{"id":45644,"date":"2017-07-25T03:58:40","date_gmt":"2017-07-25T07:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utnews.utoledo.edu\/?p=45644"},"modified":"2017-07-24T15:10:07","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T19:10:07","slug":"celebrating-25-years-at-art-on-the-mall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/07_25_2017\/celebrating-25-years-at-art-on-the-mall","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating 25 years at Art on the Mall"},"content":{"rendered":"

For two local painters, it may have been a stroke of luck when Art on the Mall debuted in 1992 at their alma mater.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been doing a lot of paintings of Lake Erie scenes, and then this event was announced,\u201d Carol Connolly Pletz recalled.<\/p>\n

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This watercolor painting of University Hall by Kathy Palmer Genzman was featured in one of her Toledo calendars. \u201cI always include my alma mater in the calendar,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/div>\u201cIt was the year I made my first Toledo calendar,\u201d Kathy Palmer Genzman said. \u201cIt was like it was meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two women were among 51 artists who displayed and sold their work at the inaugural juried fair.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a beautiful sunny day. There were few tents, if any, and UT supplied wire structures to display paintings,\u201d Connolly Pletz, a 1966 alumna with a bachelor\u2019s degree in art, said. \u201cIt was the first show where I stood out with a few my paintings. It was a very positive experience; people loved my work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palmer Genzman also felt the love.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my husband, Bob, who suggested the calendar. He wrote the history, and I drew and painted scenes from around town,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen Art on the Mall was announced, he said, \u2018Let\u2019s see if they sell,\u2019 and they did \u2014 people loved the calendar.\u201d <\/p>\n

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\u201cBrown Swiss Dairy,\u201d acrylic, was painted by Carol Connolly Pletz after one of her many visits to Shipshewana, Ind.<\/p><\/div>Connolly Pletz and Palmer Genzman have returned to Art on the Mall every year. The perennial favorites will be back with more than 100 artists Sunday, July 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Centennial Mall.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so grateful to UT for putting this event on every year,\u201d Connolly Pletz said. \u201cThe community really enjoys the art, music and food. It\u2019s great it has remained a free show with free parking. Toledo loves this show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone at UT is always so helpful,\u201d Palmer Genzman, a 1980 graduate with a master\u2019s degree in art education, said. \u201cI\u2019ve known Dan [Saevig, associate vice president of alumni relations] since the beginning. He and his crew do an amazing job rain or shine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even fellow artists offer assistance. Connolly Pletz learned about notecards from Tom Durnford, a UT alumnus who taught a graphics class for the Communication Department and was director of publications and graphics from 1965 until his retirement from the University in 1989. The two had booths next to each for 23 years until Durnford passed away.<\/p>\n

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Carol Connolly Pletz has made 160 cards from her acrylic paintings.<\/p><\/div>\u201cHe worked in watercolor and besides his paintings, he sold notecards of his artwork,\u201d Connolly Pletz said. \u201cThat first year at Art on the Mall, I saw he was doing a brisk business selling his cards. We talked, and he agreed to mentor me in publishing my own notecards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, she has made 160 cards from her eye-catchingly colorful acrylic paintings, which showcase scenes from the Metroparks of the Toledo Area; the Lake Erie islands; Shipshewana, Ind.; and Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like to take something away that\u2019s affordable,\u201d Connolly Pletz said. \u201cNot everybody has a place for a painting or can afford an original or the color is wrong. But everybody can use cards.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI also sell Toledo notecards, which are very popular,\u201d Palmer Genzman said. \u201cI sell out of calendars every year; I always have to send the kids home to get more. The calendars aren\u2019t that expensive, and yet they\u2019re artwork. People really enjoy having a picture of Toledo.\u201d<\/p>\n

That local focus is important to both artists.<\/p>\n

Palmer Genzman\u2019s 2018 calendar features her meticulously detailed watercolor paintings of the University, last year\u2019s Jeep parade, the Lights Before Christmas at the Toledo Zoo, walleye fishing, the Niagara ship on the Maumee River and more. Since her husband passed away, her son, Paul, writes the history.<\/p>\n

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Kathy Palmer Genzman posed for a photo in front of some of her watercolor paintings that are included in her Toledo calendar.<\/p><\/div>\u201cI want people to love their city and be proud of it. It\u2019s a great city; it\u2019s a great University \u2014 look at that campus. What more can you ask for? Good eating places, you\u2019ve got the Mud Hens downtown, I love the renaissance of downtown,\u201d she said. \u201cI taught art at Toledo Public Schools and lived in the Glass City until retirement. I now live in Lambertville, Mich., but I\u2019m a Toledo person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMany local places have caught my eye \u2014\u00a0and my heart,\u201d Connolly Pletz said. \u201cThe Toledo Botanical Garden, Wildwood Metropark Preserve, the Maumee River, to name a few. There is so much natural beauty in our part of the world. I hope my work inspires some to pause and take a closer look at what we have right here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perennial favorite painters Kathy Palmer Genzman and Carol Connolly Pletz will be back at Art on the Mall along with more than 100 artists Sunday, July 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Centennial Mall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,60,5,6,53,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45644"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45644"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45692,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45644\/revisions\/45692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}