Doug McLarty jokes that his wife won’t go on walks with him anymore.

That’s because the Xenia-based artist is always stopping to pick up objects he finds along the way. Those objects – leaves, flowers, berries – might then become his next work of art.

“It’s very much a discovery process, and I never know what I’m going to come up with,” said McLarty. “It’s pretty much a mystery until suddenly I see it in front of me.”

McLarty, whose work now is on display at the Weller Gallery in the D.D. and Velma Davis Education & Visitor Center at Fellows Riverside Gardens, creates images using a high-resolution digital-scanning process called scanography.

Against black backgrounds, the objects found in nature stand out in striking, visceral detail. They’re a little whimsical, too.

For example, there’s his “Supremes” piece. Green peppers are depicted “on stage” as if they were the Diana Ross-led female singing group.

McLarty said he hopes his art encourages viewers to look at nature a little bit differently.

“There’s a certain perception zone that I think we all have. If you go to the Davis Center’s gardens and look, everyone sees the same scene of a little garden patch with some really pretty flowers,” he said.

“Then you go a little closer, and you zero in on the roses or another plant. Then you go a little closer, and you see individual leaf structure. What I want to do is have people, when they go out and look at nature, get comfortable with getting a lot closer and really look at nature from a design perspective.”

McLarty’s exhibit, “Natural Selection: Discoveries in Bloom,” is on display through Sept. 17.

Also on display at Fellows is an “Organic Steel” exhibit by local sculptor Tony Armeni. Armeni’s sculptures are placed throughout the gardens area.

Armeni, who teaches at Youngstown State University, has work on display at numerous other Youngstown locations, including the Butler Institute of American Art. He is working on a project that is being funded by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The term “organic” refers to the sculptures’ shapes, said Lily Martuccio, who handles graphics and promotions for Mill Creek MetroParks.

“The contrast of the hard steel, and the organic shapes that fit into the area of this outdoor gallery – it complements it,” she said.

“Trees bend, just as [Armeni] gets his work to bend.”

Armeni’s work will be on display at the Gardens through October.

Both McLarty’s and Armeni’s art is available for purchase.

For information about the exhibits, call the Gardens at 330-740-7116.

 

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As the moon covers the sun today during the first solar eclipse since 1979, locations around the Mahoning Valley will host viewing events.

Mill Creek MetroParks will host a viewing event in partnership with Youngstown State University’s Ward Beecher Planetarium. Patrick Durrell, professor of physics and astronomy at YSU and director of the planetarium, will lead the event at the MetroParks Farm in Canfield.

“They’re bringing three telescopes that people can take turns viewing the eclipse as it’s going on,” said Maureen Weetman, Mill Creek MetroParks program and events coordinator. “They’re bringing solar shades. It’s going to be one per person, first come, first served. We’re going to have a looping presentation about the solar eclipse. We’re going to have children’s activities. … And we’re also going to be broadcasting a live feed of the total eclipse.”

The Youngstown area is not in the path of the total solar eclipse. Total eclipse will take place across a 60-mile-wide path across 12 states. In this area, the moon will obscure 83 percent of the sun at the event’s peak.

The partial eclipse will begin shortly after 1 p.m., with the peak about 2:30 p.m. and the end about 4 p.m. The peak lasts about 21/2 minutes.

Weetman said the MetroParks has received a flood of inquiries about the viewing event.

“It’s been many, many years since the last one, and it’s going to be another six years before there’s another eclipse, so people are really interested in seeing what takes place,” she said.

She encouraged people to come out to the farm for the event because “it’s a great educational moment.”

Also, Boardman science teachers are planning a Solar Eclipse Extravaganza at Boardman Spartan Stadium.

In addition to giving away 200 pairs of solar-eclipse glasses (which must be used to safely view the event), the eclipse will be shown through a solar filter camera on a jumbo screen at the stadium.

Additionally, OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology is offering visitors the chance to make pinhole projectors, free with admission to the museum. The museum also will have a viewing event.

 

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The rat snake at Ford Nature Center celebrated her 20 birthday on July 15.

Guests came to visit the snake, make a craft and enjoy refreshments for her birthday. This is the first time the snake’s birthday was celebrated with the public.

Ray Novotny, former naturalist with Mill Creek MetroParks, pitched the idea to Ford Nature Center naturalist, Marilyn Williams, to host a birthday party and allow the public to come and see something they wouldn’t normally see.

While the snake stays at Ford Nature Center, she is used to education children and other guests who come to the different programs.

“I had it’s mom and dad, they lived here, and in ‘97 the mom laid a dozen eggs,” said Novotny.

