By Fran Watson

We're a little late, folks, but congratulations are never out of date. The Summerfair Grants -- $3000 each -- went to four deserving candidates KAREN DUNPHY, TERRY KERN, SARA JOSEPH and STEPHEN ZIEBARTH. These awards don't demand anything of the artists, unlike many grants which stipulate some sort of production goal in return. This is money bestowed just to keep artists rolling along, right down to paying back bills so they can be temporarily freed up for creativity.

The artists generally designate their use of these grants to maintain themselves and to expand existing projects, but the most interesting use of the prize money has been proposed by KAREN DUNPHY. Hers is an old name in Cincinnati art, which can always be counted on for unusual concepts. She plans to create a body cast of herself in soap, explaining, "I want to explore it as a different material. Its references of cleansing, melting and leaving a distinct residue will serve to unify form with meaning, and personal saga with a uniform message." P & G alert!

Public characters are de rigeur in large cities. And Cincinnati has RAYMOND THUNDER-SKY, marching to his own drummer in a clown suit and a white construction hard-hat. What you probably don't know is that Thunder-Sky is an artist with work on display at Base Gallery. Maps of construction/destruction areas downtown are portrayed through his eyes as naive interpretations of a city which has made a career of being "in process." The artist attended the opening March 31 and stayed by his brain children, spell-bound as Final Friday visitors flocked to his private wall of drawings. A big plus: He even sold one! 513-721-2273

For a good time call 513-639-2966. That's the whole idea behind the sixth annual BIG BRUSH OFF coming up on Saturday from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Take one big warehouse, turn some wannabe artists loose on canvas hung walls, add live music and room to boogie, and you've got the Cincinnati Art Museum's Renaissance Society's idea of a real party. Call for reservations.

E-mail Fran Watson

Antique Heaven (March 30, 2000)
Princely Photography (March 16, 2000)
Curiouser and Curiouser (February 24, 2000)
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