CityScene March 2011

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BalletMet Upclose presented by BalletMet March 11-26

Columbus Symphony Orchestra’s March and April performances, including Verdi Requiem on March 13 and Bolero! on March 27

Tickets to see Kobie Boykins, an engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts in New Albany March 18

Tickets to see Matt and Ted Lee at New Albany’s McCoy Center on April 10

The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt and Ted Lee

7 Deadly Sins presented by BalletMet and Shadowbox Live April 29-May 7 Westerville Symphony Masterworks Series

The Wall Street Journal’s Complete Retirement Guidebook by Glenn Ruffenach and Kelly Greene

Ageless Memory: Simple Secrets for Keeping Your Brain Young by Harry Lorayne

Tickets to Les Misérables at the Ohio Theatre March 15-20 Facebook

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Kathleen K. Gill President

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Christa Smothers Creative Director

Garth Bishop Editor

Gail Martineau Assistant Editor

Duane St. Clair

Contributing Editor

Lauren Emond, Phil Heit, Michael McEwan, Luke Robson, Rick Schanz

Contributing Writers

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BalletMet and Shadowbox put the emotional impact of sin on display

By Garth Bishop

Whether from the hard-rocking soundtrack or the emotion-packed dancing, “intensity” is the name of the game for the upcoming production from BalletMet and Shadowbox.

Each of the seven deadly sins we all know and love – gluttony, greed, sloth, lust, pride, wrath and envy – will be represented by a separate piece.

BalletMet has worked in the past with groups such as the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra to provide music for its performances, but this is the first time Shadowbox – and its house band, BillWho? – have provided the sounds to BalletMet’s visuals. That different sound accounts for one of the biggest departures 7 Deadly Sins takes from what BalletMet typically produces, says BalletMet Artistic Director Gerard Charles.

The show will run from April 29 through May 7 at the Riffe Center’s Capitol Theatre.

7 Deadly Sins

Sins

The Choreography

7 Deadly Sins

April 29-May 7, 2011

Common design, aesthetics and musical styles tie together the seven segments that make up the production, but the performance styles differ greatly from piece to piece – the result of each of the seven being helmed by a different choreographer. Having a different choreographer for each sin just seemed to be the approach that made the most sense, Charles says. Each choreographer is brought in for just one week to put his or her piece together, which means the dancers have to get into the right frame of mind very quickly as the choreographer lays out his or her expectations.

www.balletmet.org

In addition to feeling the impact of each piece, all of the dancers have had their motivation bolstered by the piece’s originality – BalletMet does a lot of original work, but it’s always a good feeling for performers when they get to be the person who originates a role, says Charles.

“Whenever you create a new work, there’s always a lot of buy-in with the dancers,” he says.

Perhaps the most jarring of the sins to be displayed is “Wrath.” Choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie in a style very unlike what he typically creates, “Wrath” combines strong emotions and a very physical style of dance. For it, Moultrie put the dancers through exercises in personal development, working hard to get them to the dark place they need to be to represent the sin of “Wrath,” Charles says.

“When you see the dancers rehearse this piece, they are very drained mentally as well as physically,” Charles says. “It’s not a place that you normally see dancers going to.”

The result is a piece that audience members will definitely be able to feel, no matter how much of it they understand or can relate to, Charles says.

Other sins take their own directions. Amy Siewert’s “Envy” puts two couples on opposite sides of an onstage wall, both wondering whether the other couple has things better. Ma Cong’s “Pride” is a fluid, more uplifting piece, a stark contrast to the dark “Wrath” and the unhappy “Envy.” Gina Patterson’s “Lust” is primarily a narrative piece focusing on the relationship between two characters.

The Music

The different choreographers tell Shadowbox Artistic Director Stev Guyer what

Capitol Theatre at the Riffe Center

they have in mind, and it’s then Shadowbox’s responsibility to come up with the appropriate music, says Shadowbox General Manager Katy Psenicka. The music is a combination of songs written by Shadowbox and rock ‘n roll reinterpretations of classical works.

“You’ll hear a portion of the original music, and then a very noticeable riff from a classical piece you know, like a Beethoven,” Psenicka says.

BalletMet’s choreographers tend to have “independent streaks,” Charles says, and likely exert stronger influence over Shadowbox’s music than the troupe would have expected. But communication has been good, and what Shadowbox has come up with thus far has been impressive, he says.

Suiting a song to a specific sin is an interesting exercise for the troupe, whether it’s the angry, driving sound of “Wrath” or the slower, more sensual tone of “Lust.” Though the music can vary widely from scene to scene, it’s all rock ‘n roll – “There’s no way around that,” Psenicka says – and it’s often edgy, just as the dancing is.

“It’s sexy, it’s dark, it’s heavy at points (and) there are some playful qualities to it where it’s appropriate,” she says. cs

Garth Bishop is editor of CityScene Magazine.

Sinful Thoughts

Dancer Adrienne Benz will appear in at least “Envy,” “Wrath” and “Pride.” Rehearsing for each has been strenuous, she says; even though the styles are very different, the feeling each sin can evoke in the dancer and in the audience can take them to “a really dark place.”

Moultrie’s efforts to prepare the dancers for “Wrath” rehearsals were extreme, but effective, Benz says – an example being an exercise where each dancer was videorecorded in a padded-cell situation.

“One at a time, he videoed us, and we just went crazy,” she says. “Our anger boiled up, and it was very intense.”

With so little time between different rehearsals, dancers had to get into the “Wrath” mindset quickly, which meant overcoming any anxiety over who might be watching or listening to them as they went through very physical rehearsals. Another technique choreographer Darrell Darrell Moultrie used was evoking the dancers’ memories of the times when they committed the sin they were to portray.

“I’m not an angry person, and my life is pretty wonderful, but (I take) just a moment or a time in my life when I was very, very angry and use that to motivate myself,” Benz says.

For “Pride,” by contrast, choreographer Ma Cong deliberately kept the dancers from going to too dark a place, envisioning instead an energetic and fast expression of pride. “Pride” will be a nice, lighter touch in an evening of performances that includes things like “Wrath,” Benz says.

“Envy’s” darkness is subtler, Benz says, giving the audience a look at two couples jealous of each other’s lot in life.

“We do very similar steps simultaneously, but they’re different,” she says. “For example, I want to stay with my significant other, and the other woman wants to leave hers, so I would be hugging my significant other, but the woman on the other side (of the stage) would be trying to get away from her significant other.”

The feeling each sin can evoke in the dancer and in the audience can take them to ”a really dark place.”

Adrienne Benz

with Dr. Phil Heit

A Farmiliar Spring Activity

Farmers’ markets add spice to healthful shopping

Several times a year, I visit my daughters and their families in San Francisco. As one can imagine, the places to visit and the activities in which one can partake are countless, not to mention unique to the Bay Area.

Among the most enjoyable experiences during my visits are my frequent escapades to the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market. This farmers’ market is renowned throughout the country, with 25,000 shoppers, including some of the country’s best-known chefs, visiting each week to peruse the plethora of artisan foods as well as to stock up on fresh and unique fruits and vegetables that can delight the most discerning culinary palate.

Take note, central Ohio! We, too, have access to a variety of farmers’ markets that offer a selection of high-quality fruits, vegetables, baked goods and so much more, sans the purchase of a round-trip airline ticket to a destination more than 2,000 air miles away.

Let me say emphatically, I love farmers’ markets. And my spring ritual dictates that I visit any number of farmers’ markets to stock up on the many offerings that have been absent during those gray and cold winter months.

For me, farmers’ markets and good health go hand-in-hand. A farmers’ market is one of the best places to find healthful, fresh foods. Locally grown produce found at farmers’ markets may contain more valuable nutrients than produce that is shipped over long distances. Since most produce in the United States travels at least 1,500 miles, the varieties sold in supermarkets

are selected and bred to be more durable when crossing the country than for taste or nutritional value.

