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Things to do in Dayton | Restaurants, Theatre, Music and More

Bill Franz

Artist of the week: Elisha Frontz

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Elisha makes mixed-media art at Front Street, in her studio on the first floor of the 100 Building that she shares with Kate Santucci. The first time I met Elisha she wasn’t making visual art. She was singing with the Blue Heron Trio. The group has been on hiatus since 2022 but you can still hear Elisha sing online.
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I asked about her shift from making music to making her multi-media art.
“I’ve always been interested in both visual art and music,” Elisha told me. “My mother tells me that even as a toddler I would pound on the piano and then run to a piece of paper where I was making a drawing. In high school and college I loved my art classes but also found time to sing in different bands. When I finished art school, where I majored in sculpture, I started singing with the Blue Heron Trio.”
“When the pandemic hit there were no live music bookings to be had, so I started making visual art again. Then in 2022 one of the members of our trio died. After 12 years of working so closely together the three of us were like family. I haven’t sung since his memorial service. I’ll probably sing again someday, but right now I spend my time making mixed media visual art.”
“I currently have a show now at Emporium Wines and Underdog Cafe in Yellow Springs, and our studio is open on First Friday and Third Sunday art events.”
I asked Elisha to tell me more about the visual art she’s making.
“In art school I loved making sculptures,” she told me “but sculptures can be hard for people to incorporate into their living space. I decided to make work that has a sculptural feel but that hangs on the wall. “
“I start by making a wooden panel. Then I create a watercolor painting that is exactly the size and shape of the panel on thick watercolor paper. Then I typically add other materials. In recent work I’ve been adding sewing patterns. Finally I do the sewing. I love the texture that hand stitching with metallic thread adds to a piece, even though the process seems to take a very long time.”
Maybe it’s because I’m listening to Elisha sing as I write these words, but I see the influence of music in Elisha’s visual art. There’s a rhythm and a flow like the cadence of a song. Take a look at more of her work and see if you agree, either at https://billfranz17.com/ or https://www.elishafrontzart.com/ or in her studio at the next First Friday or Third Sunday event.
More on Elisha’s visual art tomorrow. More photos at https://billfranz17.com/

Artist of the Week: Kate Huser Santucci Part 2

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To help me understand how her encaustic paintings are made, I asked Artist of the Week Kate Huser Santucci to walk me through the process using this piece as an example.
“I started with a piece of scrap plywood” she told me. “I taped the edges and put on a layer of encaustic medium (a mixture of beeswax and tree resin). Then I added heat, so that the layer of encaustic medium will firmly grab onto the grain of the wood. After that I could start painting a number of layers of encaustic paint, which is just encaustic medium with pigment added.”
“Every time I add a layer of encaustic paint I heat it with a torch, so that it grabs onto the layers that have been applied. If I add a lot of heat the new layer is smooth. If I use less heat there is more of a texture. At any time, I can scrape off one or more layers in an area, so you can see more of what lies underneath.”
“I set this piece aside at one point because I wasn’t sure where I wanted the painting to go. Then Summer came and I just loved the look of flowers in my yard. I decided to add a flower image to this piece.”
“I used a photo as a reference and did the first layer using a smaller brush and encaustic paint. After that had been fused onto the piece I switched to oil paint with just enough wax in it to allow it to bind with the layers I already had. I started to paint the oil with my finger. If you look closely you can see that I’ve put in reds and oranges and golds and pinks. As a final step I add fine detail with a very small brush.”
For more photos of Kate’s work, and photos of her studio, go to https://billfranz17.com/

