Brooklyn Centre National Wildlife Community

Featured Artists of the Day: Cat Zurchin and Laura Bosse

Cat and Laura with the talented artists of Prosperity Studio which overlooks downtown Cleveland have some beautiful pieces for sale at the Short and Sweet Studio.

 

They hand cut pieces of stained glass and tack fuse them at over 1300 degrees F in a special glass kiln.

The Jewel-like colors change with variable light conditions. and what is behind the glass. They think the necklaces show up best on light colors, and the earrings with short or tied back hair.  French hooks are silver, posts are surgical steel.

 

Stained glass has origins dating back as far as ancient Egypt in the second century B.C.  The kind of glass we think of now as stained glass was used in European cathedrals in the 11th century.

Dlchorlc glass where you see three colors on the same spot almost at the same time, adds the high tech of the space industry to the age-old craft. Micro-thin layers of metals are applied to glass using a vacuum chamber.  The types of metals and the order in which they are deposited determine the colors. It selectively reflects away certain wave-lengths to transmit through.  This is the same way, nature creates the colors seen in bird feathers, dragonfly winds, fish scales and opals.  You see the color transmitted, the color reflected, and the color you see as the piece shifts angles against the light.

Cat Zurchin will be conducting a class “NEW Fused Art Glass: Jewelry and More” at Art House this spring. Stop by the Sweet and Short Holiday Shop this weekend and sign up for this creative class that will teach you how to create this beautiful jewelry or simply buy one of the sparkling pieces for sale.  Cat will be on hand to personally answer your questions and discuss her beautiful jewelry.

Featured Artist of the Day: Michelle Baran of Bear Tracks Art

Michelle began her college career at Tri-C Parma. She then studied Commercial Art at Cleveland Institute of Art and finished with Art History in Scranton, PA. She specialized in “The Designing of Barcelona” by Gaudi, the works of Georgia O'Keefe and Russian Artist, Serge Mirko.   She is a proud member of the Great Lakes Wood Carvers, the Western Reserve Wood Carvers Guild, and President of the Parma Area Fine Arts Council (PAFAC).  She is the acrylic instructor and the wood burning instructor of PAFAC.  

Her business has been in operation for nine years and has been quite successful. She has been a resident of Old Brooklyn for 14 years and has given much to our community in many different ways.  If you visit Riverside Cemetery at I-71 and Pearl Road, be sure to stop at the Gatehouse where you will see an original pencil sketch by Ms. Baran of the beautiful, historical building. A pen and ink of the original Fulton Road Bridge was donated to the Old Brooklyn Community Development Corp for their 25th Anniversary Gala.  The piece was displayed in the Primate building at the Zoo and was later sold at auction. She has also supported Old Brooklyn & Brooklyn Centre at many community events with examples of her art work. Recently, she was featured on Fox 8 New Day Cleveland when "The Brooklyns" show aired in February, 2012.

Many of her art pieces have been displayed at various galleries in Tremont, Cleveland, and Parma. When you stop at Dee's Restaurant for one of her awesome steakburgers, you will find Michelle’s artwork proudly displayed.   

When asked, why do you do what you do? Michelle replied, “I enjoy what I do. Every day is a creative challenge.”

 

www.beartracksart.com

UPDATE: Short & Sweet Holiday Shop First Weekend Is History

The Short and Sweet Holiday Shop was a success according to customers, volunteers and the organizers.  Opening day exceeded expectations with over 100 visitors to the shop.  Sales were better than expected and patrons enjoyed the “Meet and Greet” Artist reception.

Patrons were excited to see the many different kinds of gifts available to them and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the workmanship as well as the affordability of the artwork.  One father told me that he was so pleased that his three daughters were all able to choose a gift for their mother. “One stop shopping,” he exclaimed, “you can’t beat that!”

Candy sales were brisk while many chose bars of soap or a “cupcake” to carry home.  Photographs, paintings, and jewelry were studied by many of the visitors as they walked around the shop.  A few were selected and purchased before heading home.

 

 

Many shoppers who stopped in to Art House on Opening Day to peruse the offerings of the shop and to talk to the artists in attendance stayed to graze around the table of goodies offered by the Committee.  Pistachio Bundt cake was a crowd favorite as was Kim’s Corn Dip, one of the selections from “A Taste of All Seasons”.  The cookbook is Brooklyn Centre Naturalists’ contribution to the gifts for sale.  Gray and Company selections offered for sale are Cleveland Food Memories and Cleveland Christmas Memories as well as many biographies and some of their more recently published books.