Contrast this with the produce available at a farmers’ market that may have been transported from a nearby garden. Further, produce at farmers’ markets may have been picked one day before it is available for purchase. While research on the nutritional advantages of local foods versus foods purchased at supermarkets is mixed, one thing is certain: The produce at farmers’ markets is fresh, and fresh foods taste good.

Farmers’ Market Fact Sheet

Visiting a farmers’ market is unlike shopping for food in a supermarket. Here are some tips to help enhance your experience.

Leave your American Express at home. Cash is king – and, for that matter, the only option. Farmers do not appear with a wireless machine through which you can just swipe that rectangular piece of plastic to conclude a purchase. Bring an adequate supply of cash. Smaller denominations are best, as often, farmers cannot break large bills.

Supply your own reusable bags. You’re not going to be asked “paper or plastic” upon completing your purchase. Often, bags are not supplied. Sturdy bags – preferably those canvas or cloth recyclable bags sold in supermarkets – are best to bring. Produce can be heavy, and a sturdy bag will help secure your goods.

No shopping list, please. Yes, lists are great – if you’re shopping at your local supermarket. But a farmers’ market is a place where the choices are unusual and interesting. When you go to a supermarket, you purchase foods so you can prepare a specific meal. But at a farmers’ market, you might find some unique products around which a meal will be planned. With products changing weekly, you never know what you may find that will pique your imagination.

Be an early bird. Too often, shoppers arrive at a farmers’ market only to find that many items are sold out or picked over. Smart shoppers arrive early so they can find the best selections. It is important to note that the lines are shorter early in the

Activity

morning than they are later in the day. Who wants to spend time waiting in line?

Don’t be in a rush. When I go shopping in a supermarket, I have no patience. I want to get what I need and escape. But at a farmers’ market, I enjoy spending time visiting the different stands. I enjoy speaking with the different vendors and asking many questions. You will find that the vendors at farmers’ markets are more than willing to help answer any queries you may have. After all, the producer of the goods knows everything about the items for sale. Have any pesticides been used? When were the items picked? Can I taste a sample? What kinds of meals can I prepare with this particular item? You might be surprised at the knowledge of the vendor.

Experiment. Want to try some squash blossoms? How about pea shoots or chive blossoms? Many products, such as the aforementioned, can be too perishable and therefore will be found at a farmers’ market rather than a supermarket. And if you are not sure what the product is, just ask the vendor, and he or she will provide information on how to prepare it, if not have a recipe to hand to you.

When you think about a farmers’ market, reflect upon your health. If you purchase a rainbow of colors present among the many fruits and vegetables available, you will help protect yourself against disease. In this case, “shop ‘til you drop” – or put another way, “shop to your heart’s content.” cs

Cancer Care for the WHOLE

Dr. Philip Heit is Professor Emeritus of Physical Activity and Educational Services at The Ohio State University.

Irish Taste Buds Are Smiling

Community members share their favorite St. Patty’s meals

By Rick Schanz

Given leprechauns’ well-known affinity for pots of gold and the luck attributed to the Irish, it’s easy to understand how the term potluck came to refer to a meal in which participating people each bring a dish to share.

Whether dining for one or making a meal for many, Skelly the Leprechaun and Molly Byrne, the president of the Shamrock Club of Columbus, have food suggestions to make this St. Patrick’s Day a scrumptious Irish holiday.

Skelly the Leprechaun

By day, and without his burnt-red beard and green garb, Skelly is known by the name of Thom Gall. Though Gall, a media producer and actor, admits he is big for a leprechaun – “but small for a giant” –Skelly’s fluidity with puns and Irish accent caught the attention of the Dublin Convention and Visitors Bureau’s employees.

Skelly is now a fixture at the Dublin Irish Festival; his first appearance, as simply “the Leprechaun,” was at the thirdannual festival in 1990. Indian Springs Elementary School won a competition among Columbus-area schools to name the leprechaun the following year.

Gall says “Skelly” is Gallic for “storyteller.” The moniker seems to fit when he spends 15 minutes explaining the history of the City of Dublin, which “became a village in 1810, inhabited mostly by the Pennsylvania Dutch,” he says with an ironic smile.

Unfortunately, Gall is not Irish – he is French and German – but he still has taste buds for Irish foods.

“I like the traditional stuff: bangers (sausage), soda bread, corned beef, scones,

good ale and a shot of Irish whiskey to wash it all down,” Skelly says.

But don’t forget the vegetables: “I always say, as a leprechaun, anything green is good for me,” he adds.

Skelly says restaurants in and around Dublin often add Irish foods and drink to their menus around St. Patrick’s Day.

At the Shamrock

Shamrock Club President

Skelly the Leprechaun

The club puts on the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Columbus, when local politicians, floats, music, food and Irish dancers converge to travel from Nationwide Boulevard to Veterans Memorial on West Broad Street.

Molly Byrne, president of the club, says vendors will offer traditional, “comfort” Irish food, including corned beef and cabbage.

“Personally, I like Irish stew with potatoes, carrots and gravy, with a little crust on top,” she says. “Pastries are really good, too.”

To drink, Byrne prefers Guinness, the popular Irish dry stout with origins in Dublin, Ireland.

“Oh, it’s much better from the tap. I don’t think I can drink it from the can,” she says, adding that the club’s pub has Guinness on tap.

After a party at Veterans Memorial in the afternoon on St. Patrick’s Day, the club will have its own party at the pub at 60 W. Castle Rd. The public is invited to the party, which will feature a pipe and drum band, dancers and good drink.

Don’t expect to see any green beer though, Byrne says – “We’re not really a green beer crowd.”

One person who will be absent from the parade and Shamrock Club events is

Skelly. The club has its own leprechaun: Brian Byrne, Molly’s brother-in-law.

“There’s kind of a friendly rivalry,” she says.

Brian’s father served as the club’s official leprechaun prior to Brian being enlisted for

St. Patrick's Day Events

The Shamrock Club sponsors the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17. It steps off at 11:45 a.m. at Nationwide and John C. McConnell boulevards.

March 12 is the date of Dublin’s parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Metro Place North.

Shamrock Club of Columbus President Molly Byrne, seen here with club Vice President Patrick Fallon (left) and club Secretary John Connor.

the job. Neither has an official leprechaun name as Skelly does.

“(Brian) learned from (his father) and has the leprechaun lineage,” Molly says.

Don’t expect the rivalry to heat up too much, though, as Skelly claims he is “a lover, not a fighter.”

The food and entertainment help make St. Patrick’s Day a highly anticipated time of year in central Ohio.

“(St. Patrick’s Day) is a reunion of known and loved people,” Molly says. “It’s a lot of fun, (it’s) upbeat and everyone is happy.” cs

Irish Old School

St. Patrick’s Day should not be without a wee bit of wit and wisdom, along with a lot of food and good ale.

The Ohio Historical Society’s From the Pubs of Ireland candlelight dinner, on March 11 and 12, offers a chance for Irishmen, Irishwomen and those without an ounce of Irish blood in them to enjoy the holiday, says Susan Brouillette, the society’s public program manager.

Brouillette has been programming the event for about a decade, and each year it has been a success, she says – meaning “by the end of the evening, attendees are singing along to Irish melodies.”

To get the night started, a whiskerlicking meal will be served. The menu includes Irish ale, cheese soup with caramelized onion and bacon, salad with dill dressing, beef stew with vegetables, and roasted red potatoes, Brouillette says.

Brouillette says the chefs have not decided on a dessert yet, but promised something delicious.

After dinner, the Ohio Village Singers will sing Irish songs, mostly from the 19th century, and the tavern will be open, she says.