Artist of the Week: Kate Huser Santucci

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I’ve been admiring Kate’s encaustic paintings online for quite a while but only met her last summer. She works at Front Street, in the first floor of the 100 Building, where she shares space with Elisha Frontz.
“In college I started out as a theater major” she told me “and then switched to fine arts and eventually got a degree in sculpture. Then I raised a family for 20 years.”
“About 10 years ago I saw an encaustic piece that I was really drawn to. Its layering gave it a sort of ethereal feel. About that same time a friend told me about an encaustic class being taught in St Joseph, Michigan. I decided to take the class and then just dove into encaustic work. I love the versatility of the medium, the way you can be sculptural or really painterly, the way you can scratch parts off or draw lines on and do all kinds of other things.”
Kate tells me she has a busy exhibition schedule coming up. Her work is being shown this month at Studios on High in Columbus. Then in May through August she’ll fill the walls at Wheat Penny Oven and Bar. In October she has a show at Edison State College in Piqua. Next year she already has two shows planned, plus a residency in France. But my favorite way of seeing her work is to stop by her Front Street studio. She’s working there most days, and is always open for First Friday and Third Sunday.
For more photos of Kate’s work, and photos of her studio, go to https://billfranz17.com/

Dayton At Work and Play: The Yost Family

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Some enjoy being scared at Halloween. Some don’t – especially young kids or those who are special needs or need sensory friendly events.
“When our son was young he didn’t enjoy Halloween” Miriam Yost told me. “So nine years ago we started creating our own not so scary Halloween. At first it was just for the neighborhood kids, but it’s gradually grown and now we have a lot of visitors.”
“My husband does all of the artwork. He’s made over 50 wood cut-out characters. for kids to enjoy. As soon as a Halloween is over he starts planning new things to add for the next year. “
“This year, in a nod to Disney’s 100th anniversary we’ve added Disney characters. We’ll have Mickey, Belle and The Beast in costume for photo ops.”
We’re located in Huber Heights at 7221 Kirkview Drive, and we’ll be open every Saturday in October from 5 to 9. We would love for people to come and Be our Guest.”

Dayton at Work and Play: Tracy McElfresh of Tracy’s Sewing Studio LLC

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After a long time off, I’ve decided to restart publishing my blog “Studio Photos.” I’ll post the text of Tracy McelFresh – Dressmaker here today and tomorrow, but if you want to see all my photos you’ll need to go to https://billfranz17.com/
I visited Tracy McElfresh of Tracy’s Sewing Studio LLC recently. I know Tracy spends a lot of time teaching people to sew. I asked her how she learned.
“My grandmother came from Puerto Rico to New York City and sewed in the garment district there. She would bring fabric remnants from work and use them to make all of my mother’s clothes. So as I was growing up my mother didn’t want to just go to a store and buy clothes. She taught me how to make clothes by deconstructing old clothes. I would go to thrift stores and buy things that were very inexpensive, take them apart, and reassemble them into clothes that I loved.”
“So I grew up sewing, and I then I taught other people to sew while also working at all kinds of other jobs. I worked in a daycare and in a library and as a nanny, but when the nanny job ended I decided that from now on I was only going to work at the thing I love the most – sewing.”
“In 2012 Jesy Anderson and I wrote a business plan and opened a shop in Dayton’s Oregon District called Sew Dayton. We sold fabrics and sewing supplies and we gave group classes. That was a great experience but in 2016 we decided to split up and we now each have our own sewing businesses. Jesy runs Needle Ink and Thread and I’ve opened Tracy’s Sewing Studio”

Dayton at Work: “Jobs from A to Z”

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Yesterday my wife helped me hang “Jobs from A to Z” which will be in the 2nd floor gallery at @DaytonMetroLibrary until November 5th.

I started this series because the memory loss of my father-in-law Wally Willaman was making our time together difficult.  I hoped that we could avoid discussions of the past by having fun working on a project in the present.  It worked.  We had a ball.

I told Wally that when we finished our art would be in an exhibition,  thinking that would keep him interested in the project.  But I knew it was likely that we never would make it to the end.  Wally is 101, and I knew the project would take at least six months.

Well six months later we’ve made it all the way to “Z is for Zookeeper” and Wally’s still going strong.  And the work will be exhibited twice.  Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor has an active arts in healthcare program. They will display “Jobs from A to Z” from March 11 to May 31, 2024 in a gallery where thousands of people will walk by it each day.

But Ann Arbor is too far for Wally to travel, so Jayne Klose, the library’s Community Engagement Manager, helped us out.  She invited us to exhibit at Dayton Metro Library.

Wally and I hope people have as much fun viewing this art as we did making it.

