March 3, 2015 - ChaddsFordLive.com

Art Watch: Steal a glimpse of art and steel

The 6th Annual Radley Run Art Show starts this Friday from 6 to 10 pm and then continues on Saturday from 10 am to 3 pm. The Radley show is free admission and open to the public. It is a lively, wonderful show with great food and drink in a beautiful location.

If you have never been to The Radley Run Country Club, this is a nice chance to see this lovely bucolic property nestled amidst historical buildings, crumbling ruins and state of the art golf and tennis facilities. Fifty local fine artists were juried into the show by curator Karen Delaney, who also is Executive Director of The Chester County Art Association.

This year the proceeds from the art sales will be divided by two non-profit recipients: Safe Harbor of West Chester, and The Chester County Art Association. If you are on a date, then you should show up on Friday night, and if you are with your children, then Saturday is the best day to come. If you have time to spare, you might want to sign up for dinner or brunch at the club, which is always delicious and reasonably priced.

A great gallery show of steel sculpture opens at West Chester University this week. Masterful abstract steel sculptor Stan Smokler will be exhibiting in the Knauer Art Gallery in the Swope Music Building at West Chester University from March 2- April 4. The opening reception is this Thursday, March 5 from 4 to 7 pm. Stan has said that he might speak about his works at the opening. Let’s encourage him to talk!

The exhibition of his large welded steel sculptures is entitled “Beg, Borrow, Steel” which is a nifty title for artwork that is made from a combination of found and bought scrap metal. While another person’s garbage can be an artist’s inspiring raw materials. Cool metal scrap is not always so easy to find, and it is usually terribly heavy to cart away.

His work is referential to its found elements, but it never screams “Isn’t this neat that is came from a tractor.” It is about the shape and form not where it came from. Smokler’s sculptures defy the weightiness of the parts and seem to lightly, lyrically sing in the natural surroundings in which they are placed. I can’t wait to see what he has been working on!

One of Stan Smokler’s sculptural pieces will also be the entry piece to this year’s famous Chadds Ford Art Show which will be held on March 20-21 at Chadds Ford Elementary School. If you get inspired by his work, you might try to sign up for his amazing summer workshops where he and his many assistants help teach welding to eager students. You have to sign up at least a year in advance, so good luck!

As it is the first week in March, you should try wandering around the streets of West Chester and Kennett Square for the fun pop up art shows that occur every first Friday of the month. Further afield, in downtown Phoenixville, you can drop by Diving Cat Studio Gallery on Saturday March 7th for a 7th Anniversary Party from 7:30 to 11 pm. There will be live music by The Holts, yummy food, champagne and lots of artwork to wear or showcase to make your life a bit more whimsical and artsy every day.

Also in Phoenixville is the opening for The Art Gallery at Franklin Commons new show, “The Art of Science” curated by Katie Naber and includes over 50 artworks in a variety of mediums that highlight the connections between art and science. Diverse artwork ranges from paintings of skin cells under a microscope to depictions of oceanography, and sculptural FM radios. The opening reception is from 1 to 4 pm on this Saturday and always features delicious food and wine, as well as the company of many exhibiting artists.

Last but not least, if you didn’t get to last week’s opening reception of The Chester County Art Association’s Member’s show and the Time Light Art Group “Four Seasons” show, you should check them out. Both openings were lots of fun, but the Time Light show opening was one of the very best photography shows that I have seen in Chester County.

The Time Light Art Group also very generously donated $500 to CCAA on the night of the opening. CCAA shows will continue throughout the month so there is plenty of time to visit them before they go away. The Time Light group is a mostly non-professional association of photographers who show their images together, when they are not working at their day jobs as professors, scientists and business executives. The average IQ in that room was rather humbling. The images were astonishing, refreshing and powerful. I don’t collect photography, but I still purchased two of them! Stop by CCAA this month for a true visual treat, and become a member while you are there.

Radley Run Country Club

http://www.chestercountyarts.org

http://www.safeharborofgwc.org

http://www.stansmokler.com

http://cfes.ucfsd.org/artshow/

http://www.divingcatstudio.com

http://www.franklincommons.net/art-gallery/exhibitions/

http://www.timelightart.org/

About Lele Galer

Lele Galer is an artist who has chaired numerous art shows, taught art history and studio art, public art and has chaired, written and taught the Art in Action Art Appreciation series for the UCFD schools for the past 12 years. She worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and wrote for the Associated Press in Rome. She has been dedicated to Art History and art education for most of her adult life. Lele and her husband Brad own Galer Estate Winery in Kennett Square.

