Westwood

Birth photographers share the emotions of labor

Lifelong west siders Melanie Pace and Kelly Smith may have grown up in the same neighborhood, but the two photographers met online. After realizing they lived only about a mile apart, the two met in person, and found themselves chatting about natural lifestyles, yoga, raising kids and their work. They didn’t decide to open Beautiful Beginnings Birth Photography on a whim. Rather, after photographing the births of friends and family members, they started receiving requests from friends of friends. The business idea suggested itself, and with the help of referrals from a local OB/GYN office, the Bowen Center, they now accept up to five clients at a time. Women typically contact Pace and Smith when they’re between six and nine months pregnant. After an in-person meeting, they’ll update the duo on their progress, typically texting when they go into labor. “We typically go to the hospital when she’s pretty well-established in labor, and is about 6 centimeters dilated,” Smith says. And if the phrase “birth photography” conjures nudity or gore, consider that almost all of the photographs are modest enough to share with children. “It’s more about the emotion and the experience,” Smith says. Sample photographs on the Beautiful Beginnings website depict moms stretching, hugging friends, squeezing a spouse’s hand and, of course, snuggling newborns. Melanie agree. “People think birth is bloody and icky and painful, and to some moms it might work that way, but if you understand how your body works and that it was designed to do this, it’s beautiful.” Beautiful Beginnings charges by the session, which typically lasts about six hours.  By Robin Donovan

Kids build shed, skills in West side camp this summer

Liz Sweet has a plan for this summer: Learn how to read a blueprint, how to work with tools and build a shed so she can help her dad build one in the backyard. Safety goggles firmly affixed and hands steadying the circular saw, Sweet is all business as she slides the power tool along a plank of wood on a warm June afternoon. The rat-a-tat of nearby hammering is her background music. The 12-year-old, who just finished sixth grade at St. Lawrence Elementary School, makes this look easy. Sweet is one of 18 middle-school students from Cincinnati’s West side who are working together in this summer’s Construction Camp at Resurrection School. Her brother, Matthew, 11, is also attending Construction Camp, which is organized by the Southwest Ohio Region Workforce Investment Board and supported by the Spirit of Construction Fund and the SC Ministry Foundation. This marks its second year. “I heard you get to work with tools and build things,’’ says Sweet. “I like to do more boy things than girl things. I think it’s fun. It’s pretty awesome.” Sweet may not realize it, but the camp is also teaching her and her construction partners – from Midway Elementary, Roberts Academy, Carson Elementary and Resurrection School - how to apply what they have been learning in math and science classes. The three-week camp teaches them job readiness skills, how to work with others and how to learn by doing. In addition, the program gives students a taste of a trade that is hungry for new workers. Construction trade workers, many of whom are baby boomers, are beginning to age out of the workforce, leaving a void of skilled workers, says Anne Mitchell, who organizes the camp and also organizes after-school construction clubs. This year’s project, a 10-foot-by-13-foot garden shed, will be fully equipped: The students will install windows and doors, a sink and a fan in the ceiling and metal roofing. They will also paint the structure – a crowd favorite – and are working with welders to create iron garden ornaments.   Just three days in and they had already taken a mountain of lumber and constructed the floor, the framing, the walls and the ceiling. They even used a jigsaw to create some flourishes and flair to the structure.   The completed shed will be auctioned in October at the Spirit of Construction’s gala event, which honors the region’s construction titans. A team of skilled craftsmen and women from Associated Builders and Contractors, all of whom volunteer their time, are on site every day working with the kids. Kevin Murray, a volunteer from Cincinnati Building and Contracting, has been on the construction site – which is Resurrection’s parking lot in Price Hill. It is his second year volunteering. “It’s really a lot of fun to see the kids. Look at them,’’ Murray says. “The kids are the ones who really blow me away. It’s really about the satisfaction of watching them enjoy it.” Campers, who attend from noon to 4 p.m. daily through the end of June, also get exercise time, a healthy snack and some craft time inside the school.   Amy Beal, a graduate student at Northern Kentucky University, and Jennifer Toebbe, who teaches physical education at Sands Montessori and is working toward her master’s degree in counseling at Xavier University, work with the kids on the “inside projects” and talk with them about career choices. The first few days, each camper drew a blue print of a project they wanted to build from the scrap materials to take home. Some plans included a closet storage system, a bird house and a small box. They will get to take home those projects, a garden ornament that they welded and a tool pouch that includes a hammer, tape measure, carpenter’s pencil, tinted safety goggles and water bottle. Mitchell beams as she discusses the program and the impact it has on the students. This year, four of the students are homeless. One is autistic. But none of that matters. “Most of these kids didn’t know each other before this week. Now they are part of team. They are working together on something.’’ she says. “Many of these kids have challenges. “But they chose to be here. To have an impact on their future.” Do Good: •    Follow the construction progress on the group’s blog Building our Future: Construction Camp. •    Follow Anne Mitchell on Twittter. •    Donate materials or time by emailing Mitchell. Chris Graves is the Assistant Vice President of Digital and Social Media at the Powers Agency. You can follow her on Twitter.