“It’s just a great evening with history, humor, a meal and music, all in the ambiance of the Ohio Village,” Brouillette says.

The celebration is scheduled from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., and reservations are required by March 7. The cost is $50 for Ohio Historical Society members and $60 for nonmembers. More details, including information on registration for the event, can be obtained by calling 800-686-6124.

Rick Schanz is a contributing writer for CityScene Magazine

Random Acts of Culture

Flash mobs bring art to the masses

By Gail Martineau

Imagine browsing for a book at the Columbus Metropolitan Library’s main branch and having the person next to you spontaneously break into song.

It happened to hundreds of patrons at the library one Saturday in November.

The Greater Columbus Arts Council, in partnership with the library and WOSU Media, teamed up to present a multigen-

erational flash mob – a group of people who assemble suddenly to perform a unified act – that performed a choreographed dance to The Who’s My Generation in the atrium of the Grant Avenue library.

Cindy Gaillard, executive producer for arts and culture with WOSU Media, filmed the event, which is available for viewing on GCAC’s YouTube page.

She says it was “electrifying” to watch the performance and see how the audience fed off of the excitement.

“The crowd was just tingling with excitement,” she says. “It was interesting because this was a different flash mob. Usually, it’s

young adults, but this was an intergenerational thing.”

Gaillard is right. Flash mobs, which have become popular in the past few years thanks to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, often originate through a single idea shared on one of these networks. After many of the events, videos go viral on websites like YouTube.

A flash mob in Washington, D.C., in December 2009 made national news after hundreds of people showed up for a snowball fight, which resulted in a police detective in plain clothes pulling a gun on the crowd.

More recently, though, organizations like the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Greater Columbus Arts Council and even the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce have turned the flash mob concept into art.

Dennis Scholl, vice president for the arts at the Knight Foundation, began a program called “Random Acts of Culture” last spring.

The foundation that operates in eight cities throughout the U.S. – including Akron – held its first arts-based flash mob in Miami, Fla., in May at the community’s Government Center. A string quartet performed outside the building.

“We felt like people really cared about the classics, but maybe their lives have all

Performers from the Opera Company of Philadelphia put on an impromptu performance of Carmen’s Toreador at a downtown Philadelphia farmers’ market. Photo courtesy of Vincent Barone.

Members of the Miami Music Project play selections from West Side Story at Miami International Airport. Photo courtesy of the Knight Foundation.

changed so much that they were just getting to the symphony hall less,” Scholl says. “We felt like we could bring the artists out of the symphony hall and into the streets to remind people of how classical music and classical performances can enrich their lives.”

In each of the eight cities in which the Knight Foundation operates, it has one arts partner. Scholl says the foundation asks the arts partner in each city to pick three partners with which to work.

The arts organizations are the groups that organize and execute the Random Acts of Culture, which have ranged from ballet to opera to flamenco dancing.

The Random Acts of Culture flash mob idea has spread like wildfire around the U.S., Scholl says.

“We have gotten over 400 notifications across America that they did a random act of culture,” he says. “It has created this incredible spontaneous response. We still get e-mails and videos every day.”

A flash mob at The Ohio State University in May took the entire campus by surprise.

Jordan Davis, an OSU senior and Westerville native, choreographed a dance to the Glee version of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. More than 70 students participated in the flash mob at the new student union, and hundreds of thousands of people have viewed the event on YouTube.

For Davis, the flash mob was a way to bring the entire campus together.

“It gave everyone a shared experience to build friendships and experiences,” she says. “It’s invaluable and extremely powerful.”

She says there is nothing about a flash mob that isn’t fun.

“It has an unexpected element to it. People appreciate it and enjoy it and like to watch it.”

Davis inspired her mother, Janet TresslerDavis, to organize her own cultural flash

mob at the Westerville Music and Arts Festival in July.

Tressler-Davis, the president of the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce, helped organize about 60 people to perform a choreographed dance to Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves.

“I thought it would be fun,” she says. “The Music and Arts Festival has been around for 30-some years, and we wanted to do something different. … It’s a form of art.”

Gaillard says that the flash mob is all about cultural self-expression for the masses – even for those just watching.

“There is something to be said for performance, and we have completely put performance into a theater experience,” she says. “That is where it lives, and performance in any other culture other than western culture doesn’t live there – it lives out in the streets, out in the villages, and it comes back to this wonderful, electrifying experience to be a part of this greater experience. … It’s a cultural revolution I would like to see more of.” cs

Gail Martineau is assistant editor for CityScene Magazine.

A sizable crowd organized by the Greater Columbus Arts Council performs a choreographed dance to My Generation by The Who at the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

Florida Grand Opera singers dressed as audience members surprise fellow attendees with a performance of Toreador.

Photo courtesy of the Knight Foundation.

Ahead of its Time

Modern design trends reflected in 1990s-built house

By Duane St. Clair

photography by christa smothers

Damon and s amantha c anfield’s 13-year-old home in h ighland Lakes looks as though it was built last year – its many unique design features are in keeping with housing trends today.

i t is, he says, “an older home that doesn’t feel dated” – many design features in 1998 were “a little bit out there.” the “cutting-edge design” of the custom truberry home came from a collaboration that was “ours, theirs and a personal friend’s,” Damon says.

the final design was the result of Damon and his wife sharing their thoughts with Dave Johnson, their truberry architect, and tracy stearnes, a Kansas city, mo., architect who specializes in stadium design. it was stearnes, for example, who suggested stainless kitchen appliances and stainless backsplashes years before the metal became a homeowner must-have.

they picked a wooded lot above a small bay on a large lake in the development near Westerville in southern Delaware county. as they exchanged ideas with Johnson, they sought an exterior design for a home that would blend with three much larger neighboring houses – without being as big.

“it has a lot of angles on the roof lines” and the stone-faced home is spread some on the lot, samantha says.

“it was not intended to be an especially big house,” Damon says, estimating that the four-bedroom structure has about 4,500 square feet on three levels, including the finished portion of the lower level.

several unique features surround the island in the kitchen that adjoins a gathering area and a window wall.

For instance, the canfields disliked a suggested L-shaped granite island, insisting on a large rectangle. the upshot was an island with custom cherry cabinets under about half of the granite top while two large, hand-

Damon and Samantha Canfield

A rectangular table – supported by custom cherry cabinets and two handcrafted cherry legs – anchors the kitchen.

The sizable office offers ample desk space for a computer and related accessories.

crafted cherry legs support the other half. That allows for four stools and open legroom for those seated to eat or drink at the most popular place in the home. Hanging above it are small low-voltage lamps with shades sculpted in a modern design. They hang on twin wires that are suspended from another pair of copper wires along the ceiling.

Low-voltage lights were unheard of in homes when they were installed, Damon explains. At the time the home was built, the lights were powered by a large industrial transformer stored overhead that made a loud “pop” when it was turned on. It has since been replaced with an upgraded residential version.

A short wall separates the kitchen from a walkway to the foyer. Through an opening on another wall is a generous office with desk space for a computer, a countertop, built-in shelves for cookbooks and a generous pantry. Both the pantry and hallway walls have large opaque frosted glass windows with stainless trim that allow light in. Doors in one wall cabinet have the same glass to carry the design feature around the kitchen.

Throughout, wood doors, a custom corner storage unit tied around the twoway fireplace between the great room and kitchen, and the railing along the secondfloor walkway that overlooks the great room are done in a white-and-black painted mission finish.

The kitchen gathering area, with a window wall to the rear like the one in the adjoining great room, has comfortable upholstered seating plus a dining table for four with a view of the outdoors. To one side of the room is their screened porch that the Canfields enclosed to create a year-round

Comfortable seating and a view of the outdoors through the enclosed, screened porch are available in the kitchen gathering area.

