Schedule & Speakers

Arts Momentum in Toledo
A Presentation by President and C.E.O. Marc D. Folk of The Arts Commission.

Marc Folk, President and Chief Executive Officer, began with The Arts Commission in 1996 as an instructor in the Young Artists at Work program and has since worked with passionate dedication to advance the arts, culture and community development in the Toledo region. Marc represents The Arts Commission on various national and regional committees to advocate for and promote the development of the arts. He served for three years as the president of the Ohio Citizens for the Arts, is past co-chair of the Toledo Area Cultural Leaders (TACL) and is an active member of the United States Urban Arts Federation. He is a 2006 recipient of the 20 Under 40 Leadership Award, the 2009 winner of the Ohio Arts Council's Governor’s Award for Arts Administration and in 2010 he was recognized as the University of Toledo’s Outstanding Alumnus in the Arts. In 2018 he was awarded the Ray Hanley Innovation Award by the Americans for the Arts in recognition of outstanding individual contributions to arts and culture in American cities. He has served as a four time grants panelist for the National Endowment for Arts, most recently for CARES Act. Marc is a 1998 graduate of the University of Toledo, with a BFA in Sculpture and a minor in Printmaking. He is a DJ and avid record collector and lives in Toledo’s Old West End with his son Holden.

Who We Are
The Arts Commission is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1959 to foster Toledo’s heritage in the arts. The organization is the longest-standing arts commission in the state of Ohio, serving youth, artists, arts organizations, and the general public. Since 1977, The Arts Commission has managed the City of Toledo’s One Percent for Art program, the first in the state of Ohio and among the first in the nation, and maintains Toledo’s impressive collection of public art.

The Sphere of Light is a monumentous concept both in fabrication and purpose. The Roots of Humanity Foundation was created with the purpose of creating this artistic building.

This monumental art structure will serve as a place of personal inspiration, reflection, healing & growth while also educating to unite and connect all individuals through witnessing how much we have in common as a human race. The idea came near the completion of the ROK windows upon witnessing the enormous positive impact that project had an is having locally and worldwide.

Tom and Gayle Holdman shares the vision, the progress toward the Sphere of Light project, and the Foundation and Team that they have built to help achieve this ambitious project.

The Roots of Humanity Foundation works through art and education to foster esteem, connection, and creativity within individuals while unifying and inspiring communities.

Tom & Gayle Holdman

In the last 3 decades, Tom and Gayle and their remarkable team of artists at Holdman Studios have created internationally renowned art glass in all 50 states and 40 countries.  They have been involved in more than 140 temples for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as countless projects for residences, civic structures and other religious denominations worldwide.

Tom began using art to express himself as a child with a severe stutter. The magic of glass and light captured his attention in high school and, at 21, he started his stained glass studio out of his parents’ garage and never looked back. Gayle earned a bachelor’s degree from BYU in Family Science and Human Development, is an artist, designer, Education Week instructor, and best selling author.

Their Roots of Knowledge windows at UVU chronicle the impact of inspiration and human action throughout the ages. This compendium of history has been hailed in Europe as one of the most spectacular stained glass windows made in the past 100 years. Tom and Gayle have received the Days of ’47 Pioneers of Progress award in Historic and Creative Arts, the Governor’s Artist Award and the Best of State Statue Award. 

The interaction between light and matter creates a visual world that humans are immersed in. The perception and interpretation of the visual world informs our daily lives, our place in the universe, and how we relate to each other. Great art is the product of light reaching our eyes which has been manipulated by matter to evoke an emotional response. But what is really going on when light meets matter? Specifically, what happens when light meets glass?  The answers illuminate the truly bizarre nature of light and provide a glimpse into weird world of quantum mechanics. This talk will provide high-level, accessible scientific explanations of observed visual phenomena (reflection, refraction, color). Taken together, these case studies aim provide a framework to grasp of the true nature of light and more deeply understand glass as a medium.

Scott Cooper, PhD, Global Glass & Materials Science Group Leader, O-I Glass

Scott became fascinated in ceramics and glass through the art world. As a teenager he worked for a glass artist and found a love for throwing ceramic pottery. During his university studies in materials science, he found every excuse for projects and internships to focus on glass – from fluorescent compositions for lasers to bioactive formulations for drug delivery. He is now the global leader for glass science at O-I, the world’s largest manufacturer of glass packaging.  At O-I, Scott leads a globally dispersed team that manages glass chemistry, raw materials, properties, color, melting, quality procedures, and technical development. He is currently serving as president of the Glass Manufacturing Industry Council, a trade association representing industrial glass production in North America. He holds 13 US patents

Any artist's studio, no matter what the size, contains materials hidden in plain sight that are core to creation and yet potentially hazardous. Ariana, Jenna and Jesse will discuss how scaling up safety from a few initial easy steps (from a single artist to a large studio) can help us all follow Nzilani's motto: "Be Safe. Have Fun. Do Excellent Work."

