Dayton937

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

Bill Franz

Artist of the Week: Heather Jones

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Heather Jones of Heather Jones Studio working in her Front Street Studio. Front Street is in Dayton’s Springfield neighborhood.

As she worked, Heather told me how her current body of work came about. “I wrote a book called Quilt Local. I really like how the book turned out, but by late 2014 when the book was finished, I was burned out on quilting. I had to do something else for a while.”

“I tried painting, but didn’t find it satisfying. So I started doing these sewn works which are hung on the wall like a painting. They’ve been well received, both in the galleries that show my work and in various exhibitions.”

“I start with strips of cloth that I stick on the flannel wall. When I’m happy with how two of the pieces look side by side I iron them and sew them together. Then I place them back on the flannel wall and try to decide which piece of cloth should be added next. When I’m done sewing I put the finished cloth piece onto a structure so it can be hung. As I stretch the cloth some of lines that had looked straight become slightly curved.”

This is a busy month for Heather. She’s in three exhibitions. One is in Cincinnati and has an opening Thursday night from 6 to 9 pm at 1628 LTD (11 Garfield Place). It’s called “Just to be alive – an exhibition of the contemporary female artist.” Twenty artists are included in the show, including Mychaelyn Michalec, Artist.

It was obvious that Heather didn’t mind being photographed as she worked. When I mentioned that she explained that she’s done quite a few workshops and interviews on TV. So I googled her and found a great interview on Youtube on The Quilt Show. The interview referred to Heather as a modern quilter, teacher, author, and Martha Stewart American Made finalist. Check it out at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KMXUkseqkI

Dayton at Work and Play: Fazl-i-Umar Mosque

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The Fazl-i-Umar Mosque in Dayton’s Miami Chapel neighborhood.

This is one of Dayton’s most historic houses of worship. It is Ohio’s first mosque and the first mosque built in the United States by African American converts to Islam. The property was donated to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in 1949.

Although they are one of the smaller Muslim sects, Ahmadiyya Muslims are well known for their charitable work. When I visited the mosque one day I met a man who wore a baseball cap with the name Humanity First. That’s their agency that does a lot of disaster relief work. The Ahmadiyya Muslims have also built more than 30 hospitals around the world.

Every Wednesday at 6:30 pm the mosque has something it calls “Coffee, Cake & True Islam.” Everyone is welcome, and you can ask questions about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or about Islam in general. For more information, call them at (937) 901-2408.

Fazl-i-Umar Mosque
637 Randolph St
Dayton, Ohio 45417

 

Dars ul Quran after Fajr Prayer Daily

Wednesdays Cofee and Cake at 06:30 PM (Open for Public)

First Adhan for Jummah prayer:  01:30 pm

Artist of the Week: Tess Little

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ARTIST OF THE WEEK Tess Little working in her Fairborn studio.

Actually, Tess doesn’t have a Fairborn studio. She has two. One is a clay studio in a dairy barn that is over 150 years old. When I visited, two of her students were working there. Tess was working in her other studio, where she makes metal sculptures.

“This piece is called Healing Circle” she told me. “It was one of my earlier bronzes – done around 2005. We were moving it and two of the welds gave way so are repairing it today.”

Tess worked alongside her husband Jim. “Now that Jim is retired he helps me a lot. He does a lot of my set-up work. Jim was in the tool and die business, so that’s something he does really well.”

Tess’s home is filled with art, both hers and that of others. “There would be a lot more to show you, but so much is away right now. I have some large pieces rented in Chicago. Renting sculptures is becoming more popular. A location rents the piece for a year or two. Then you bring it home or take it to another site that wants to rent it. I also have a lot of work in two Dayton galleries, but you can see those pieces on Thursday at a progressive reception.”

The reception of “The Journey: Work by Bing Davis and Tess Little” starts today from 4:30 to 6 pm at the Burnell Roberts gallery at Sinclair and then continues from 6-8 pm at The Contemporary Dayton formerly Dayton Visual Arts Center (118 N Jefferson) . Both receptions are free and open to the public. The exhibitions are part of REACH across Dayton, which Tess Little and Bing Davis founded 27 years ago.