The two-way fireplace connecting the great room, seen here, to the kitchen is done in a black-and-white painted mission finish.

Opaque frosted glass windows with stainless trim allow light into the pantry and hallway.

sitting room. With a deck of man-made, wood-like material, the screened porch wasn’t needed, Damon says.

In the half-bath off the foyer, Damon points out a “floating” sink basin that he had plumbers create in the days before they were common. It simply involved cutting a hole in a cherry top and placing a larger, round sink in it so most of the sink rises above the top.

Just off the foyer near the entry is a formal dining room, a feature Damon says he’d never build again because it’s a room that’s never used.

The second level has two bedrooms, one in a bonus room above the garage that features a multi-faceted ceiling. It’s furnished with antiques that belonged to Samantha’s aunt. The second bedroom has a window wall overlooking the wooded ravine. A large storage space could have been a bedroom, too.

In the lower level are more innovations. There’s a theater room with a huge rearprojection HD television enclosed in a cherry wall. A two-way fireplace between the theater and pool table room is enclosed in large steel plates that were left uncovered outdoors for six months before they were welded together and varnished, a concept suggested by Stearnes and unknown by local fabricators Fortin Ironworks. The floor surrounding the pool table was done

in multicolored 12-inch slate tiles. Rather than a bar, the Canfields opted for a kitchen that has a microwave rather than an oven. Behind the counter is a simply-designed white plastic wall bolted to steel studs and illuminated by a fluorescent backlight. A highlight is a large steel-legged table, also made by the fabricating company. It has a granite top and industrial casters so it can be moved throughout the room to be used for serving or informal dining, among other things, Damon says.

Window walls surround the lower level and overlook a stone patio and fire ring. A comfortable bedroom at one end affords guests the conveniences of home, Damon notes.

The home’s décor is basically modern, highlighted by paintings by Samantha’s brother, Dave Hanna of Akron. They like the style and the colors he uses. “We really like his art,” Damon says, crediting Samantha with doing most of the accessorizing and color coordinating.

The end product, he says, is “equal parts Sam’s taste and mine.” Sometimes, Stearnes “would do some designs almost ready for (Johnson) to stamp” approved for the overall plan. “They were so easy to work with. We really enjoyed it,” Samantha says of the year they spent in the designing and building process. v

Duane St. Clair is a contributing editor for CityScene Magazine.

The formal dining room is a room the owners say is so rarely used that, given the choice today, they might not choose to include it.

A theater room, a pool table room and a kitchen with a microwave rather than an oven are some of the features of the house’s lower level.

The Perfect Pub

Dublin man turns basement into an Irish getaway

By Gail Martineau

The floorboards creak as you walk across the room to the hand-carved bar to order a foaming Guinness at DV3’s Tartan #4 Pub in Dublin.

The bar, complete with a guest sign-in book, has the air of being centuries old and worn with time, as though it was brought all the way over from Ireland.

Little would you know that you actually are in the basement of a 2,700-squarefoot new home in Dublin.

pub’s official name – built the pub in 2006 as a place to gather with friends and family in the home that he and his wife Sheri have shared for the last six years.

The 14-foot-by14-foot pub is raised above the rest of his man cave and even features its own entrance to create the feel of walking into the pub off of a bustling Irish street.

Dominic Verrilli III

Dominic Verrilli III – the “DV3” of the

A wrought-iron table illuminated by hanging lamps sits against the stone façade on the pub’s porch, which also features a walk-up window so friends in the rest of his man cave – which features a media

center, a pool table, a built-in aquarium and lots of Ohio State University and golf memorabilia – can order drinks from the bar through the window.

Verrilli, vice president of Clinical Technology Inc., says the pub is something he has been dreaming about and sketching for more than 20 years.

Verrilli’s pub has the feel of walking in off of a bustling Irish street.

PhOTOGrAPhy by ChrISTA SmOTherS

“It’s probably the most relaxing setting I can possibly imagine,” he says. “They build Irish pubs very cozy. They were built as gathering places to invite people over to talk about the day.”

Verrilli – who has yet to travel to Ireland, but plans on doing so next year – says he brings his laptop down to the pub, sits in his worn-in leather chair and works almost every day.

He says he hopes building Irish pubs can be more than just a hobby in the future.

He currently is working with a friend to form a business out of his hobby when the economy turns around. He’s hoping to call it Irish Pubs for You.

“I am going to push hard for this,” Verrilli says.

Verrilli’s pub was a labor of love.

He and his father, a skilled carpenter, worked together to build the bar and its canopy, which are both stained in a dark

Verrilli’s friends have given him many of the decorations, including a collectors-edition Samuel Adams Utopias.

walnut color, as are the walls and ceiling of the pub.

Across the bar is a long scratch in the wood, the result of an accident that occurred as the bar was being assembled in Verrilli’s basement. He says his father wanted him to sand out the imperfection, but Verrilli wouldn’t have it.

“It adds character,” he says.

To accomplish the desired floor creak, Verrilli experimented with different woods. Ultimately, he opted for wooden fencing.

The walls are made of shed wood, stained in dark walnut like the rest of the room.

“The fun part was experimenting,” he says

The owner’s favorite parts of his in-home getaway are all of the trinkets friends have brought him to decorate the pub.

His favorite is a Samuel Adams Utopias, a collector’s edition mini keg of a special brew.

“It’s the first gift I got for the pub,” he says.

He also loves the wall of coasters, which he has collected over the years from different bars. On the back of each of the coasters, he writes the date, place and with whom he shared the drink.

Verrilli says there is only one thing he would change about his pub.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would have made it bigger,” he says. “I did it for economy. I would add on five or six feet or so.”

Gail Martineau is assistant editor for CityScene Magazine.

Though the pub is certainly the highlight of Verrilli’s basement, the basement has other features, including a built-in aquarium and pool table.

Fill the Glass

Uncommon drinks in common containers

By Garth Bishop

Agood drink doesn’t need to be confined to a specific type of glass. Bartenders at restaurants throughout Columbus got their creative juices flowing – or would that be pouring – and whipped up some unconventional contents to fill conventional glasses.

The India pale ale at Barley’s Brewing Company in the Short North – a citrusy, almost grapefruit-like beer boasting a 9-percent alcohol content – is served in a special beer snifter. Assistant general manager Ian Boyland came up with a name on the spot to describe this grapefruit-tinged drink served in the same type of snifter.

Indian Pale Vodka

• 2 oz. citrus vodka

• 5 oz. 100 percent grapefruit juice

• ¼ oz. sour mix

• Splash of bitters

Combine vodka and grapefruit juice with ice in beer snifter, then add sour mix and bitters.

Will Diemer, bartender and manager at the Flatiron Bar and Diner in downtown Columbus, used a different type of snifter – this one intended for brandy – to make a winter warmer-upper.

Tea and Sympathy

• 1 bag orange spiced tea

• ½ glass hot water

• 1 shot Grand Marnier

Put tea bag in half-full snifter of hot water. Add shot of Grand Marnier and garnish with a twist of lemon.

ZCucina in Grandview Heights is proud of its wine selection, but beverage manager Tony Skalican proves that wine glasses can be used for more than just wine by pouring a La Botteresse Brune – a Belgian dark ale with a 10 percent alcohol content –into one. A wine glass is a good option for some of the stronger, more aromatic Belgian ales, Skalican says.

Ashot need not be served in a shot glass, as Craig Loose, supervisor at Black Creek Bistro in Olde Towne East, proves with an original creation served in a sugar-rimmed champagne flute.

Chocolate

Cake Shot

• Chocolate syrup

• ¾ oz. Absolut Citron

• ¾ oz. Frangelico

Add a little chocolate syrup to the bottom of the glass. Combine equal parts Absolut Citron and Frangelico, and serve with a slice of lemon.