The Short and Sweet Holiday Shop will be open again this weekend starting at 4:00 pm on Friday December 7 until 8:00 pm. The Shop will be open Saturday, December 8 and Sunday, December 9 from 1:00 pm to 5 pm. Rumor has it that Old Brooklyn Buzz will be descending on the Shop Sunday afternoon for one of its popular “cash mobs”.  Do your shopping early for the best selection.         

Featured Artist of the Day: Diane Morgan of Maggie’s Farm

In 2011, Maggie also known as Diane Morgan formed Maggie’s Farm as a market garden. Maggie's Farm grew to include an additional 1/2 an acre and the concept of this urban farm grew to be an employ-owned  business cooperative. The farm in 2012 was built and managed by residents of the Stockyard community. Using vacant land, natural growing methods using no chemicals or pesticides, the farm has become a food source for farmers’ markets, by local enthusiasts and members of the community.

Maggie's Farm is located at 3414 West 63rd St and 3349 West 61st St. Cleveland, OH 44102 www.maggiesfarmcle.org

 

Although the greens shown here are scrumptious, the offerings at the Short and Sweet Holiday Shop will be more of the sweet and savor type.  Granola bars, toffee, and several kinds of preserves and jelly will be on hand as well as assorted gift baskets of the seasonal treats all baked and cooked by the Maggie’s Farm team. 

Featured Artist of the Day: Terry Flores of Floreza Studio

Terry Flores has always loved design: color, shape, texture. She is a graphic designer by profession, but as her work has become more and more digital over the years, she has found herself  with the urge to return to hands-on art creation.
Enter jewelry-making! She likes to work with a variety of materials and techniques,but most of all, she tries to find something new to express in each piece. And, because she sells the way she shops, she keeps her prices reasonable.

Wherever she has lived or traveled, she tried to be aware and observant of what was beautiful, visually engaging, or fun, whether that means the grillwork in an Art Deco train station, a sequin-encrusted

martini glass, or a lizard sunning on a rock.

 

Terry intends to keep learning and developing new techniques and new ways of exploring how beauty, fun, and energy can be expressed in this medium. When asked what she wants her jewelry to express to the world, she said,  “I hope the pleasure I get from making these pieces comes through, and that you get as much enjoyment out of wearing them as I do in creating them.”

Visit Floreza Studio at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/FlorezaStudio?section_id=7705601# 

 

Featured Artists of the Day: Barb and Steve Bloom of Images In Bloom

Images In Bloom

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/imagesinbloom

Blog: www.imagesinbloom.wordpress.com

Email: imagesinbloom@gmail.com

Facebook: images in bloom

Twitter: #imagesinbloom

Phone: 216-374-8050

BARBARA BLOOM is the owner of Images in Bloom, which offers hand dyed silk scarves, homemade soaps and scrubs, wire crochet jewelry and Reblooming Bags made from upcycled plastic grocery bags.

Barb is native to the Cleveland area, having grown up in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland’s West Side. She is married to Steve and makes her home in Parma, sharing her home with 2 beagles and a terrier. She holds a masters degree in Public Administration from Levin College of Cleveland State University.

Art has always been a driving force for Barb. The business came at a transitional time in her life. Discovering the passion to create beautiful things, and the joy of seeing others appreciate those creations Images In Bloom was born.

The company formally began in the summer of 2011, with a presence at a number of fairs and festivals, craft shows, and the distinction of being juried into the Cleveland Museum of Art Textile Art Alliance Fall Show in October 2011.

STEPHEN BLOOM is co-owner of Images in Bloom and is the chief soap maker and creative soap researcher.

Steve is native to Cleveland also, having grown up in Old Brooklyn. Steve holds his bachelor’s degree from Levin College of Cleveland State University. Steve has previously served in community development in the Warehouse district and Tremont. Currently he is the chief soap maker and creative designer of Images in Bloom Soap products. What started out as a personal challenge to see if he could duplicate a bar of soap he saw on a gift shop shelf has become a catalog of natural soaps with vibrant essential oils, organic ingredients, natural herbs, and the best essential oils he can find.