Taft’s collection hits the streets in Art for All

A Rembrandt on Fountain Square. Rousseau’s Fontainebleau in Fairfield’s Founder’s Park. A Millet at the Boone County Library. Famous works of art on display outside? Why yes, says the Taft Museum of Art. To commemorate its 80th anniversary, the Taft has begun installing 80 framed weather-proof reproductions from its collection in public spaces around the region. Reproductions of landscapes, portraits and expansive vistas will be at libraries, schools, parks, the Great American Ball Park as well as restaurants and even a bar or two. A full map of all locations can be found here. “This is a great way to engage new audiences and reenergize the interest of those already familiar with the Taft’s collection,” says Deborah Emont Scott, Taft director/CEO. “Plus, it will be great fun for those who are out and about to find a masterpiece around the corner in one of the city’s many great neighborhoods.” Dubbed Art for All, the Taft program was modeled after successful public art projects by the Tate Gallery in London and the Detroit Institute for the Arts. The $200,000 project, which officially starts June 1 and runs through September, was funded by The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, says Tricia Suit, the museum’s marketing and communications manager. The Taft has spent months preparing for the open-air exhibit and has worked with numerous community groups, including ArtWorks. That public art group will create two permanent murals based on works in the collection that will be installed in Over–the-Rhine and Bellevue, KY. “This is a great addition to the project,’’ Suit says, adding that the murals last for about 20 years. “It would be fabulous to have them up until our 100th anniversary.” As part of the project, the museum is also holding Third Sunday Fundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The free events will include performances, family activities and short talks about the works of art. Each Sunday will focus on an area of the city where the collection’s reproductions are located: June 17 will feature works on the West Side of Cincinnati; July 15 will feature the East Side; August 19, downtown and the central region; and Sept. 16 will focus on Northern Kentucky. Downloadable maps will be available online after June 1. Printed maps will be available at the Taft and other area locations. In addition, the museum will use social media sites like Flickr, Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter to share information about the project. Suit says she hopes people will snap pictures of themselves with the art with their smartphones and upload it to the museum’s Art For All Flickr account. Does Suit think some will go hunting for all 80? Sure. “I know we will have some who will do that … we should really have a fabulous prize for those who do. It’s kind of like a scavenger hunt. I think it would be great for folks to discover – or rediscover - parts of our city and our area as part of this.’’ Do Good: • Like Art for All on Facebook. • Follow Art for All on its Twitter account. • Party in the garden at the Taft’s Soiree in the Garden, Thursday, May 17. By Chris Graves Chris Graves is the assistant vice president of social and digital media at The Powers Agency, a public relations and advertising agency. You can follow her Art For All check-ins on FourSquare .

Fifth Quarter in Cincinnati: Not your mother’s summer school

Now in its 4th year, Cincinnati Public Schools’ 5th Quarter program targets under-performing, low-income schools with an extended school year and a collective approach to learning, and fun, that's getting national attention.

Soapdish: Crosley, Pulitzer highlight local preservation victories

Tis May once again, dear Soapdish readers. At the dawn of Preservation Month, we coronate our region’s more notable preservation victories of the past 12 months. From Powel Crosley Jr.'s estate to Emily Pulitzer's childhood home, Cincinnati saves legendary landmarks.