Tim Hawkins, bar manager at Barcelona in German Village, put a local emphasis on the drink he made in a fluted glass – ingredients include vodka made by a Grandview distillery and a liqueur made by

Cleveland-based The Lounging Gourmet. The drink is a take-off on the Marilyn Monroe, which is just vodka and champagne, Hawkins says.

Spanish Rose Water

• 2 oz. Watershed vodka

• ½ oz. Elixir of Damascan Rose

• 1.5 oz. Segura Viudas cava (Spanish sparkling wine)

Pour vodka and Elixir of Damascan Rose over ice and shake. Strain into fluted glass and top with cava. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

MoJoe Lounge at Easton Town Center offers a coffee drink in a martini glass. The alcohol is not to be scoffed at, but it still offers the caffeinated kick of coffee, says assistant manager Matthew Surman. It’s key that the espresso be fresh, Surman says.

Espresso Martini

• 1.5 oz. Frangelico

• 1.5 oz. Kahlua

• 1.5 oz. Stolichnaya Vanilla vodka

• Shot of espresso

Pour Frangelico, Kahlua and vodka into martini glass, and add shot of espresso to the top. A few espresso beans can be dropped in for added flavor. v

Garth Bishop is editor of CityScene Magazine.

Celebrating 50!

Bob Webb celebrates milestone with $50,000 in free options

Bob Webb Group has been in business since 1960, and has played an integral role in developing and building awardwinning homes in Central Ohio’s most highly regarded communities. Fifty years in business is a milestone that represents the type of strength and stability few companies in the homebuilding industry ever achieve.

“We are excited to reach this milestone in the building industry. As a family-owned business, we are proud to put the Webb name on every home we build. Through the years, I’ve remained steadfast to the goal of offering a superior home to the Central Ohio community,” said Robert Webb, President.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary, Bob Webb is offering $50,000 of free options in every home sold. For more information visit one of their model homes today or contact Neil Rogers at 740-548-5577.

Bob Webb has built hundreds of custom homes around Central Ohio. And, each Bob Webb home is customized for the client in some way. Their flexibility supports your creativity. If you have a special dream of the perfect home design, entrust an established builder with 50 years of experience to execute the reality. v

For more information visit www.BobWebb.com

Lakes Edge at Golf Village

Municipality/Township: Powell

Builders in the community: Bob Webb

Location: Powell Road to Sawmill Road, north on Sawmill, left on Rutherford Road, Lakes Edge will be on your left.

School district: Olentangy Schools

Number of homes when complete: 88

Price range: Low $400s and up

Style of homes: Southern-style Patio Homes

Year opened: 2003

Special features: Live in a maintenance-free, gated community with views of a prestigious golf course. Beautiful Kinsale Golf & Fitness Club features an Arthur Hills-designed golf course, dining, a full-service fitness center and a spa. Along with golf course views, Lakes Edge boasts treed lots and ponds. New phase is now open.

The Glen at Tartan Fields

Municipality/Township: Concord Township

Builders in the community: Bob Webb, Truberry Group

Location: North on Riverside Drive, left on Glick Road, right on Concord Road, right on Rob Roy, right on Cape Court

School district: Dublin Schools

Number of homes when complete: 262

Price range: Mid $400s to more than $1 million

Style of homes: Traditional to contemporary

Year opened: 2000

Special features: New phase now open; large, wooded lots and walkout basement options; golf course community; beautiful clubhouse; Dublin Schools; next to new elementary school.

available homes

TARTAN FIELDS – Great multi-level split featuring walkout midlevel and walkout lower level. Beautiful kitchen with cherry cabinetry, granite countertops. Large master suite with huge closet. Lots of hardwood floors. $679,900. Call Neil Rogers: 614-619-8777.

3937 SHADOWSTONE WAY – Beautiful patio home off Hayden Run Rd. Open floor plan, first floor master, lots of hardwood flooring, cherry cabinets in the kitchen. $549,900.00 Call Rick Tossey: 614-795-5500

LAKES EDGE AT GOLF VILLAGE, Olentangy Schools – Patio home in a gated community. Large windows and screened-in porch provides great views of a pond. High ceilings and hardwood floors throughout. $582,600. Call George Ailshire: 740-881-9320.

PARK PLACE VILLAGE AT NORTH ORANGE, Olentangy Schools – Condominium is a former model home loaded with extras. Florida room off breakfast area and beautiful owner’s suite. Was $442,239, now only $389,900! Call Adam Langley: 740-548-1900.

LUXURY CONDOS IN TARTAN WEST – Our luxury condominiums in Tartan West offer a variety of floor plans with flexible space for a home office, media room, or extra bedrooms. Visit our decorated models and see what life can be like in this resort community. Tartan West is off Hyland Croy north of Dublin Jerome High School. Dublin Schools. Call Judy Fox: 614-402-0787.

VILLAS IN TARTAN WEST – Those who love single-family homes yet appreciate carefree living will find our villas in Tartan West to be a perfect fit. This beautiful community is located just north of Jerome High School near Glacier Ridge Metro Park and all of its amenities. See our innovative floor plans. Dublin Schools. Call Judy Fox: 614-402-0787.

LITTLE BEAR – Conveniently located off Old State Street near Polaris, this community offers an executive golf course, home sites with a view, and a convenient location for those who enjoy the shopping and dining experiences. Little Bear’s Golf Club’s beautiful 10-hole, signature golf course is a perfect venue for the entire family. Olentangy Schools. Visit our model home, or call Mandi Lebedda: 614-595-2277.

NEWMODELING – Finished Basements. Remodeled Kitchens and Baths. Room Additions. When a renovation isn’t quite complete, think Truberry Group. With more than 20 years designing and building luxury homes, we offer the quality and attention to detail that only a top custom builder can bring to your remodeling project. Call today to schedule a planning meeting with our in-house architects: 614-207-1574 or 614-890-5588.

To celebrate our 50th anniversary, Bob Webb is offering $50,000 of free options in every home sold.

Bob Webb Group has been in business since 1960, and has played an integral role in developing and building award-winning homes in Central Ohio’s most highly regarded communities. Fifty years in business is a milestone that represents the type of strength and stability few companies in the homebuilding industry ever achieve.

For more information or for model locations call 740-548-5577.

free $50,000 GET options

in duringour 50th anniversary celebration!

www.BobWebb.com

“We are excited to reach this milestone in the building industry. As a family-owned business, we are proud to put the Webb name on every home we build. Through the years, I’ve remained steadfast to the goal of offering a superior home to the Central Ohio community.”

Ever Heard of This One?

Take a tour of Ohio’s unconventional tourist attractions

By Luke Robson

As the warmer days of spring arrive, stir-crazy Ohioans are ready to ditch their homes for something a little different. Friends and family members prepare to pile into sedans and RVs in search of the great American road trip.

Road trippers should consider embracing a flair for the unfamiliar when planning their next excursion. While Ohio boasts many nationally-renowned travel destinations, like the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and Cedar Point in Sandusky, it also has some atypical, interesting and zany destinations just waiting for travelers to explore them.

Allen County Museum (92 miles)

The Allen County Museum in Lima truly stands alone among county museums. Aside from hosting the expected museum fare, this county museum holds unimaginable treasures.

The world’s largest horseshoe crab

Allen County Museum

“The collections themselves are highly unique,” says Pat Smith, museum director.

Tucked away in a small room, three tall wooden cases from the late 19th century contain taxidermied animals. These intricate displays were the work of James Grosjean, an undertaker whose passion for taxidermy and rare animals was matched by his mechanical prowess.

One cabinet contains a variety of albino beasts, including a beaver, a flying squirrel and a porcupine. Across the room sits another cabinet brimming with various stuffed exotic birds riding a Ferris wheel. The third functional cabinet displays a mechanical tale of Noah and his ark. As gears turn, operating various doors and features in the display, the presentation culminates in a parade of taxidermied animals, who march from the ark in pairs.