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Ernestine Elaine Sanders Drew of Kennett Square

Obituaries

Ernestine Elaine Sanders Drew, 91, of Kennett Square, died Sunday, March 1, at Linden Hall Nursing Home in Kennett Square. She was the wife of the late Joseph D. Drew who died in 2009 and with whom she shared 66 years of marriage.

Born in Hanford, Calif., she was a daughter of the late Stanley and the late Eunice (Harper) Sanders.

She was a member of Willowdale Chapel where she participated in many groups. She was a member of the Kennett Area Senior Center, enjoyed flower gardening and crafting and was an excellent seamstress. In her early years she was a hairstylist for Demarco’s Beauty Salon in Broomal.

Survivors include one son, Gary Drew (Mo) of Germantown Md.; three daughters, Sandra Crawford (Andy) of Kennett Square, Gwenn Spratt of California and Patricia Keville of West Chester; 11 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by one brother and one sister.

You are invited to visit with Ernestine’s family and friends from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, March 7, at Willowdale Chapel Kennett Campus, 675 Unionville Road Kennett Square, PA 19348 (The church is located near the corner of Routes 82 and 926, one mile north of Route 1) A memorial service celebrating her life will follow at 11. Interment will be held privately. Contributions in her memory may be made to Neighborhood Hospice 795 E. Marshall St.

Suite 204 West Chester PA 19380. Arrangements are being handled by the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (610-444-4116) of Kennett Square. To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family, please visit www.griecocares.com

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Byway Commission wants Birmingham back

Arts & Entertainment, Local News

Birmingham Township is not part of the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway Commission. It was early on, but supervisors voted to withdraw in February 2011.

Supervisor John Conklin, who had been Birmingham’s representative on the commission, said at the time there was too little of Birmingham within the Route 52 byway corridor to make participation worthwhile and that there had been more talk than action. Conklin wrote a letter in July 2011 saying that the amount of Route 52 in Birmingham is “minimal.”

The commission tried sweetening the pot by adding Creek Road to the byway plan, but Conklin said Creek Road is too narrow for any development or building and supervisors declined a request to rejoin in 2012.

Now, though, the commission would like to see Birmingham back in the fold. To that end, Brandywine Conservancy’s John Snook gave a brief presentation on the commission’s Corridor Management Plan to the supervisors during their March 2 meeting.

Also attending was Byway Commission Chairman John Haedrich, from Kennett Township, and Alma Forsythe from Pennsbury.

Prior to Snook’s presentation, Haedrich said the management plan could be considered similar to a township’s comprehensive plan. He said the plan is written and just waiting for final comment from PennDOT.

“Once we adopt it, it will be the strategic plan for us to go forward,” Haedrich said.

He said after the session that the idea behind the byway — which would run up Route 52 from the Delaware state line to just south of West Chester, and back down — is to give travelers, both local and tourists, a “better experience” while driving through the area.

In all, 25 miles of Pennsylvania roadways are involved.

According to Snook, “We’re hoping to get Birmingham to come back in, but we realize that’s entirely up to you. But, the byway is intrinsically a part of Birmingham.”

One of the themes for the byway is history and the commission is eager to have Birmingham return because that’s where the major portions of the Battle of Brandywine were fought.

The corridor also includes sites that were part of the Underground Railroad.

“The vision is that the byway continue to be a place with a deep and varied history, recognizable in the landscape,” Snook said.

In addition to the historical theme, scenery is also a part of the intrinsic value, as is the ability to update open space priorities.

In a 2014 interview, Snook said the plan shows how the landscape evolved from prehistoric times through the period of European settlement. He also said at that time the plan could help strengthen local zoning ordinances.

Snook and Haedrich both said another goal is to coordinate actions among the participating townships, to get them to collaborate on preserving the “intrinsic qualities” of the corridor.

In addition to Birmingham, East Marlborough also dropped out after Route 52 was re-routed. The remaining five townships taking part in the Byway Commission are East Bradford, Kennett, Pennsbury, Chadds Ford and Pocopson.

After the presentation, supervisors moved on to other items on the meeting agenda with no further discussion regarding the byway.

