by April Helms

Special Products Editor

A kaleidoscope of color decorates the walls and the floor of the Summit Artspace Gallery with its current exhibit.

The Alliance for the Visual Arts, a group representing more than 500 local artists from the Akron Society of Artists, Artists of Rubber City, Cuyahoga Valley Art Center and Women's Art League, will present Kaleidoscope 2009 at Summit Artspace through Jan. 2.

Click here to see a short video of the exhibit and an interview with two of the artists.

Members of the four groups entered artworks in all types of media for this annual juried show. Jurors, who selected the works on display and winning artists, were Timothy Callahan, landscape painter and teacher at Cleveland Institute of Art and Cuyahoga Community College, and Mindy Tousley, printmaker/collage artist and gallery director at Harris Stanton Gallery in Akron. Norton artist Nancy Richards Davis served as show coordinator.

Davis said this is the seventh year the Alliance for the Visual Arts has sponsored the show. There are 95 pieces from 70 artists on display.

"It's a real variety," she said. "There are so many different styles. It's kind of a holiday show. It represents the community of artists in the Akron area."

Winners of the juried show included Shirley Ende-Saxe, first place, an Artists of Rubber City member from Cuyahoga Falls; Sally Heston, second place, a Women's Art League member from Broadview Heights, and Gwen Waight, third place, an Artists of Rubber City member from Peninsula. Honorable Mentions were awarded to Cleo Clark-Williams of Canton, Henry Walker of Kent, Debra Thompson of Ravenna and Nancy Richards-Davis of Norton.

Ende-Saxe, who took first place for her collage "Maple Man Embroiders the Truth," said she used items such as cabinet cards and stamps for her piece.

"Cabinet cards were made during the late 19th century and early 20th century," she said. "Supposedly, people put them on their cabinets."

Walker, who won honorable mention for his watercolor "Ringling Banyans," said he liked experimenting "with light and shadow."

The annual Kaleidoscope Award, selected by the votes of gallery visitors, will be presented during the First Night® Akron celebration Dec. 31. The winner will receive a kaleidoscope created by glass artist Bob Pozarski.

Free workshops

Also during the exhibition, there will be a series of free Saturday demonstrations for the public:

Ken Kirkland will have a workshop on Mixed Media Landscape on Dec. 19.

Candace Bennington will have a workshop on Light Patterns in a Pastel Architectural Cityscape on Jan. 2.

Both workshops will be from 1 to 3 p.m.

Summit Artspace is at 140 E. Market Street in downtown Akron. For details call 330-376-8480 or visit www.summitartspace.org online.

Gallery hours are Thursday through Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission and parking are free. Kaleidoscope will also be open Dec. 5 from 5 to 9 p.m. as part of the Northside Artwalk and Dec. 31 from 5 to 11 p.m. as part of the First Night® Akron celebration.

E-mail: ahelms@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3153