Roberta Gedert
The Toledo Blade
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Past articles by Roberta:
Some of Toledo's oldest official documents on display
The weathered, two-page original document that lists the handwritten names of the 226 individuals who were eligible to vote in the first mayoral election in 1836 is a timely history lesson. “All of the big names of Toledo are on that list, including John Berdan, who was the first mayor, and of course they are all white, they are all male, and they were all property owners because that’s who… → Read More
Exhibit marks 115 years of Athena Society
A juried exhibition of work by members of Toledo’s century-plus women’s art society opens Sunday at 20 North Gallery in downtown Toledo. Athena 115 celebrates 115 years of the Athena Art Society with 54 exhibited pieces from 36 members of the women’s art organization in media that include paintings, drawings, fiber art, photography, glass, ceramics, and jewelry. The free show opens with a… → Read More
Toledo artist Paul Brand tells his students they are masters of their world
Artist Paul Brand stands along the tables in his weekly class at the Toledo Artists Club, studying a pencil and pen piece by a student. “That is 99.5 percent done. Beautiful. It’s very effective,” he said, pausing and drawing his finger down the portion of a wayward plant. “One thing in terms of composition …” The student laments. “That plant didn’t grow correctly.” “You know the answer to that… → Read More
Art fund-raiser to benefit resettled refugee families
Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky believed color was a way of directly influencing the soul, that art was capable of connecting the artist’s vision to the viewer’s emotions. His 1913 famous painting, Farbstudie Quadrate, also known as Squares with Concentric Circles, will be the inspiration at an interactive exhibition Thursday in which community members can produce art meant to touch… → Read More
Festival celebrating art, music returns to Promenade Park
Gargantuan humanoids will invade Promenade Park this weekend, standing off with visitors to Momentum, the second annual festival that celebrates art, music, Toledo’s past, present, and future with glass, and those who create. The Fantastic Planet installation will include three, towering fabric pieces — Comfort, What’s That?, and Peeping Corner — conceived by Australian artist Amanda Parer,… → Read More
Dorm essentials keep comfort, storage in mind
Incoming Bowling Green State University freshman Heather Lammers of Leipsic, Ohio, shops for dorm supplies with her mother Christa Lammers and sister Samantha, 5. THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH Enlarge | Buy This Image When freshman Heather Lammers arrives at her new home Thursday at Bowling Green State University, she will bring her favorite blankets and pillows. She will bring essential oils and… → Read More
Unique art 'treasure hunt' spans dozens of Ohio venues
CLEVELAND — On a recent humid day in downtown Cleveland, widow and sculptor Barbara Stanczak watched from the eighth floor of a parking garage as individuals painted a re-creation of the abstract mural her late husband, Julian Stanczak, painted on the same building almost 50 years ago. At one of the oldest churches in Cleveland and at what was once an Underground Railroad hideaway for escapees,… → Read More
Young Artists at Work host open market next week
Next week, high school students involved in this year’s Young Artists At Work program will host a preview and sale of the work they have created during their six-week apprenticeship. YAAW 2018/Creatives Premiere and Artist Market starts at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, with a preview of the artwork, followed by a presentation by the students in the Toledo Museum of Art Peristyle, 2445 Monroe St.,… → Read More
Block Party returns to Toledo Museum of Art
This weekend is the Toledo Museum of Art’s annual Block Party, an indoor-outdoor arts and entertainment event in its fifth year. The event from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday includes a scavenger hunt, performing arts and musical performances, food, drink, and access to the museum campus and its galleries and gardens. The majority of the event’s activities are outside, stretching from the museum’s large… → Read More
Hudson Gallery exhibit dives into 'WATER'
Hudson Gallery in downtown Sylvania opens an exhibition next week that dives into the theme of water. WATER: rivers, lakes and streams features the work of nine artists who work in painting, print and sculpture media on pieces inspired by the power of water. The show opens July 6 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. and closes Aug. 11. The gallery is at 5645 N. Main St., and is open from 10 a.m. to… → Read More