“This is a throwback to the cabinets of curiosity of early museums,” Smith says. “(Grosjean) created his cabinets as an interesting way to display his work.”

The Allen County Museum also features a nationally-recognized exhibit of things swallowed. A father-and-son ear, nose and throat doctor duo collected and tagged items extracted from the throats of choking victims. Items ranging from coins and medallions to a diaper pin and a partial denture are all meticulously affixed to cards listing the victim’s name and date.

“It captures everybody’s attention,” Smith says.

The museum offers more exhibits of interest, including one about John Dillinger, an actual locomotive and extensive Native American and gem collections. Information can be found at www.allencountymuseum.org.

World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab (78 miles)

Though Blanchester is landlocked, visitors to the town may get a little taste of sea life when encountering Crabby, the world’s largest horseshoe crab.

When the Rev. Jim Rankin obtained the dismantled crab from the Creation Museum in Kentucky, he could not fathom the notoriety the gargantuan gift would bring. Since Crabby was shipped to Blanchester, just southwest of Washington Court House, on the beds of five semi trucks, thousands of people hailing from almost every continent have visited the colossal crustacean, Rankin says.

The crab, designed by an artist famous

for creating attractions at Walt Disney World, stretches 68 feet in length and is 28 feet wide. Its 13-foot-high domed ceiling allows for entrance into the crab, where events such as business meetings and weddings have been held.

Rankin gave Crabby its big break when the producers of the movie Twilight: Eclipse approached him to include imagery of the crab in a quilt in the movie.

“I saw this as a great opportunity to reach out to teenagers,” Rankin says.

The location offers more than an oversized roadside attraction. A museum on site features a variety of artifacts, including a famous motorcycle-rider apparel collection, crucifixion nails, a torch from President Lincoln’s inauguration, pieces of actual chariots and memorabilia from the movie The Ten Commandments

Each Labor Day weekend, Crabfest – a festival featuring food, games and music – is held on the grounds. The highlight of Crabfest comes when a motorcycle rider takes the opportunity to jump over the hulking horseshoe crab.

Early Television Museum (14 miles)

While most Americans count

television as an idle pastime, Steve McVoy took his hobby to a grander level and opened it up to an audience in Hilliard.

After selling his business , McVoy wanted to find something to occupy his time while incorporating his knowledge and passion. As a collector of old television sets, McVoy eventually found his treasures taking up a large amount of space in his home. After speaking to fellow collectors, he found that many of his peers were forced to display their historic pieces in attics and basements. In 2000, McVoy bought a warehouse, and the Early Television Museum was born.

“I found that collectors were very happy to show their stuff. It’s nice to have a place where the public can see this old technology,” says McVoy, the president of the Early Television Museum. “We have the world’s best collection of TV technology.”

The museum’s collection includes many one-ofa-kind and lastknown-surviving examples of sets. The 150-plus televisions serve as a walk through history, with sets starting in 1928 and running through the late 1950s. Many sets displayed in the Early Television Museum

museum still work, so the public can actually see television in various stages of evolution.

The museum also includes television production pieces. An interactive exhibit at the museum broadcasts patrons as they would have appeared if they were featured on an early television broadcast. For deeper behind-the-scenes knowledge, the museum has a mobile production truck on loan from the Ohio Historical Society, and displays of early broadcast equipment and television camera tubes. Information can be found at www.earlytelevision.org.

BibleWalk (66 miles)

Wax museums have long been a unique and often creepy destination for inquisi-

tive tourists. BibleWalk, a life-size stroll through the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament, takes the conventional wax museum to a whole new level.

“BibleWalk is like opening the Bible and diving right into the pages like it is a swimming pool,” says Julia Mott-Hardin, director of BibleWalk.

The Mansfield museum features highquality wax figures outfitted and placed in scenes from historic and well-known Bible verses. Each tour is guided by lights, which steer patrons down a path from scene to scene set to music and narration. With each scene, familiar stories come alive, Mott-Hardin says.

Before entering BibleWalk, visitors must choose which tours they would like

to experience. To offer a variety of stories and appeal to various interests, the site offers tours featuring the life of Christ, miracles of the Old Testament, the museum of Christian martyrs and the heart of the Reformation

From the start, BibleWalk was a labor of love for the Rev. Richard Diamond and his wife, Alwilda. With little funding and support from volunteers, the museum was able to grow from 19 scenes to filling an impressive facility containing 300 wax figures. Volunteers skillfully clothed the figures and built the scenes, often without any prior training. These volunteers ranged from drug dealers and prostitutes to businessmen and housewives coming together for a common goal, Mott-Hardin says.

Information can be found at www. livingbiblemuseum.org. cs

Luke Robson is a contributing writer for CityScene Magazine

BibleWalk

Ohio isn’t the only place with offkilter vacation spots. Opportunities to marvel at the unusual abound across the nation and around the world.

Rhyolite

Rhyolite, Nev., is home to one of the nation’s most recognizable ghost towns. One of many towns that sprung up during the gold rush, Rhyolite was abandoned almost as quickly as it was founded.

Now, it hosts an outdoor sculpture museum, and tours of the deserted town are available.

Though the mining town struggled throughout the entirety of its existence, it was, at one point in time, Nevada’s third most populous city.

Homes, a schoolhouse, a bank, a general store, a railroad depot and even a bottle house – a house whose walls are built from scores of old bottles – are among Rhyolite’s highlights.

The Goldwell Open Air Museum, featuring the sculpture work of Albert Szukalski, launched in 2000. Taking into account the ghost town that would be housing his creations, Szukalski created shrouded sculptures that look very much like ghosts.

Rhyolite has even appeared on the big screen, being used as a backdrop for scenes in a variety of movies, including 2005’s The Island starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.

Paris

Underneath Paris, France, visitors can become acquainted with a large number of the city’s former residents.

As Paris’s population boomed and cemeteries filled around the city, mass tombs were emptied of remains and moved to a tunnel system in the 18th century. Now, visitors can tour the catacombs, presenting a sculptural mass burial of bones from early Parisians.

Paris continued to bury its dead in the tunnels for about 30 years after the first set of mass tombs was emptied. The catacombs now host the bones of between 6 million and 7 million Parisians.

The catacombs were used to host musical concerts in the late 1800s and were utilized by both the French and the Germans in World War II. They were renovated in 2007 and 2008 for safety reasons.

The tunnels are winding and intricate, and visitors are advised to go with a guide. cs

Oglebay Institute’s 57th Annual Show & Sale

Saturday, April 2, 10am - 6pm

Take advantage of our special Antiques Show weekend getaway!

Package Includes:

• Lodging Friday & Saturday.

• Mountaineer Buffet Breakfast Saturday and Sunday.

• 10% discount on lunch or dinner each day.

• Use of indoor pool, jacuzzi, sauna and fitness center.

• Dessert party and preview of show on Friday.

• Admissions to show & Oglebay Institute’s Mansion & Glass Museums Saturday & Sunday.

*Two days/two nights, double occupancy, traditional room. Intermediate, deluxe & premium rooms also available.

Call 800-624-6988 or book online at www.oglebay-resort.com

Sunday, April 3, 11am - 4pm

Friday Preview Events

Including the popular Dessert Preview Party featuring an amazing array of desserts.

Show Features:

Americana, glass, stoneware, furniture, jewelry, silver, quilts, books, sculpture, china, fine arts, ceramics, lighting, toys and more!

For more information about the show call 304-242-7272 or visit us online at www.oionline.com

Resort & Conference Center Wheeling, WV

Just 2 hours from Columbus!