Artist of the Week: Erin Smith-Glenn

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ARTIST OF THE WEEK Erin Smith-Glenn working in the studio where she teaches at Central State University.

“I was once a college student working in this same studio,” she told me. “When I graduated from Central State l went to the University of Cincinnati to get a Masters in Fine Arts. I also studied in Italy, which was a wonderful experience. Now I am back in the same place but the roles are reversed. I’m doing the teaching and this summer I will be taking students to Italy.”

“I’m working in pastel chalk here, which I love. I often do portraits, but lately I have been obsessed with flowers. Maybe it has to do with the weather.”

I met Erin last November when she was in Art Off, the K12 Gallery and TEJAS fundraiser. After meeting her I started to see her work everywhere. You can do the same. You can see her work four times over the next four days.

Tonight Erin has a reception of her show at the Fifth Third Center from 5 to 7 pm. A jazz saxophone player will add some atmosphere to that event.

Tomorrow night, First Friday, she is showing her work at the studio of Mikee Michelle Huber (903 North Keowee).

Saturday you could see one of Erin’s pieces at the Dayton Society of Artists – DSA. She has a piece in their show about historic African American churches of Southwest Ohio.

Sunday Erin will be one of the panelists at the Dayton International Peace Museum “Women Strong Artists Panel” from 3 to 4:30 pm

Dayton at Work and Play: Wholly Grounds

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Visited South Park’s newest business recently –Wholly Grounds and
had a great cup of coffee and some excellent baked goods.

Wholly Grounds bills itself as a coffee house and a tea room, so I asked co-founder Amy about her tea. “I like a cup of tea instead of coffee sometimes myself,” she told me. “We try to have a broad selection of different teas, and if we don’t have something our customers are asking for, we get it.”

I also met Amy’s partner Tony, and told him how much I liked the atmosphere of the new coffee shop. “You should have seen it before,” he said. “The walls were painted bright orange. But painting the walls was easy. The hard part was the floor. I had to remove three levels of flooring before I got to the original wood floor. Repairing that and then refinishing was a chore.”

Tony also told me that he was planning to get a liquor license so he could offer Irish coffee to his patrons.

 

Wholly Grounds
825 Wayne Avenue
Dayton, OH 45410

(937) 349-5807

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Mon – Fri 6am – 6pm

Sat & Sun 7:30am – 5pm 

It is our mission to contribute to a more healthy, balanced, and sustainable life through good food and drink, and the arts.  We will strive to use organic, ethically produced and socially just ingredients, as price and availability allow.

 

Dayton At Work and Play: Wilson Football Factory

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The footballs used in the Super Bowl have the names of the two competing teams, so they couldn’t be made until late yesterday. Like all NFL footballs, they are made in the Wilson plant in Ada, Ohio. A work crew showed up there yesterday during halftime of the game between the Patriots and the Chiefs. They had some pizza and watched the rest of the game. Then when they knew who would be in the Super Bowl they started making footballs.

They worked all night, and early this morning they were replaced by a new crew. Sometime this afternoon they will send 108 footballs to the Los Angeles Rams and another 108 to the New England Patriots.

Wilson Football Factory Tour

217 N. Liberty St., Ada, OH

Hours:Tours must be booked in advance.
Phone:419-634-9901
Admission:Adults $5.

All footballs used in the NFL and NCAA are produced in this little factory in Ada. The tour is very interesting and thorough. You get a souvenir football-shaped piece of pebbled leather, and there is a “gift shop” bin of footballs at the end of the tour if you’d like to take one home. The amount of hard work, done by hand from start to finish, is amazing. Tours are given by actual factory employees and there’s lots of interaction.

 

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Brother John Lemker

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ARTIST OF THE WEEK Brother John Lemker 

with one of his photos currently being exhibited at Gallery St. John (4400 Shakertown Road in Beavercreek).