Novotny took care of the mom and dad snake at Ford Nature Center. When the mother laid her eggs, about half of them hatched and Novotny decided to keep one and let the rest go. Rat snakes can live to be in their late 20’s to early 30’s.

The guests who attended the birthday party had the opportunity the hold the snake and take pictures with her. The party lasted two hours and was open for guests to come and go as they pleased.

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Earlier this year, James Kagarise went to the Animal Charity Humane Society in Boardman on behalf of his dog, but returned with more than he bargained for.

“We went to Animal Charity for flea treatment and came home with a reptile,” the Youngstown man said with a chuckle.

Soon, the family had a new member: Chewbobca, an 11-year-old, 40-pound tortoise. At first, Kagarise’s children couldn’t agree on a name, so they came up with one that is a combination of Bob and Chewbacca, a character from the popular “Star Wars” series nicknamed Chewie.

Chewbobca may have stayed home, but several other tortoises of all sizes were on hand to delight the Kagarise family and others who attended Sunday’s Reptile & Amphibian Show at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm, 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road (state Route 46).

Sponsoring the five-hour free, family-friendly event was 21 WFMJ/WBCB.

Numerous species of snakes, turtles, salamanders and tortoises were the program’s main attraction. The primary purpose was to foster a greater awareness of and appreciation for a variety of animals that often are feared and viewed negatively largely because of certain myths, noted Mandy Smith, the MetroParks’ education manager.

“It’s good to have the whole family learn together, and that’s what this event provides,” Smith said, adding that unfavorable portrayals of such animals can reinforce people’s fears of them.

Kagarise’s children – Jimmy, 4, Jamie, 8, and Madeline, 10 – felt anything but fear, however, as they got acquainted with Diego, a nearly 4-foot-long Argentine black-and-white tegu. Also enjoying the experience was 10-year-old Lizzie Pfeffer of Austintown, a family friend.

“I’ve had him since he was a baby. He was the best Christmas present I’ve received,” said Ben Hosler of Chesterland, who owns the large lizard, the likes of which have a distinct pattern of black and white dots and stripes on their bodies, are quite docile and live mainly in rain forests and savannas of Argentina and other regions of South America.

Sure enough, Hosler’s 7-year-old tegu seemed to take all the attention it received in stride. Diego also can be quite sociable, Hosler continued, adding that his pet’s diet consists largely of wet dog and cat food as well as many vegetables.

“I’ve been told that we made him a Facebook page and all that social media stuff,” added Hosler, who’s also a member of the Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists, a 43-year-old organization dedicated to offering the public accurate information regarding the care, breeding and conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The animals at Sunday’s event were courtesy of NOAH and the Herps Alive Foundation, a South Euclid-based charity that lists as its primary goal saving, rehabilitating and caring for neglected, abused and unwanted amphibians and reptiles.

Other attractions were four species of tortoises – the largest of which was an African spur thigh, which can weigh up to 150 pounds, and an 8-year-old Russian variety.

“These guys are very inquisitive, very friendly and very intelligent,” said Dr. Erica Giles, a veterinarian and Herps Alive volunteer. “They remind me of a dog, in that they have such good personalities.”

Among those who agreed with that assessment was 3-year-old Mollyann Hulings of Petersburg, who enjoyed holding the Russian tortoise. Accompanying the youngster were her parents, Tom and Denise Hulings, and older brother, Zachary, 5.

Snakes of all sizes, colors and shapes also were a big draw, including a yellow-and-white 8-foot albino Burmese python, the likes of which are native to tropical and subtropical regions of southern Asia. They prey on birds as well as rats and other mammals.

“She’s a domestic snake that never lived in the wild, and that’s why she’s so gentle,” Katie Shipka, a park volunteer, said about Chutes, a 7-year-old striped corn snake, the likes of which are common in the southeastern U.S.

The nonvenomous snake Shipka held and demonstrated to interested attendees was predominately rust-colored, complemented with mottled spots and a large stripe from the head to its tail. The reptile, however, didn’t feel like many people probably expected it should, she said.

“Most people think they’re wet and icky, and they’re anything but,” Shipka added.

Herps Alive also provided information on healthful vegetables and other foods for reptiles, proper heating procedures for enclosures and feeding tips for snakes and insect-eating reptiles.

Displays included a native snake exhibit, courtesy of the Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center, along with jars containing small frogs, turtles and snakes, and a table with samples of turtle shells, an alligator skull, snake and frogs eggs and nonpoisonous snake skeletons.

Many children engaged in arts and crafts that allowed them to draw, cut and color snakes they made from paper plates.

 

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