The corridor management plan can be found on line at http://brandywinevalleybyway.org

Other business

• Supervisors awarded the 2015 Road Program to A.F. Damon, Inc. Damon was the low bidder of four companies. The winning bid, was $93,500 for the base job and two add-ons, which is less than the anticipated cost of $100,000. Township engineer Jim Hatfield jokingly said it was the first time the township was the high bidder.

When questioned by Supervisor Scott Boorse about Damon’s reputation, Hatfield said Damon has done work for the township before and is highly qualified.

• Supervisors also voted to request a flashing strobe light for the red light on the traffic signal at Route 202 and Penn Oaks Drive.

• In another vote, the board accepted the updated Emergency Management Plan. The plan is updated every two years, per state requirements. The plan is for internal use only and is not open to public review.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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Vince Ruggieri of Avondale

Obituaries

Vince Ruggieri, 55, of Avondale, died Saturday, Feb. 28.

Born in Jennersville, he was the son of the late Frank and Patricia Lurty Ruggieri.

Vince was a tile setter, last working for Coyote Construction Co., in Kennett Square.

He enjoyed camping, canoeing, gardening, chopping wood, the outdoors, riding his bike and being with his family and friends.

He is survived by three sisters, Patricia J. Roark (late husband Carl) of Wilmington, Brenda F. DiProspero (Joe) of Parkesburg, and Vicki L Huber (Craig) of Gap, and his companion Donna Weaver and her daughter Mandy.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by one brother, David M. Ruggieri.

You are invited to visit with his family and friends from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 7, at the Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home, 250 West State Street in Kennett Square. His Funeral service will follow at noon. Burial will be private.

In memory of Vince, a contribution may be made to the New Garden Friends Meeting, c/o Nancy Pratt, 415 Cedar Springs Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348.

Online condolences may be made by visiting www.griecocares.com

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ChesCo Emergency Services encourages weather preparedness

Local News

The Chester County Department of Emergency Services (CCDES) is promoting winter preparedness and encouraging residents to take action to prepare for the today’s winter weather.

According to a weather update issued by the National Weather Service Mount Holly Weather Forecast Office on Tuesday, Precipitation is expected to begin as all snow later today and then change over to sleet and freezing rain. This changeover from snow to sleet to freezing rain, then rain will occur during the Tuesday evening commute before moving further north Tuesday evening and night. An inch or two of snow/sleet accumulation is expected north and west of Philadelphia before the changeover to rain is complete in the far north during the late overnight hours. The evening commute will be affected. Winter Weather Advisories have been posted.

“When traveling during rush hour in winter weather, take caution.” says Robert Kagel, Director of Chester County Department of Emergency Services. “Stay six car lengths away from the car in front of you, do not pass plow or salt trucks and please use your headlights.”

ReadyChesco.org promotes the preparation of Ready kits for any type of emergency. Also on ReadyChesco.org are checklists to help prepare kits, especially for people with specific needs such as the elderly, for businesses, for people with specials needs, and for pets.

Supplies that CCDES recommends adding to Ready kits and checklists for winter weather include:

Rock salt or other environmentally safe products to melt ice on walkways.
Sand to improve traction.
Snow shovels and other snow removal equipment.
Adequate clothing and blankets to keep you warm.
Sufficient heating fuel and/or a good supply of dry, seasoned wood for your fireplace or wood-burning stove.
Keep posted on weather conditions.
Prepare for isolation at home. Keep an emergency kit on
Don’t use gas cooking stoves for heat sources.
Check with neighbors and relatives who may need extra assistance.

“We urge everyone to sign up for a text and E-mail service called ReadyNotifyPA (www.readynotifypa.org), which allows county and municipal officials to send E-mail or text messages to cell phones, pagers or other E-mail enabled devices during an emergency,” says Tom Glass, Deputy Director for Emergency Management.

“We also recommend that residents review and plan for any emergency by going to www.readychesco.org” adds Glass.

CCDES also warns of safety risks linked to keeping homes warm during winter storms, and recommends:

Keep flammable items at least three feet from heat sources like radiators, space heaters, fireplaces and wood stoves.
Make sure to check your carbon monoxide detector.
Plug only one heat-producing appliance (such as a space heater) into an electrical outlet.
Ensure there are working smoke alarms on every level of your home and check them on a monthly basis.
Use caution with kerosene or gas space heaters. Use vented space heaters whenever possible, and always makes sure they are cleaned and inspected.

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