Indy Glass Artists Featured on First Friday

INDIANAPOLIS — The Arts Council of Indianapolis has designated September as Glass Month in Indianapolis. To showcase the many glass artisans in and around the city, this month’s First Friday Art Tour will feature glass works.

In Irvington, the Bonna Shops, 202 South Audubon will feature the works of Lisa Pelo of Hot Blown Glass from 5-9 p.m. Pelo’s work has been featured in many local galleries over the years, and she was the head of the glass studio at the Indianapolis Art Center from 2005 to 2010.

Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Ave., will feature David Lotton in the Rapp Family Gallery. The Harrison Center for the Arts will show “Between Infinite Stars” by Arlon Bayliss, a retrospective of the artists’ 35 years working with glass and light; the Harrison is located at 1505 N. Delaware St. While at the Harrison, check out the resident glass artist Matt Kenyon’s work downstairs.

Circle City Industrial Complex, 1125 E. Brookside Ave., will host the glass art of Ben Johnson at the Five Seasons Studio (C-300), and the glass art of Anna Lee Chalos-McAleese and Andy McAleese in Nancy Lee Design Studio (C1).

Gallery 924, 924 N. Pennsylvania St., will host “Gathering: Contemporary Glass from the Heartland,” an annual juried exhibition bringing together the best of emerging and established glass artists from the Midwest.

Other First Friday events feature an eclectic mix works. At Clifford Corners-Urban Box, 3125 E. 10th St. Ste. J., the East 10th Street Civic Association will host works by “seasoned artists” ages 55+. Works include oil paintings, watercolor, and much more. There will be live music from the “Full Benefits Band” in Audrey’s Place Lounge, Gordon’s Ice Cream serving up treats, and Rosie’s Riblets offering barbecue. Metta Yoga Initiative will provide a free demonstration of yoga to celebrate National Yoga Month. Khaos Company Theatre’s Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night will premiere across the street in Legacy Plaza.

The Raymond James/Stutz Art Gallery, 212 W. 10th St., will feature the photography and work of Todd Matus. The show will be a retrospective of Matus’ many-textured career in violinmaking, presented with his own violins and violins made by three other Indiana master violinmakers. A second reception of his work will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 16yh from 4-9 p.m. celebrating the conjunction of the International Violin Competition and the Violin Society of America Conference and Competition.

Check out Art Bank, 811 Mass Ave., for Katherine Musser Berry’s show, “Walking Around Downtown.” The Art Bank also features many new and emerging Indianapolis artists.

At IMOCA, 1043 Virginia Ave., visit artist Ian Weavers’ “The Black Knight Archive, Chapter I: Migration” exhibit, which creates a fictional version of history of one black community. The show will run through Oct. 18.

At several locations throughout the city, Classical Music Indy has hired musicians to create spontaneous mini-concerts. Watch for 15 minute performances at several locations on Mass Ave. and other hotspots.