Fresh Water explores a quartet of Cleveland's ethnic houses of worship that endure in traditions of faith, history and culture.

Last summer, MOCA Cleveland's fourth floor Mueller Family and Rosalie + Morton Cohen Family Galleries featured the works of Mark Mothersbaugh in a multi-media explosion of color and playful commentary with everything from a mutated Scion to the Booji Boy mask of DEVO fame.
 
Last Friday, Adam Pendleton's Becoming Imperceptible took over the space. Like the Mothersbaugh show, it's an immersive experience full up with sound and visuals that reflect the man behind it all. Unlike last summer's offering, the current multi-media exhibition is void of color. The ceramic floor sculptures, framed Mylar prints, collage, silkscreens printed on mirror and two film installations are all depicted in black, white and gray.
 
While the two shows have commonalities, the narrative arc in time, politics and culture that separates them could not be more stark. When Mothersbaugh's Myopia debuted, the city was on the verge of the gentle summer months and giddy with the prospect of the Republican National Convention. Cleveland was, essentially, preparing for its close up.

Adam Pendleton, Black Lives Matter #3 (wall work), 2015
 
Now a scant eight months later, division and uncertainty cloud the days. The city is covered in snow after an extended and eerie January thaw. Protests have filled Public Square with women and encroached on Cleveland Hopkins. More such events are scheduled.
 
Such is the current backdrop for Becoming Imperceptible. Different incarnations of the collection previously appeared in New Orleans and Denver, but both of those events closed prior to November 8, 2016. Hence, like the America it reflects, the exhibition woke to a new day when it debuted last week.

Continue reading.

Jereme Westfall, owner and artist of Work of Arc Welding, prides himself on breathing new life into discarded objects.
 
A damaged cello Westfall purchased from a music store, for example, is now a lighted sculpture complete with ribbed metal wings. The instrument can no longer play a beautiful concerto, but it's still lovely to behold, says its owner.
 
From his workshop at Steelyard Commons, Westfall also welds a unique identity onto working lamps, clocks, shelving, fountains and wall hangings. Primarily focused on metals, the arts-centric entrepreneur "upcycles" junk into works he sells at gallery shows or on his Etsy site.

"I take garbage and instead of recycling it to its original form, I'm turning it into something that still has a use," says Westfall, 39. "I've got a basement filled with valves, springs and other stuff that inspires me."
 
Hard work comes at cost for customers, although some pieces can be had at lower prices than others. Westfall's cello sculpture, a product of 100 man hours and $500 in materials, sells for $3,100, while his lamps run from $320-$355. More affordable offerings include business card holders built from transmission gears, which are $35 each.  
 
Westfall opened his studio a year ago after receiving certification from the Lincoln Electric Welding School. Creating functional art full time wasn't his first thought upon entering the industry, however.
 
"I worked as a welder for awhile, then decided I wanted to make my own rules," Westfall says. "I started making my own stuff, went to some art shows, and things took off from there."
 
Westfall's steampunk/industrial style lends itself to rustic spaces or the average man cave, he notes. The Medina native tries to add something quirky to each piece, like a valve that acts as a dimmer for a lamp.
 
Going into 2017, Work of Arc has several months of back orders to fill, among them a conference table repurposed for an area diamond broker. The business is also busy showing its regional pride through Cavaliers and Ohio State metal wall art pieces.

As long as folks keep buying, Westfall is happy to continue making something out of nothing.

"The biggest thing for me is to be flexible," says Westfall. "I like doing a wide range of pieces rather than just one thing over and over again. There's such a wide variety, I never get bored."
 
 

A zoomin' fleet of electric go-karts? The next must live neighborhood? What made the RNC such a success? We've got all that – and more.

Click here for a roundup of some of Fresh Water's most popular stories from 2016.

For those willing to venture over hill and dale, Fresh Water offers up a host of unique holiday activities, from a life-sized Candy Land game to gliding down a not-so-ominous Christmas Story slide.

Cuyahoga Arts & Culture will invest more than $14.5 million in grants to 241 nonprofits across the county in 2017. Fresh Water takes an inside look at four of the associated projects.

This roundup of unique gift shops on the doorsteps of your favorite museums and cultural centers is perfect for those seeking a truly alt-holiday shopping excursion.

Fresh off his success of "Selfies at the Clown Motel," Cleveland playwright Christopher Johnston recounts 25 years inside the local indie theatre scene and gives newbies tips on how to break into it.
 

Cleveland Institute of Art professor Doug Paige is showing students how to take a page out of Mother Nature's playbook when it comes to industrial design.