I have been a fan of Brother Lemker’s work for years. He taught a photography course for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute a few years ago.
I tried to take that course but it was closed out by the time I applied. I am similarly late in telling you about Brother Lemker’s exhibition.
The last time it’s open to the public is Sunday from noon to 3 pm. If the weather isn’t too bad that day you should check it out.
If that doesn’t work just wait a year and he’ll have another show at that gallery.

I asked Brother Lemker to pose with a photo I love called “Reeds and Reflections.” It looks more like an abstract painting than a photograph.

“That photo sort of put me on the map,” he told me. “I submitted it to the Sierra Club and they included it in their calendar. I must have gotten
100 letters about that photo, and a lot of requests to use it in other publications. I took the photo at a small lake where I was camping. That’s what
I used to do when I was younger. I would camp at a spot and wait until the conditions were perfect for a photo. Now that I’m 88 I don’t camp like I did,
but this show includes a lot of nature photography I’ve done right here in Dayton.”

“Five artists, each a Marianist Brother, share this gallery. We each have one exhibition here every year.
So as soon as this show closes I will start work on next year’s exhibition.”

Dayton At Work And Play: The Secret Chamber House of Oddities and Artwork

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Cherish Harrell Brooks loved Foy’s Halloween and Variety Store in Fairborn as she was growing up. Now she has her own spooky store in Fairborn, The Secret Chamber House of Oddities And Artwork.

Cherish and her husband have traveled to horror conventions around the country. They started selling at the annual Horrorhound convention in Columbus for a few years before opening their own shop.

Looking around the store, I saw a dead bat mounted and framed, a sideshow poster about a Human Blockhead, skulls from various animals and many other unusual items. “I want people to walk in here and spend an hour looking at odd things,” Cherish told me.

As we talked, Cherish was working on a piece of art that will be sold in the store. I also saw a lot of art by Tiffany Clark, who was recently named Best Local Artist by Dayton.com

If you’re looking for a shopping experience that is out of the ordinary, try a visit to The Secret Chamber of Oddities and Artwork.

The Secret Chamber House of Oddities and Artwork

17 West Main St.
Fairborn, OH 45424

(937) 312-5885

Business Hours:
Wed – Sat noon – 6pm

 

Dayton at Work and Play: Surjit SIngh Mattu

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Surjit Singh Mattu plays a part in one of our holiday traditions. When our daughters and their families come back to Dayton they must have at least one meal from his restaurant, Amar India (2751 Miamisburg Centerville Road). Amar was a favorite of our daughters when they were young. They’ve eaten in many other Indian restaurants since leaving home, but when they are in Dayton they must return to Amar.

During my last visit to the restaurant I learned a little about Mr. Mattu. He came to Dayton in 1984. He chose Dayton because his brother-in-law was teaching at U.D. and he wanted to be close to family.

 

When he first came to the U.S. from India, Mr. Mattu was an electrician. But he started to work in restaurants on the side and liked it. He opened Amar India in 1991 and now also owns two other Indian restaurants in Dayton – one in Beavercreek and one on Miller Lane, north of downtown.

On the wall at Amer India there is a newspaper article about Mr. Mattu. I love what he said when the newspaper asked what advice he would give to other immigrant business owners.

“You must adapt and embrace the culture you are in now. Make it better by incorporating the culture you brought in. That’s the real America. America is a better and prosperous nation because different cultures created an awesome society.”

Amar India

At Amar India Restaurant, we believe that a buffet is often the best way to get acquainted with a new cuisine, as compared to going for the a la carte option. Our buffet services are available 7 days a week.