Plan, Build, Live encourages community feedback

City and neighborhood leaders, led by Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls, have been building support for a new approach to development regulations for more than four years. Much of that has been developed through the program Plan, Build, Live. Plan, Build, Live is a program driven by community feedback and discussion, all gathered  via the project's website. The website encourages people to share their ideas about how a city should be designed. This weekend, instead of just online, Cincinnati residents and business leaders will come together to shape our future through a citywide Urban Design Workshop. The Workshop takes place from April 28 to May 2 to help create a "form-based code" that can be used by neighborhoods all over Cincinnati -- and help shape how development happens in Cincinnati in decades to come.    "Traditional zoning focuses on the use of the building and how far the building is off the street or how large the building is," says Della Rucker, public engagement office for Plan, Build, Live. "Form-based code flips that around and focuses on how a property contributes to the experience people have in the area. How it creates a vibrant, walkable community."  Plan Build Live is funded by a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Local funding is provided by the City of Cincinnati, the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Health Department, and the Mill Creek Restoration Project. One of the Plan Build Live tools, a form-based code, encourages strong neighborhoods, business districts, and downtowns by focusing on the shapes of buildings, streets and sidewalks. Form-based codes can helps maintain or enhance a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly environment that offers a mix of residential options, transportation methods, workplaces, shopping and more. Traditional zoning codes encourage patches of similar use, forcing long distances between work, home and play. Form-based codes allow different uses to cluster – restaurants, apartments, drug stores and grocery stores, for instance – as long as they stick to rules that address the ways they relate to the neighborhood.   Form-based codes are not planned to replace other types of zoning in Cincinnati, but they are intended to give neighborhoods a more flexibility. A key difference of form-based codes is that even people who are not trained planners help put them together. Participants only need to be willing to share their ideas. During the Workshops, citizens will meet with planners, architects and engineers to talk about what they like and want to see -- both in Cincinnati's neighborhoods and on several "special opportunity" sites.  The preliminary Workshop focuses on creating a city-wide form-based code that will serve as a framework for the fall workshop, which will focus on four neighborhoods: Westwood, College Hill, Madisonville and Walnut Hills.  The estimated completion date is 2013, but feedback and participation from residents and business owners is critical to helping the city implement the program. By Evan Wallis

Western Wildlife Corridor restores beauty along the Ohio River Valley

The Western Wildlife Corridor has turned a passion for nature into a crusade for a more beautiful Ohio River Valley. Stretching from Mill Creek near downtown Cincinnati to the Great Miami River bordering Indiana, the WWC’s work seeks to enhance the quality of life for Cincinnatians by removing pollutants from the air and water, eradicating invasive plant species and helping boost the values of properties along the river.   As stated on its website, the organization’s mission is “to protect the scenic beauty and natural resources of the Ohio River Valley through direct land protection and through the promotion of responsible land use.” One of the ways the WWC accomplishes this is by obtaining protective easements or purchasing properties in need of habitat restoration. “Raising enough money to purchase these properties is probably one of our biggest challenges,” says Tim Sisson, WWC president. According to Sisson, the WWC has agreements to protect properties in both Miami and Delhi Townships.   In terms of the condition of the land itself, Sisson says that one of the biggest problems facing the Ohio River Valley is the prevalence of invasive plant species. “Species like Amur honeysuckle and garlic mustard kill other plants, trees and bushes,” says Sisson. “Once brought in as ornamental, these species are now threatening the indigenous plant life in the Ohio Valley.”   Although the organization conducts habitat restoration year round, springtime is its busiest season – and just a few weeks away. The WWC relies entirely on volunteers to do everything from manually removing the smaller invasive plants from the riverbanks to performing administrative duties such as bulk mailings, website maintenance and newsletter coordination and editing. “Volunteerism with the WWC represents the opportunity to protect something important,” says Sisson.   This fall, the WWC celebrates its 20th anniversary. Throughout 2012, the WWC will host many events providing opportunities for the community to become aware and involved. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the WWC will host its annual meeting at the College of Mount St. Joseph. Open to the public, the meeting will include a presentation on the ecology and geology of the hillside.   “Now is the time to protect the beautiful natural environment of the Ohio River Valley for future generations.” Sisson says.   Do Good:   • Donate: funds to help purchase a property in need of natural restoration. • Volunteer: your time to “clean up” the Ohio River banks. • Become: a member of the Western Wildlife Corridor.   By Deidra Wiley Necco

Ameenah C. Hall

Local winery makes national list

Cincinnati may be the last place you’d expect to find a winery, but Henke has been around for more than a decade. Read the full story here.