 

Dayton at Work and Play: Patrick Van Voorhis

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Stopped in at Grist (46 W Fifth) for the first time and had a great lunch. We met Patrick, who owns the business along with his wife Casey. The two met at the Culinary Institute of America and then worked in some well known restaurants in California. They opened Grist in downtown Dayton two years ago.
In addition to being a sandwich shop Grist sells fresh pasta, bread and desserts and serves dinner. We enjoyed our lunch so much that I know we’ll be back for dinner soon.

Grist

46 W. 5th Street,
Dayton, OH, 45402
(937) 802-454
Tues – Thurs 10am – 3pm, 5-9pm
Fri & Sat 10m -3pm 5-9pm
Sun 10:30am – 3pm

Dayton at Work and Play: Jesy Anderson

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Stopped by Needle, Ink and Thread – A Modern Sewing Studio (2290 Patterson in Kettering) and met Jesy Anderson, the owner.
“I moved in here a few years ago” she told me. “I just live a few blocks away. When I was growing up there was an ice cream store here called The Dipper. There’s always been some store here serving this community and I’m glad to carry that on.”
“I sell fabric and other sewing items here, but my emphasis is teaching. I learned how to sew in school. But schools don’t teach sewing anymore, which is too bad. Sewing involves math, technology, engineering and more. It’s not just throwing fabric into a machine.”
“With teaching and running the store I don’t have much time to sew for others but I did take on a project for the Dayton Dragons recently. I made a new costume for Roofman.”
Upcoming Classes:

Dayton at Work and Play: K & R Pretzel Bakery

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Visited K & R Pretzel Bakery recently. It’s run by the sister and brother team of Pattie and Jim Glaze. Their parents started the business in 1967.


Their set up is a bit different than the one at Smales Pretzel Bakery because their oven has a conveyer belt. They sold me one that had just dropped off the conveyer belt. It was amazing. They also sell assorted novelty candies, circus peanuts and bottled sodas.

K & R Pretzel Bakery

1700 Flesher Ave
Kettering, OH 45420

937-299-2231

Hours:
Tuesday through Saturday from 10 to 4.

Dayton At Work and Play: Winter Guard

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Winter Guard International has its world championship this month, bringing 60,000 visitors to the Dayton area. Color Guard competition started Thursday and continues through Friday and Saturday at the UD Arena. Percussion and Winds championships are next week. Tickets can be bought at https://am.ticketmaster.com/wgi/buy
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In some previous years I’ve photographed groups warming up in the U.D. parking lot These performers are from Homestead High School in Cupertino, California.

Artist of the Week: Terry Hitt

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Terry is 88, and still paints in his studio two or three days a week. He says he loves working at K12 because “it’s filled with so much good energy and there are artists of all ages to talk to.”

Terry Hitt in His downtown studio at @k12galleryandtejas

 

When I first photographed and wrote about Terry seven years ago I called him a philosopher painter. That was partly because he was a pastor before becoming an art professor at the University of Dayton. It was also because of one of his past art projects, which I learned more about during my visit to Terry’s studio last week.
When he was teaching at UD, Terry and then eventually some of his students did a series of drawings of some of Dayton’s homeless people. The drawings were exhibited under the title “Portraits of Homelessness” and received national attention.
As he was starting this project I learned that Terry got advice from one of the twentieth century’s greatest photographers, Gordon Parks, about how to build a connection with his subjects. As it turned out, those connections continued after Terry’s art project was concluded. Terry told me how he was able to help some of the people he had sketched and also about how the project led him to some interesting adventures. If you want to know more you’ll have to drop by K12 some afternoon when Terry is painting.

Dayton at Work and Play: Brewer Jon Naghski

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Fifth Street Brewpub head brewer Jon Naghski came here from Chicago where he was the head brewer at Goose Island’s Clybourn brewpub.
The Fifth Street building dates back to 1856. Except for a few years when it sat empty it has always served drinks and food to the neighborhood. The brewpub is a co-op, which means that a small investment by a large group of people could revive the building and install brewing equipment. For only $125, you could also be one of the owners. I love their motto “Building a Community, one beer at a time.”
1600 E 5th St
Dayton, OH 45403
Hours:
Tues – Thurs 4-10pm
Fri & Sat noon – 11pm
Sun 11am – 4pm

Dayton at Work and Play: Cornell Studio Supply

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Before I met Stephanie Beiser Ceramics I had no idea that Cornell Studio Supply  was such a cool place. They have hosted workshops by some of the country’s top ceramic artists.