2751 Miamisburg Centerville Rd.
Dayton, Ohio 45459

(937) 439-9005

Amar India North Restaurant

7070 Miller Ln
Dayton, OH 45414
Phone: 937-387-6505

Hours:

Monday to Thursday
Lunch: 11:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Dinner: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Friday and Saturday
11:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Also visit their sister restaurant:

Jeet India

2750 North Fairfield Road
Beavercreek, OH 45431
[Across from Fairfield Commons Mall, next to Chilli’s]
 937-431-8881

Dayton At Work and Play: Brett Smith

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I met Brett Smith when I stopped by Branch & Bone Artisan Ales (905 Wayne). Brett is the founder and head brewer. I had never visited Branch and Bone before, but a lot of other people have already found this brewer that opened in June. I arrived just fifteen minutes after they opened one day and the place was already packed.

I visited to try a new beer called Pretzel Queen, which was made in partnership with Smales Pretzel Bakery. “I wanted to make a Kvass style beer,” Brett told me. “Traditionally, in Central Europe, that type of beer is made with rye bread. We made this one with rye malt and the famous Smales pretzel.”

Behind Brett you can see 12 taps. Each holds a different beer brewed at Branch and Bone. The offerings change regularly, Brett told me, as he tries new beers. My favorite beer name the day I visited was “Last Week’s Was Better.”

Don’t Miss Pecha Kucha Tonight!

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PechaKucha Dayton tonight at 7 pm at The Brightside Music & Event Venue (905 East Third). PechaKucha 20×20 is a fast moving presentation format where you show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and the speaker needs to keep up. There are 8 presenters sharing their ideas. All of the speakers look like they will be interesting, but if one presenter doesn’t interest you, relax. That presentation will be over in less than 7 minutes.

PechaKucha is held 4 times a year in Dayton. It moves around town to get the audience familiar with lots of venues. Tonight’s location, the Brightside, is a business venture of artist Hamilton Dixon and his wife entrepreneur Carli Ricciardi Dixon who is the final speaker tonight.

This photo shows Carli working in her business Bloombeads by freezeframe, the country’s leading floral preservation company. They can turn the flowers from a wedding ceremony into lasting art or jewelry.

Image may contain: 1 person, indoor

Dayton at Work and Play: Mary Lou Guizzo

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A sketch of Oakwood’s Mary Lou Guizzo placed in one of her crossword puzzles. The sketch was drawn by Ben Kirchner as part of a New York Times article profiling Mary Lou, who regularly has her puzzles published in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times.

My wife and I appreciate the cleverness of crossword constructors because we’ve started solving crosswords. We linger over breakfast (one of the great joys of retirement) and work on difficult puzzles that take us several days to complete.

We have our own rules. It’s illegal to find answers using the internet, but asking friends is fine. When family calls or when friends visit we might ask if they know the French word for autumn or the name of the Star Wars character who named Darth Vader.

We would probably solve our puzzles faster if we started calling Mary Lou Guizzo.

Artist of the Week: Jennifer Taylor

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 Jennifer Taylor at K12 Gallery and TEJAS.

Jennifer is a teacher and administrator in addition to being an artist herself. Behind her you can see the work of some of her elementary school students. Jennifer recently became project manager of the HAALO program, where at-risk teens participate in projects like painting murals.

Jennifer is also a photographer, so she’ll be taking photos for K12 and posting them on social media. When she’s not working Jennifer photographs Dayton’s music scene. You can see some of her work on her facebook page and on instagram @jennifertaylor.photographer

Jennifer also directed a documentary I would love to see. It’s called “The Fall League” and it’s about Dayton’s senior slow pitch softball leagues. That may seem far removed from her work with music, but I understand that music is an important part of the film.

 

Artist of the Week: Douglas R. Fiely

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I’ve admired Doug’s work for years, and I own one of his prints. Doug told me that he has a degree in printmaking but now does both painting and printmaking. He taught art at the high school level, and then at Defiance College, before retiring from teaching and moving to Dayton.

Doug’s paintings somehow turn seemingly simple drawings of everyday things into interesting art. “My inspiration comes from working with figures in different variations,” said Doug. “I raised chickens for many years, and they appeared in many of my paintings. I grew up near Grand Lake St. Marys so fish and water scenes are often in my work. I’m fascinated by the shapes, the contrasts and dissonance of things. I have a sort of modernistic, geometric style.”