 

 

About the products:

Handmade Soap – My husband is the soap maker – and he uses only the best olive oil, organic products, essential oils and natural herbs in his soap. The soap is cold processed, and when ready he carefully wraps each bar and bands them. Our original soap was the gardener’s soap – an olive oil based soap with comfrey leaves, corn meal, and a mint eucalyptus essential oil added for a clean fragrance. He now makes over 26 different fragrances of soap. In addition he specializes in men’s shaving soap and shaving soap kits.

Hand Dyed Silk – Scarves are 100% Habotai silk, and have a luxurious sheen. The technique involves a process of knotting and tying the silk in preparation for dying. Shibori is an ancient Japanese technique that was once used for creating the patterned fabric for kimonos. While there are multiple types of Shibori dying, I choose to do the knotting and binding technique. The binding acts as a resist and restricts the dye from free flowing. I strive to create floral forms in my dying. All of my silk is 100% color fast and is hand washable.

Wire Crochet Jewelry – Thought to have been a lost art of the Victorian era, wire crochet involves copper wire, and a crochet hook to form the body of the piece. I bead embroider over the body to create a lush and colorful one-of-a- kind piece of jewelry. When possible, I try to upcycle the beads from previously loved jewelry.

Reblooming Bags- Putting plastic grocery bags to an alternative use by making them into plarn (plastic yarn) , and then crocheting the plarn into unique handbags and totes, is a statement about being green. Each handbag takes between 50-150 grocery bags, which would otherwise go to landfills. I have also begun up cycling old sweaters by tearing them apart and using the sweater yarn mixed with plarn to create unique outcomes.

Today’s Featured Artist: Lorian Jenkins

 

Lorian moved to the Cleveland/Brooklyn Centre area almost four years ago to further pursue her artistic endeavors. Born and raised in California, she began her artistic life as a photographer and crafter. Quite by accident, she discovered a love of painting characters and abstract art.  Her splashes of color in her abstracts create unique and beautiful creations. Lorian states “art should be accessible and affordable to the masses. If a piece stirs an emotion in you, you should be able to obtain it and cherish it at  reasonable cost.”

She hopes that you stop by the Shop where you can enjoy her art and that everyone enjoys a safe and happy holiday Season.

 

               

          

                                     

Much to be thankful for This Thanksgiving

Today,on this national day of Thanksgiving. I have decided to step away from our promotion of The Short And Sweet Holiday Shop and reflect on why Brooklyn Centre, our little piece of the world, should give thanks.

Brooklyn Centre is at  the center of a nest of neighborhoods-Old Brooklyn, Clark-Fulton, Tremont, Stockyards, Detroit Shoreway, and Ohio City that focus on what they have, not what they don’t. They make use of the assets in each unique neighborhood to make themselves some of the best communities in this great city of Cleveland. 

Big Creek to the south or our neighborhood is the largest tributary of the Cuyahoga River that lies to the east. A group of friends and neighbors realized the importance of clear-running streams for the health of our community and formed The Friends of Big Creek to identify the problems of this watershed and  form collaborations to protect and preserve wetlands as well as mitigate the damage done in this most urbanized portion of the Lake Erie Watershed.

Big Creek runs through through the Metroparks Zoo and Rainforest, the Number One tourist attraction in Northeast Ohio. The Zoo and its employees mean a lot to us in the neighborhood because they partner with us for many events, community gatherings, and projects that make our community richer.

Our neighborhood connects to the Metroparks reservations-Canal Way Center and Brookside Reservation giving our community recreational, nature and connections to The Towpath Trail. Walking out our front doors and hopping on a bike will put us on a trail in five to ten minutes.

We have access to two libraries in our neighborhood-the Brooklyn Branch and the Fulton Branch, both places of learning as well as community engagement. A source of peace and security for all ages of our populace. Programming at the Cleveland Public Library offers knowledge, exploration, and help for those looking for answers. 

MetroHealth Medical Center celebrates its 175th year in 2012 and stays true to its mission formed many years ago at the City Infirmary. We are blessed with some of the best care in our region by an institution that understands the necessity of good health for its community.

Riverside Cemetery and all the other small cemeteries  throughout the neighborhood gives us pockets of green space in an urban environment and keep us in touch with the rich history and ancestry Brooklyn Centre has.