Just Also at 91.1 Marion/Delaware

Strange Things

Comic book artist transcends superheroes

By Lauren Emond

Comic book artist and painter Bryan C. Moss resides in German Village, only blocks away from the Schiller Park Recreation Center where he initially developed his interest in art.

Twenty-three years after discovering his passion, Moss “creates comics for normal people” and uses painting as a way to develop his technique and research the subject matter for his next comic.

With working parents, Moss and his siblings attended an after-school program at the recreation center, where art was a large part of programming. Moss took a variety of art classes each day from first grade through middle school, before he was introduced to comic books and was intrigued by the idea of creating his own world through illustration.

“Comic books are the poor man’s art. In the environment I grew up in, the only entertainment I had access to was cartoons and comic books,” Moss says. “It was an obtainable art; I could use just paper and pencils.”

Right: Priscilla’s second confrontation with the boogie man

Strange Things: Issue 1, Page 14

Sumi ink on 2 ply bristol board 11” x 17”

Opposite: Strange Things: Issue 5, Cover

Sumi ink and digital coloring 18” x 24”

Corey, an 18-year-old girl who suffers from boredom, gets her world turned upside down one night when she’s walking home from work and is accosted by a homeless man. She fights back and wins, but is exposed to her darker side when she decides not to keep attacking. This is a story about Carl Jung’s Anima and Animus archetypes.

After years of self-discipline to develop his skills as an artist, Moss used art as a tool to illustrate an understanding of his own personal experiences and his studies of history, science, art and psychology. He began developing comic books based on this, while also using the inspiration of Carl Jung’s study of archetypes and Pre-Raphaelite artists like Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who focused on surface detail and complex compositions.

“I wanted to create comics for people who don’t read comics and who are not comic book fans,” Moss says. “I don’t write about superheroes. Superhero comics speak a different language. I just deal with normal themes – everyday things and bizarre events that happen in the regular world. People can grasp those ideas.”

That’s how he developed the idea for Strange Things, a six-issue comic dealing with overcoming fears and taking control of one’s destiny that doesn’t always have a happy ending.

The scope of the book and Moss’s growth as an artist is evident by the first page of the comic series, which starts out with a child’s first fears and ends with an aged man who understands the universe, inspired by an excerpt from the William Blake poem Auguries of Innocence

Strange Things took two and a half years to complete. For Moss, the process

of writing comics is a long road of translating personal experiences, he says. To balance this personally intense and timeconsuming process, Moss turns to painting as a way to develop his technique and research less personal, yet more worldly, topics that pique his interest.

Brave Woman , part of a new series of larger-than-life paintings on 10-foot brown craft paper, depicts the true story of a Shawnee woman who saved her husband’s life during the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876, then fought alongside him throughout the battle. Moss was inspired by a Paul Pope painting, where he drew a field on a big piece of paper –using just squiggly, frantic lines, similar

to Jackson Pollock. “That image always sat with me, and when I discovered this woman’s story, I knew I wanted to use this format,” Moss says.

Moss enjoys the contrast of using simple materials to tackle overwhelming stories, using just Sumi ink and white paint to highlight. “I can do them really fast, and manufacturing impact pieces is validating because of that burst of energy,” he says.

“I paint for discovery and technical development, and for people that don’t have a voice,” says Moss. “I draw comics to process that discovery. I hope people get inspired to learn more about the stories I paint, and hopefully a really cool comic will come out of that idea.”

Brave Woman Sumi ink and white acrylic paint on recycled brown paper 2’ x 10’

Blue Woman, Purple Hair Oil on masonite. 24” x 48”

Left: William Blake Strange Things: Issue 6, Final page Sumi ink on 2 ply bristol board 18” x 24”

Masterworks series

Priscilla

Strange Things: Issue 1, Page 13

Sumi ink on 2 ply bristol board, 11” x 17”

Story of Priscilla, a little girl who is haunted by the boogie man. She seeks comfort by investing her trust into her teddy bear. With her guardian by her side, she is prepared to take on the evil that plagues her nights.

Other paintings are more design- and technique-driven, and as Moss states, “drawing in black and white gets a little depressing. Doing a painting in color brings a renewed excitement and reenergizes me to go back to comics.”

Paintings like Blue Woman, Purple Hair are inspired by the style of artists like Amedeo Modigliani whose portraits were obscured, expressive and textural, and used contour lines. “They only take about 45 minutes – it’s just raw expression,” Moss says. “The more I paint, the better artist I become. You don’t get better as an artist just working in one medium.”

In addition to creating comic books and paintings, Moss has been commissioned by the Columbus Museum of Art

to create comic strips to accompany the information plates for paintings in the museum’s new Center for Creativity. He’s also been working on several commissions for cartoon developers in Los Angeles to create storyboards used to pitch new cartoon pilots and comic books to Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney.

Bryan C. Moss’s work and upcoming projects can be found at www.strangethingsmoss.blogspot.com. The information plates are expected to go up at the museum toward the end of March, and Strange Things will also be on display at the Laughing Ogre, 4258 N. High St., toward the end of March. cs

Lauren Emond is a contributing writer for CityScene Magazine

“I just deal with normal themes – everyday things and bizarre events that happen in the regular world.”

The 2010-2011 Ron Lykins

Presenting selections from operas including: Bizet’s Carmen, Verdi’s Aida and Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana

Camille Saint-Saens, Violin Concerto No. 3 featuring Janet Sung, Violin Sergei Rachmaninoff, Symphony No. 2

Upcoming Exhibits

Decorative Arts Center: Equal in Goodness: Ohio Decorative Arts 1788-1860 through June 5. www.dec artsohio.org

High Road Gallery: The Spice of Life, an all-member exhibit including antiques by John Coffey from March 2-26. www.highroadgallery.com

Studios on High: Perfectly Paired: Combining Buttons with Wearables by Sue Quellhorst from March 1-31. www.studiosonhigh.com

Columbus Museum of Art: Shared Intelligence: American Painting and the Photograph through April 24. Fur, Fins & Feathers through June 5. www.columbus museum.org

Rivet Gallery: CCAD Art of Illustration Show featuring winning students’ work from March 5-27. www. rivetart.com

Hayley Gallery: Childhood as it was explained to me by Derrick Hickman from March 26-April 15. www. hayleygallery.com

A Muse Gallery: The Best of A Muse Gallery featuring artists of A Muse Gallery from March 1-April 15. www. amusegallery.com

Brandt-Roberts Galleries: Danish Modern: Mid-Century Works by William Louis Sorensen from March 5-30. www.brandtrobertsgalleries.com

Left: Columbus Museum of Art

Above: Hayley Gallery

Wexner Center for the Arts: Works by Nathalie Djurberg, works by Pipilotti Rist and Double Sexus by Bellmer and Louise Bourgeois from March 26-July 31. FETCH, an outdoor light piece by Erwin Redl, through May 31. www.wexarts.org

Ohio Art League: The Naturalists by Erin Holscher-Almazan, Diane Stemper and Francis Schanberger from March 3-April 2. www.oal.org

Keny Galleries: Evocative Landscapes by Eric Barth and Landscapes by Rod Bouc from March 11-April 4. www.keny galleries.com

Schumacher Gallery: Life Work by Edward Weston through March 26. www.schumacher gallery.org

Dublin Arts Council Gallery: All About Evenatom by Gene Friley from March 8-April 22. www.dublinarts.org

Ohio Art Council’s Riffe Gallery: Here’s Looking at You: Portraits in Ohio through April 17. www.riffegallery.org

Terra Gallery: Spring Exhibition featuring Karen Groeniger, Jane Johnson, Jeff Hersey and Trish McKinney from March 5-31. www.terra-gallery.com

Art Access Gallery: Landscapes by Rob Robbins and Ryan Smith through March 26. www.artaccessgallery.com

PM Gallery: New Works by Paul Volker through March. www.pmgallery.com

Sherrie Gallerie: Ceramics by Ken Kohoutek from March 4-31. www.sherrie gallerie.com

Ohio State University Faculty Club: Fleeting Dream by Chun Arthur Wang

Brandt-Roberts Galleries

Keny Galleries

from March 2-April 29. www.ohio-statefacultyclub.com

ROY G BIV Gallery: Works by Samantha Hookway, Janet Macpherson and Zepher Potrafka from March 5-26. www.roygbiv gallery.org

Terra Gallery

For a comprehensive list of all other happenings around Columbus, check out www.cityscenecolumbus.com.