Art connection: Crosby Festival attracts artisans far and wide
Location, location, location. It’s why many artists travel across the country, or just the county, to be a part of the Crosby Arts Festival on the 66-acre grounds of Toledo Botanical Garden. “It’s a beautiful location; you couldn’t ask for a better setting,” said fiber artist Cyndy Naylor, of Villa Hills, Ky., who will have a booth at Crosby this weekend for the seventh time. Retired Ottawa… → Read More
Exhibit showcases art with altitude
An exhibition of bird’s-eye view images taken by drones has opened, and will be available to visitors through Sept. 2 at the National Center for Nature Photography at Secor Metropark. Art at Alti2ude is an exhibition of works organized by TAM, formerly known as Toledo Aerial Media. The aerial photography show features 40 large images from TAM’s unmanned drones at locations in northwest Ohio and… → Read More
New TMA exhibit suspends flowers from ceiling
More than 10,000 flowers grown in Toledo — entwined with another 140,000 preserved plants from the London artist’s previous installations around the world — will be suspended upside-down from the ceiling, welcoming visitors to celebrate the earth’s offerings, at Rebecca Louise Law: Community. The time-sensitive installation, which opens Saturday in the museum’s Canaday Gallery, is being… → Read More
Thorn in your side? Tips for getting the most from roses
The Toledo Rose Society’s annual Rose Show is from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, at the Conference Center at Toledo Botanical Garden, 5403 Elmer Drive. The free, judged show features dozens of blooms and arrangements by local growers.For more information, go to toledorosesociety.org, or call Toledo Rose Society President Audrey Palumbo at 419-874-7751. For the first… → Read More
Families face delicate balance as they care for aging parents
Phillip Lentz still lives in the home on Mellwood Court in West Toledo that he and his wife, Alice, bought more than 35 years ago. Mr. Lentz is 92 and suffers from dementia. June Morgan is 93 years old and is a diabetic whose memory has been fading for the last three years. She resides at Alpine Village Assisted Living in Napoleon. Rutha Marie Pinkston eats lunch with her son Bob Pinkston at… → Read More
Murals to be torn down for I-75 construction
Public artists know that sometimes the art they create won’t last forever. Weather, a change in the building’s ownership, or even damage from bird droppings may be reasons a mural doesn’t live out its years as planned. This time it’s construction. A major I-75 reconstruction project between Dorr Street and South Avenue starting this summer includes a rebuild of the Broadway overpass in the Old… → Read More
BGSU to return ancient mosaics to Turkey
Twelve ancient mosaics from the Republic of Turkey acquired by Bowling Green State University more than 50 years ago will return later this year to their rightful home, after researchers determined they were looted during illegal excavations. Researchers determined the tile fragments, which were originally believed to have been part of approved archeological digs in Antioch overseen by Princeton… → Read More
Author of 'Orange is the New Black' discusses her incarceration
Piper Kerman went through a series of transformations before, during, and after her incarceration in a women’s prison on drug trafficking charges. But it was the relationships she shared with the other women there that finally helped her understand how her decisions more than a decade before were cyclical. “All those years ago, I was not thinking about how my choices were going to affect the… → Read More
Celebrating 200 years of Glass City icon Libbey
An exhibition that opens Friday in the Toledo Museum of Art’s Glass Pavilion will walk guests through 200 years of glass production by the company that helped cement Toledo’s “Glass City” brand. Diane Wright, who started in November as the Toledo Museum of Art's newest curator, sits in the Glass Pavilion on January 4, 2018. The Blade/Amy E. Voigt Enlarge | Buy This Image Celebrating Libbey… → Read More
Cleveland Orchestra marks a century of world-class musicianship
CLEVELAND — It was 2010, and Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Lebron James had just announced he was leaving to play for the Miami Heat. Ross Binnie, who was relatively new to northeast Ohio as the Cleveland Orchestra’s chief brand officer, was in a cab and the radio was on. “The guy on the radio said, ‘You know, we just lost one of our top three brands in Cleveland, if we lose the Cleveland Clinic… → Read More