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Ariana Makau is President and Principal Conservator of Nzilani Glass Conservation. She is a Board Member and Health and Safety Chair of the Stained Glass Association of America: plus a Fellow of the American Institute for Conservation. Nzilani focuses on self-empowerment through information: sharing stained glass processes, health and safety procedures and the importance of preserving cultural landscapes and the environment.

Jenna Kurtz is a multi-discipline artist who currently focuses on creating custom stained glass windows and suncatchers. Along with her partner, Jesse Medina, she is the cofounder of Mariposa Glass and Tile Works, a stained glass and tile mosaic design and fabrication studio in Berkeley, CA. She holds a BFA in Sculpture from CSU Long Beach and has worked on various public and private projects throughout the Bay Area. Jenna has a passion for teaching glass art and spends her spare time learning carpentry.  

Jesse Medina is an Oakland based mosaic artist who’s love for the craft has driven him to adorn the city with over 50 works of public art. His murals can be seen throughout the Bay Area on walls, businesses, and litter containers peppering the East Bay. He is the cofounder of Berkeley based Mariposa Glass and Tile Works, a mosaic and stained glass design and fabrication studio. Along with his partner, Jenna Kurtz, they continue to beautify public spaces and client’s homes with custom glass and tile artworks.

Meaning in the Making: The Choice to Mosaic

We have just the creative booster shot of inspiration and motivation needed to get things moving in your studio this Summer!  This panel discussion will bring together four Internationally recognized artists who have extensive professional backgrounds and a shared deep passion for mosaic art.  How does a creative practice evolve to focus on Mosaic Art?  What about the process of mosaic making enhances and supports intentions for art that is created?  How does the experience of viewing mosaic art inform stylistic and design choices in an artist’s creative process?  Moderated by SAMA Executive Director Dawnmarie Zimmerman, this panel discussion will be a celebration of exquisitely beautiful work with a meaningful exploration of the motivations and inspirations of these highly regarded and celebrated artists, Yulia Hanansen, Laura Rendlen, John Sollinger and Carol Shelkin. 

ON BEING A PRACTICAL UTOPIAN

With an ongoing career that primarily focuses on providing stained-glass-infused public art, Karl Unnasch gives the low-down on his experiences through an eclectic, whimsical mix of his stories, images and more. Barnyard tales, roadkill, small-town auctions, the philosophy of pinball, permaculture, Dungeons and Dragons, community spirit, yard sales, horseshoe crabs, foundry bosses, beer-bartering, and bourbon are just some of the subjects he will juggle as he relates a creative journey born from a philosophy of “what-if-ication”.

A rugged Minnesotan farm upbringing punctuated with Quixotic escapism nurtured Karl Unnasch’s formative history. Working hard meant food on the table, wood in the stove and the possibility of a book or two to be read by a homemade flashlight under the covers in his bed late at night. His present-day notions morph into public art works that toy with communal nostalgia, knitting together sources of collective memory while ringing with an element of his own whimsy.

For more information, visit https://karlunnasch.com/. 

"This project is a culmination of everything I love: art, travel, family and friends. It is about connection. For five months, I drove across the United Sates to visit friends and family, having them create a small abstract mosaic segment. Each of their contributions was used to create one large mosaic, a tapestry woven by the people who have touched my life. After mulling over some very deep thoughts during covid, the idea for this project came to me in a flash, more like a lightening bolt. Thoughts such as the direction of my art, doing something bigger, outside of the box and more meaningful; the importance of relationships and family during covid; the itch to travel; the state of the country and having turned 50. From the lightbulb to the road, it all came together within six weeks. The rest, well…  I figured out along the way.

Between the pandemic and a country divided, many themes arose: unity, inclusion, connection, relationships and in-person contact. Timing was everything! Being on the road in the middle of it all, I was able to freshly capture the after effects of restrictions and being locked down, like the importance of face to face conversations. Meeting with people across the country, with or without differing views, was a way to connect through art and find our common ground. Just one way to help to bridge the divide and bring something positive to the table. To bring a little light in a time of darkness. "

Sensitive to place and current issues, Kate Kerrigan's mosaics are an emotional response to her surroundings. Though more widely known for her representational compositions, her work has changed significantly in recent years, delving into abstract, exploring three-dimensionality and responding to the world around her. Kerrigan has been a mosaic artist for 24 years. She studied classic techniques and materials in both Venice and Ravenna, Italy. She has been awarded, recognized and published on national and international levels. Her work has been shown in Italy and Turkey, and throughout the United States. A Wisconsin native, Kate currently resides and produces in Redmond, OR.

www.katekerrigan.net