Picks & Previews

CityScene spotlights what to watch, what to watch for and what not to miss!

Senior Repertory of Ohio Theatre Company presents Rumors

March 4-13

Columbus Performing Arts Center’s Shedd Theatre, 549 Franklin Ave.

The troupe performs Neil Simon’s tale of a missing wife, a damaged car, a recurring back spasm and many more unfortunate events. www.srotheatre.org

CAPA presents the Second City’s Fair and Unbalanced

60-minute version of a Shakespearean classic designed to introduce young audiences to Shakespeare. www.capa.org

2011 Arnold Sports Festival

March 3-6

Greater Columbus Convention Center, 400 N. High St.

The nation’s largest health and fitness exposition. Includes three days of fitness competition. www.arnoldsportsfestival. com

Worthington Community Theatre presents The Curious Savage

March 3-6

McConnell Arts Center’s Bronwynn Theatre, 777 Evening St., Worthington

When Mrs. Savage’s late husband leaves her $10 million, she must go on a quest away from her stepchildren and into a sanatorium to use her money for good. www.mcconnellarts.org

March 5, 8 p.m. Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St. Chicago’s legendary comedy theater unabashedly pokes fun at politicians, the Hollywood elite and your significant other. www.capa.com

The OSU Department of Theatre presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream

March 6, 1 and 3 p.m. Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St.

The Ohio State University Department of Theatre partners with CAPA to bring a

Abbey Theatre’s Terminus

March 9, 8 p.m.

Drake Center’s Thurber Theatre, 1849 Cannon Dr. Abbey Theatre, the national theater of Ireland, presents Mark O’Rowe’s fantastical play involving the often humorous world of serial killers and avenging angels. www. wexarts.org

The Monster Ball Tour starring Lady Gaga

March 10, 8 p.m.

Schottenstein Center, 555 Borror Dr. Pop sensation Lady Gaga performs. The Scissor Sisters open. www.schottenstein center.com

Columbus Children’s Theatre presents Stuart Little March 10-27 Park Street Theatre, 512 Park St. Columbus Chil-

Les Misérables

dren’s Theatre performs the classic tale of a mouse born into a New York family. Appropriate for ages 3 and up. www. colschildrenstheatre.org

Columbus Symphony Orchestra presents Verdi: Requiem

March 11-13

Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Performance featuring the Columbus Symphony Chorus. www.columbus symphony.co m

The Pleasure Guild presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

March 11-13

Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St.

The Pleasure Guild of Nationwide Children’s Hospital produces this play to raise funds for the Hospice and Palliative Care Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. giving.nationwidechildrens.org

BalletMet Up Close

March 11-26

BalletMet Performance Space, 322 Mount Vernon Ave.

Step into BalletMet’s Performance Space to enjoy dance “up close.” www.balletmet.org

May 19-22, 26-28

Music & Lyrics by Lisa Lambert & Greg Morrison

Book by Bob Martin & Don McKellar

Directed by David Caldwell

Music Direction by Dennis Davenport

Choreography by Sue Saurer

Fritsche Theatre at Cowan Hall 30 S. Grove St., Westerville

Box Office: 614-823-1109 www.otterbein.edu

OT TERBEIN Department of Theatre & Dance

Lady Gaga

PBJ & Jazz Series: Liquid Crystal Project

March 12, 11 a.m.

Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St.

Columbus jazz-hop band infuses fundamental jazz with hip-hop elements in this one-hour performance designed to introduce jazz and American music to children and families. www.jazzartsgroup.org

ProMusica Chamber Orchestra presents Mozart and More

March 13, 7 p.m.

Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St.

This concert features rising-star violinist Caroline Goulding performing Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 www.promusica columbus.org

Broadway Across America presents

Les Misérables

March 15-20

Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Cameron Mackintosh presents a 25th-anniversary edition of Les Misérables , using new staging and scenery inspired by the paintings of Victor Hugo. www.capa. com

Columbus Jazz Orchestra’s Swingin’ at the Southern Series: Basie, Buddy & Benny March 16-20

Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St.

CJO celebrates the music of Count Basie, Buddy Rich and the “King of Swing,” Benny Goodman. Butch Miles plays drums and Ken Peplowski is on clarinet. www. jazzartsgroup.org

CAPA presents Joe Bonamassa

March 18, 8 p.m.

Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St.

Enjoy an evening with Joe Bonamassa, who has been lauded as one of the world’s greatest guitarists. www.capa.com

ProMusica Chamber Orchestra presents Musicians in Harmony

March 18-19

Lincoln Theatre, 769 E. Long St. ProMusica, the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus and the Columbus Children’s Choir collaborate for this special weekend event. www.promusicacolumbus.org

The Gallery Players present Curtains

March 19-April 3

Roth-Resler Theatre, 1125 College Ave.

This musical, set in 1959 Boston, begins when a talentless star is murdered during her opening night curtain call. www.jcc galleryplayers.org

Backyard Science

March 26, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

COSI, 333 W. Broad St.

Hands-on activities with the likes of microscopes and fossils help patrons discover spring. www.cosi.org

Beco’s Birthday Celebration at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Joe Bonamassa

Columbus Symphony Orchestra presents Bolero!

March 26-27

Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St.

New maestro Jean-Marie Zeitouni conducts, with Katherine Chi on piano. www. columbussymphony.com

Beco’s Birthday Celebration

March 27, 9 a.m. -5 p.m.

Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, 4850 W. Powell Rd.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium celebrates the 2nd birthday of Asian elephant Beco. www.colszoo.org

CATCO presents What the Butler Saw

March 30-April 17

Riffe Center’s Studio One Theatre, 77 S. High St.

In this classic farce, a psychiatric clinic erupts in chaos involving mistaken identities, attempted seduction and political intrigue. www.catco.org

Dublin, OH 43016-8004 (614) 792-3825 www.golfclubofdublin.com Minerva Lake Golf Club 2955 Minerva Lake Rd. Columbus, OH 43231 614-882-9988

Powell, OH 43065 (614) 645-3444

The Painter’s Eye Featuring The Treaty of Greenville by

Howard Chandler Christy

By Michael McEwan

Ohio native Howard Chandler Christy’s (1873-1952) oil painting The Treaty of Greenville, painted in 1945, hangs in the Ohio Statehouse rotunda.

The 17-by-27 painting – and that’s feet, not inches – came near the end of a long and prolific career. Christy’s career arc covered the golden age of American Illustration, from the 1890s to the 1950s, to later years, as he created numerous murals and portraits. A fine example of the latter may be found at Capital Uni-

versity’s Schumacher Gallery. Another massive painting by this fellow Ohioan, The Signing of the Constitution – 20 feet by 30 feet – hangs in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Christy studied with American painter William Merritt Chase. Christy adopted Chase’s style of direct and dashing brushwork, which is evident in this massive painting.

This year marks the 150th birthday of the Ohio Statehouse. I urge you to visit this

painting so you can see our beautifullyrestored Statehouse and the Statehouse Museum located on the lower level. Our lawmakers may call it home, but this is one treasure that belongs to all of us. cs

Artist Michael McEwan serves as Artist-inResidence at Capital University where he also teaches painting and drawing classes.