From roots to sky

Kam Shun Lee with his oil paintings.

Works by artists Michael Weil (photographs), Richard Ruehle (wood), Kam Shun Lee (oil paintings) and Toni Fiderio (watercolors) are featured in a new show running from Sept. 13 to Nov. 30 at the South Wing Gallery of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2747 Fairmount Blvd. in Cleveland Heights. Meet all four artists at the opening reception on Friday, Sept. 13 from 5–7 p.m.

"I was always taking pictures—never a time when I didn’t," said Michael Weil, a photographer with a Ph.D. in art history with a focus in photography from Case Western Reserve University. An artist's book by Weil was featured in the 2012 Cleveland Museum of Art exhibition "DIY: Photographers & Books." His photographs also have been shown at the Heights Arts Gallery, the Cleveland Clinic, Cedar Creek Grill, and the Katz Club. Weil photographs a variety of subjects, from the Adirondacks, to Frank Gehry’s flying rooftops, and aerial views. "I’m just beginning to think of myself as an artist," he said.

At 74, Richard Ruehle makes wooden bowls, platters, vases and hollowed forms using a lathe, band saw and table saw. "It kind of became a passion," he said. After retiring, he began creating a wide variety of pieces, starting with traditional woods such as maple, cherry and walnut. He then became captivated by exotic woods from Australia, Southeast Asia, Russia, and England. He is quick to say that he uses only environmentally protected wood. One year, he displayed his turned wood at 18 shows. Ruehle believes that a rich retirement can keep a person young and vital.

Kam Shun Lee graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art and has 20 years of experience as a painter in oils. He is also a marathon runner. An award-winning painter, Lee captured the Grand Canyon on a big canvas, with great swaths of yellow, orange and green giving the impression of rocks and crags. He paints what he saw firsthand, having run the canyon three times, and said that every color must be in place to evoke the canyon’s vastness. He decides a painting is finished when one more splash of paint could destroy what he has already achieved.

Toni Fiderio, a versatile artist, paints watercolors and oils, and is also a print maker. Her watercolors are airy, with subtle casts of color. She emphasizes the importance of light and is challenged and excited by the way light shifts and quickly changes. Painting with watercolors demands immediate brush strokes that cannot be corrected, so she works with a plan in mind, first sketching a building, an interesting scene in the Flats, or a pastoral piece, before she puts brush to paper. In her words, "Painting keeps the fire going."

The Rev. Alan Gates, rector of St. Paul’s sums up the mission of the space: "The South Wing Gallery provides members of the parish and the wider community with a wonderful venue for celebrating the God-given gift of creativity in the arts."

Visit the gallery weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; weekends 9 a.m. to 1 p.m, or online at www.stpauls-church.org.

Mary Krogness

Mary Krogness is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

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Volume 6, Issue 9, Posted 2:03 PM, 08.30.2013