When I visited Doug he was working on a few paintings in different stages, so I got some understanding for his overall process. He worked on one piece where the outlines of two fish were already drawn on the canvas in pencil. I watched him apply modeling paste over his sketch and then smooth it out with a piece of wood. Then he used a pencil to cut through the modeling paste in several places. “When I stain this piece” he explained “the stain will be darker along those lines.”

I also watched Doug work on two pieces that had already been stained and then painted. As he put the finishing touches on these pieces, he added dark lines that somehow made the painting seem more like a print.

To see if you like his work as much as I do, you can look at one of Doug Fiely’s engravings in the Dayton Kyoto print exchange now at Sinclair’s Triangle Gallery and you can see some of his paintings tonight at 6 PM. Mikee Michelle Huber Huber is opening her new studio at 903 N Keowee and Doug is one of the guests artists who will have work on display.

Artist of the Week: Megan Fiely

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Megan Fiely moved back to her home state of Ohio a little over a year ago, after living in Colorado and Kansas. She lives in Dayton’s South Park neighborhood and shares a studio in the Old North Dayton neighborhood.

Megan was nice enough to let me hang out and watch her paint for awhile. When I started watching this canvas was almost completely white, with some texture made from modeling paste. As I watched her paint I could start to see one of her colorful abstracts emerge.

You can see Megan painting tonight, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center. The Dayton Philharmonic is playing three concerts that include the Final Movement from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Before the concert the audience will see Megan and two other artists creating their own pictures.

“I don’t mind painting while people watch,” Megan told me. “I did that as part of Art in the City in August, and also at Crane Studios Market in June. In November I will be painting alongside a dozen other artists at the Art Off fundraiser for K12 Gallery and TEJAS, In just two hours we will each create a finished painting.”

“My love of music is something that influences my art. There’s a musical element in most of my work, so painting before performances by the Dayton Philharmonic is great.”

Museum Day Offers Free Admission Saturday

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Saturday is Museum Day, a time when people are admitted free to participating museums across the country hosted by Smithsonian magazine. Participating museums and cultural institutions across the country provide free entry to anyone presenting a Museum Day ticket. The Museum Day ticket provides free admission for two people on Saturday, September 22, 2018

There are several participating museums in the Miami Valley, including:

Springfield Museum of Art (Ohio) (shown above)

Since 1946, the Springfield Museum of Art in Springfield, OH has served the region as a premier destination for the promotion, preservation, study, and appreciation of historical and contemporary American artwork.

107 Cliff Park Rd
Springfield, Ohio 45504

Museum Hours:

Wednesday-Saturday, 9am-5pm
Sundays 12:30-4:30pm
Closed Monday and Tuesday

 

 Garst Museum 

The Garst Museum contains exhibits about Annie Oakley, Lowell Thomas, Native American culture, local military activities, pioneer life and prehistory. There is also a display of two streets of old village shops. America is presented through a wide range of artifacts. There is a Treaty room with over 1,000 artifacts, including the Treaty of Green Ville. The Lowell Thomas Birthplace was moved to the museum grounds and is open on weekends in the summer. The museum also features a genealogy library operated by the Darke County Genealogical Society and a gift shop

2o5 N Broadway St.
Greenville, OH 45331

Tues – Sat 10am – 4pm
Sun 1pm – 4pm

Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum

 Dedicated to the preservation of Bradford, Ohio’s railroad heritage, the railroad was once a significant part of Bradford’s economy, employing many who manned the trains, worked in the switching yards and in the roundhouse where steam locomotives were kept and serviced between runs.

The museum has restored Bradford’s former Pennsylvania Railroad BF interlocking tower and opened a museum in the former bank building. The museum contains photos and displays that will allow the visitor to journey through Bradford’s railroad history.

200 N Miami Ave
Bradford, Ohio
Hours:
Saturdays 10am-3pm  April through October
Or by appointment: Call  937-552-2196

 

For your free tickets, go to https://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/museum-day-2018/