Zygote Press (1410 E. 30th St., 216.621.2900, zygotepress.com) has a slew of summer classes in medieval techniques for making images and books, and it's time now to sign up. When obsolete technology falls into the hands of artists, they figure out new ways to use it — like a class in monoprinting on the Vandercook proofing press (10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, July 18) or Shelly DiCello's bookmaking for dummies — "dummy" is another name for the basic book structure (1-3 p.m. Sunday, May 17). There's plenty more too; check the website for full details.
Scrawled in marker on the office door at Zygote is a kind of rough equation, or more like an if-then/go-to statement: Decline in economy=increase in print productivity. That's not bad advice, if printmaking is your thing. But for the rest of us, the Community Partnership for the Arts and Culture (CPAC) will host "Surviving the Not-So-Great Recession," an arts and cultural roundtable seminar, from 8:30-11:30 a.m. Friday at the Cleveland Botanical Garden (11030 East Blvd.). Holly Sidford, president of cultural development firm Helicon Collaborative, will share her views on the recession's impact on the arts and culture sector, and opportunities for adaptation. Her starting point is research she did in Washington's Puget Sound region, which seems markedly different than Cleveland. Breakout discussions follow. The seminar is designed for artists and for people who have professional careers in arts or arts management. It's free, but space is limited and reservations are required. RSVP to [email protected].
After months of restoration, a sculpture that was part of the landscape at the University of Akron's Guzzetta Hall, was unveiled afresh Wednesday, April 29. Its creator Harry Bertoia — best known for the Bertoia Chair — also has sculptures at Dulles International Airport in Washington and other prominent locations. "Tactile Sounding Sculpture" was commissioned for Guzzetta Hall by the Ritchie Memorial Foundation and created by Bertoia for the site in 1976, two years before his death. During the following three decades, some of the metal rods and "chimes" became bent as people climbed and played on the sculpture. Michigan sculpture Ken Thompson did the restoration, replacing missing rods and chimes, straightening bent parts, cleaning the whole thing and putting it on a new stone pedestal. The restoration was funded by the Women's Committee of the University of Akron.
