropomorphic quality. As a child, Tony Smith contracted TB and was quarantined in a tiny building in his family's backyard.  During this lonely time he developed an interest in the geometric elements of architecture -- an interest that remained with him throughout his life.

Larchmere is probably the most fun place in NEO to go antiqueing. A variety of interesting stores on a almost quaint street with great restaurants. The annual antiques fair brings the cool stuff from the stores out on the street. While you are their, stop for a bite to eat at my favorite -- Cafe Limbo -- the entres always taste very fresh and there are many vegetarian options, coffee and desserts are good too.

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Three great exhibitions opened at MOCA this past Friday: "Sarah Kabot: On the Flip Side," "The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art," and "Transitions: Linda Butler and Philip Brutz Photography." "On the Flip Side" is the 2006 edition of the Wendy L. Moore Emerging Artist Series.  This annual exhibition of the work of a very talented, young (under 30), female artist who has yet not had a major gallery show never fails to generate a lot of excitement. "The Persistence of Geometry," curated by Dr. Lowery Stokes Sims of the Studio Museum in Harlem featured many works -- paintings, drawings, prints, textiles, sculptures and decorative arts -- from the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. Visitors may have expected this exhibition to be just another highlights tour of the CMA only in a new location, but the result was something totally new and surprising. "Transitions" gives the viewer a peek at what it looks like inside the museum now. Brutz's color stereoscopic transparencies were especially popular with children.

The Cleveland Museum of Art is difficult to recognize these days as it forges ahead with its major expansion and renovation project. One thing is certain, when the CMA reopens it will be a very different place. Will you miss the old museum and what are your hopes for the new, bigger and better CMA? What is the role of the CMA in Cleveland? and what does the CMA mean to you? Did you visit regularly before it closed last winter? Did you pay to go to the big special exhibitions? Do you visit art museums in other cities? If these are issues that interest you, you should read Museum Skepticism, a new book by Prof. David Carrier who teaches art history at Case. The following is a review that appeared on Case's homepage today.

 The following story with its links ran in CASE Daily (Case's online newpaper) today. Do feel like you have entrepreneurial genes? I think I do! Please post your thoughts
"Do genes influence who will be entrepreneurs?"

ABC News (Reuters), June 5, 2006
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2041245

Have you seen any of the dogs around the St. Clair/Superior neighborhood? I went looking for them on a Tuesday evening shortly after they were installed in their summer locations. I won't tell you where these two are, but they are probably the easiest to find.

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Most of the NEO residents I know are animal lovers and most have at least one pet. What is your favorite pet? For many NEO residents its the Chihuahua! I don't have a Chihuahua, but I was invited to my first Chihuahua meet up yesterday afternoon.

Season Finale!

Opera-in-concert, sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Join The Cleveland Orchestra, Music Director Franz Welser-Most, and an internationally renonwned cast of singers led by Renato Bruson in the title role of Verdi's comic opera Falstaff. Based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and King Henry IV, this opera was a huge success when it was first heard in Milan in 1893 and has been acclaimed by many to be Verdi's greatest opera.

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Season Finale!

Opera-in-concert, sung in Italian with English surtitles.

Join The Cleveland Orchestra, Music Director Franz Welser-Most, and an internationally renonwned cast of singers led by Renato Bruson in the title role of Verdi's comic opera Falstaff. Based on Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor and King Henry IV, this opera was a huge success when it was first heard in Milan in 1893 and has been acclaimed by many to be Verdi's greatest opera.

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When a woman in the audience asked Christo and Jeanne-Claude how they define art, Jeanne-Claude  said they don't define art they make art. She went on to say that they make art because "it is our life" and all their works are works of "joy and beauty."

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The century plant sure knows how to go out with a bang! 

At Rockefeller Greenhouse, the century plant is about to bloom. If you have visited the greenhouse any time in the last  60 or 70 years you probably saw the century plant -- its the huge centerpiece of the succulent garden. Why is this such a big deal?

Closing Reception and Curators Remarks for Two Exhibitions at the Cleveland Artists Foundation Apr 29- May 27:

RECENT ACQUISITIONS

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FIRST FRIDAY of this and every month from 6-9 pm, take advantage of extended hours and enjoy a collection of Cleveland's finest art galleries, chic fashion boutiques, art studios, yoga, and more, all under one roof.

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Since its beginnings in 1969, the Hessler Street Fair has become a music and arts tradition in Cleveland. This joyous festival of arts, handmade crafts, music, dance, poetry, theater, performance and food is held on University Circle's Hessler Street, Cleveland's first historic landmark district.

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Parade the Circle at Wade oval will feature international and national guest artists along with dozens of Northeast Ohio artists and community groups. Activities include entertainment and food.

for detail, maps and direction: www.universitycircle.org

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A gallery talk and opening reception for an exhibition at the Cleveland State Art Gallery, Into View: Celebrating 15 years of Window to Sculpture. An exhibition of current works by alumni of the The Sculpture Center's window To Sculpture program, which was created by David E. Davis, late sculptor and founder of The Sculpture Center, to nuture the careers of emerging Ohio sculptors.

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