The people who live work and play here in Brooklyn Centre are the ones who make everything we do worthwhile. The children in our neighborhood have great potential-intellectually and creatively with a ton of energy and enthusiasm.Many of the folks who live in and around our neighborhood have formed great community organizations that work hard to be inclusive and put ideas into action so that our community will grow and prosper.

  Some of these organizations are well-known, others are searching for awareness, and many I will forget to mention because it’s late and I am tired or because I don’t know each and every effort going on around me. I do know that the more our community collaborates bringing more and more of us together supporting each other’s efforts the wealthier we all become.

Art House, our Community Arts Organization, provides classes for adults, teens, teens, and preschoolers as well as Open Family Studios and events to bring artists, artisans, and community members together to achieve common goals.

I have already mentioned FOBC. Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society has held two bird walks in our area-one in Riverside Cemetery and one at the Cleveland Zoo; they plan more in the future since we are a migratory bird path. Old Brooklyn CDC and Stockyard, Clark-Fulton community Development organization are the two umbrella organizations that support Old Brooklyn Buzz, Southwest Citizens Council, Brooklyn Centre community Association, The Daisy Avenue Block Club, and the Fulton-Hyde Block club as well as too many others to mention. They all do fine work for their piece of the community. All of our churches in the area, as well as Bay Presbyterian which occupies the Blessed Sacrament campus,  all support the faith of our community as well as providing social services to many in our midst.  Brookside Center formed many, many years ago is a beacon of hope for many in our community facing hard times.

Elected officials  Kevin Kelley, Brian Cummins, Joe Cimperman, Matt Zone, and Jay Westbrook who believe in the efforts of their residents and community organizations represent a belief in the American tradition of town hall governance and serve our interests through legislation and governance.

All in All, Brooklyn Centre has much to be thankful for on this  day of Thanksgiving. I would be remiss if I did not mention the National Wildlife Federation which steered Brooklyn Centre Naturalists toward its Wildlife Community program.  Our goal to achieve wildlife community status led us to partner with many of the organizations I have mentioned in venues that allowed us to look at our community through fresh eyes realizing that our closeness to the natural world in Brooklyn Centre is one of our greatest assets.  Our goal to reach certification is within reach and i know when we come together and work together to achieve this mile stone, being a certified wildlife community will become reality.  

Featured Artist of the Day: Sharon Martyn of “A Pane in the Glass”

We plan to share artist biographies and photos and other notable features of “The Short and Sweet Holiday Shop” in the coming days on this blog.  We will post them to Facebook. Please consider sharing the posts to friends and family who support “Shop Small” this holiday.

We surmised that there were many talented people in our neighborhoods, some we knew and some we did not.  Our Holiday Shop appears to be only the tip of the iceberg of the talented neighbors we possess, and we count on finding more as the shop progresses.  I already have two names for next year’s Shop.

But let’s deal with right now and our first “Artist of the Day”.

Sharon Martyn

http://pane-in-the-glass.blogspot.com

 

For over 20 years, Sharon has artistically created with stained glass.  As part of her creative process, she continually tries to incorporate recycled and reclaimed glass as well as other reused materials into her work.

When Sharon and Dave Boyce moved into their century home in  Brooklyn Centre, a neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, using original designs she created several stained glass windows to complement the architecture of  their house. This led to her designing, creating, and repairing stained glass windows for other homes in the area.  

She then began designing and creating sun catchers, charms and glass ornaments as gifts for family and friends. She continues to contract custom work as well as hone her creative skill of wire working with new products in her line of gifts.  She will be selling a variety of these art objects at The Short and Sweet Holiday Shop. She has developed a unique style we know you will enjoy.

                                                                                                            

It’s Official: Short and Sweet Holiday Shop is on!

Earlier this fall, Brooklyn Centre residents and artists had the spontaneous idea to hold a “pop up” shop this holiday season to showcase the work of local artists and artisans. They took their idea to Art House, the Brooklyn Centre Naturalists, and Stockyard, Clark-Fulton Community Development Corporation. After a few discussions the concept of the Short and Sweet Holiday Shop was created.

This year Art House located at 3119 Denison Avenue  is hosting this unique retail venue demonstrating the vitality and economic opportunity of “the arts” at the crossroads of Denison and Pearl Road.

We invite you to visit this limited time holiday shop which has the makings of a fun packed recurring event.

 

   

Tomorrow’s post: Our Call for Artists.