To get a feel for the quality of the artists who have come to Cornell you just need to look through its “boneyard.” It’s filled with items that have been made by the artists in their workshops and then bisque fired. But they haven’t been glazed and had a final firing. They are stuck in-between.
The boneyard item on the left is about three feet high. It was made by Seattle artist George Rodriguez, known for his large scale ceramic sculptures. A group of his pieces has just been installed at the Kansas City Airport. Stephanie showed her piece on the right where she is using some ideas she picked up from watching Geirge Rodriguez.
If you’re interested in ceramic art, this is a good time to visit Cornell. They’re exhibiting work by 30 past workshop instructors this month.

Cornell Studio Supply

8290 N Dixie Dr, Dayton
(937) 454-0357
Tuesday 9am – 4:30pm 
Wednesday  9am – 7pm 
Thursday. 9am – 4:30pm 
Friday 9am – 4:30pm 
Saturday 9am – 4:30pm

Workshops, Firing Services, Kiln Repair

Artist of the Week: Cydnie Deed-King

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ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Cydnie Deed-King working in her home studio.
I first looked at Cydnie King‘s art when I heard that the African American Visual Artists Guild was hosting an exhibition of her work at Central State University Dayton (840 Germantown Street). The reception is Sunday, March 5 from 2-4pm and is open to the public. The exhibit can be viewed Monday thru Friday 9am to 5pm March 1 to April 28.
Cydnie is exhibiting her “Digital Blossoms,” which blends her paintings of plants with images of circuit boards and other technical components. Very Cool. You can see part of one of those pieces on the right. Love the way the veins on the flower change into parts of printed circuits.
In addition to making art, Cydnie also works with artists in her role as Curatorial Assistant at the Contemporary Dayton. I asked how that came about.
“I grew up in a family of artists and then studied art at Webster University” she told me. “I moved to Dayton when my husband got a job here. I knew I wanted to be part of the area’s art community so I started volunteering at The Contemporary Dayton. Eventually they made me an intern and then a year later I was hired on part-time. Now I’m a full time employee and the curatorial assistant. The Co is a great organization. I’ve learned a lot there.”

Artist of the Week: Stephanie Beiser

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ARTIST OF THE WEEK Stephanie Beiser in her studio.
I wanted to meet Stephanie after seeing her work at the Dayton Art Museum’s store and at the Contemporary Dayton’s CoSHOP. Then I heard about her latest project and knew I should visit her studio right away.
Stephanie made 500 bowls for the Empty Bowls event on Thursday, February 23 benefiting House of Bread To get tickets for this event, and one of Stephanie’s bowls, go to https://houseofbread.org/
Although her pottery is amazing, Stephanie tells me she thinks of herself as more of a teacher than a potter.
“When I first came to Dayton I taught at Sinclair and then at Stivers School for the Arts” she told me. “Now I teach pottery at Edison State Community College and for the last six years I also teach at the University of Dayton.”
“I also work part-time at Cornell Studio Supply. That’s sort of part of my own continuing education in ceramic arts because Cornell brings in some of the country’s best ceramic artists for workshops. That gives me the chance to learn new techniques or just to get inspired by the best people in the field.”

Dayton at Work and Play: La Michoacana Mexican Market #5

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La Michoacana Mexican Market #5 is the most colorful of the three international markets in Old North Dayton. In fact it’s Dayton’s most colorful grocery, and one that everyone should visit. It’s at 748 Troy Street, and is the only Dayton location for an Ohio chain of stores that bills itself as “a little piece of Mexico in Ohio.”
Each of the chain’s 10 locations has a grocery store, a meat market, and a restaurant. The restaurant is one of my favorite lunch spots.
The name of the store comes from Michoacan, one of Mexico’s 31 states. Farmers there are the world’s largest producers of avocados.

 

Check out Bill Franz’s other international market stories:

Umoja East & Central African Market 

U.S. International Foods