Pam Kravetz (pamkravetzart.com) is a multi-hyphenate fiber artist, arts educator, founder of the knitting/crochet street art gang Cincinnati BombShells (under the pseudonym Pinky Shears) and a performer. She was also a docent at the Contemporary Arts Center in the early ’80s, when it was still located on the second floor of the Mercantile Center on Fifth Street. She’s currently working on her “Memory Quilt” as part of the CAC’s recollection-based show Memory Palace in honor of the museum’s 75th anniversary.
CityBeat:
What annual fall event do you look forward to each year?
Pam Kravetz:
I am a huge fan of ArtWorks. … They have an event in the fall called Secret ArtWorks. It is their big fundraiser where you purchase a voucher and then select a piece of art not knowing who the artist is until after you have selected the work. This is the last year for the event and I know they will be pulling all the stops to make it bigger and better than ever.
CB:
If you could imagine a perfect, cozy fall meal at a local restaurant, what would the meal be?
PK:
My husband Super Craig and I have a little fall tradition of going to the quirky and delightful hidden gem Schwartz’s Point Jazz Club. The tiny little Jazz club is on the corner building heading up from downtown to Clifton. There are only maybe 10 little tables, and you never know who might be sitting in on a set. Once Kathy Wade sang “My Funny Valentine” just to me, or at least it felt like it. It’s a little dark and a little seedy, in a good way. If you go early for the complimentary “gourmet dinner” and incredible music, it’s only $10 on Tuesday nights. But get there early because the delivery pizza, salad from the grocery and homemade cake go pretty fast. It is charming, off the beaten path and The Ed Moss Trio is a Cincinnati treasure.
CB:
How do you prepare yourself for fall?
PK:
I fancy myself an Americana-music-making, banjo-picking, big-haired Bluegrass star. I dream of hanging out at The Comet in Northside waiting to hear some music and, oh no, [the Comet Bluegrass All-Stars’] banjo player couldn’t make it. Then Jake Speed asks me to fill in for one of the Freddies. … A new ritual I have begun in the fall is to start — and restart — taking banjo lessons. Summer comes to an end as I go back to school teaching art at Harrison High School. … This fall will be my third year starting banjo lessons again. Come summer you just might see me hanging with those Bluegrass big dogs — summer 2020, that is.
Picks for “The Artist”
The Ohio Renaissance Festival: Elizabethan England returns to Ohio via this 30-acre Renaissance village. There are daily stage shows (dueling swordsmen, rowdy pirates and jousters), a Medieval marketplace, maidens, minstrels, mead and giant turkey legs. Through Oct. 19. $21.95 adults; $9.95 children. 10542 E. State Route 73, Waynesville, renfestival.com.
The Ed Moss Trio: Scwartz’s Point Jazz club is a longtime labor of love for pianist Ed Moss. He lives upstairs and plays with his trio and special guests on weekends. 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. $5. Schwartz’s Point, 1901 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine, schwartzspoint.com.
Rabbit Hash, Ky.: “I am blown away by the drive to Rabbit Hash, Ky., through Cincinnati, down the winding road when the fall leaves are changing, scratching the Mayor (a dog) behind the ear and heading to the barn for the barnyard dance,” Kravetz says. The last barn dance of the season is at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 with The Modified. Rabbit Hash Barn, Rabbit Hash, Ky., rabbithash.com.
CAC TV: As part of Memory Palace, Kravetz hosts an interactive game/variety show and art history-based performance piece where she incorporates things like live music, video artists, body-painted Cincinnati Rollergirls and Brush Factory co-owner Rosie Kovacs dressed as Frieda Kahlo. The final CAC TV performance and “Memory Quilt” unveiling will take place on Nov. 3. Free. Contemporary Arts Center, 44 E. Sixth St., Downtown, contemporaryartscenter.org.
Secret ArtWorks: This favorite local party features thousands of secret 5-inch-by-7-inch pieces of artwork, plus drinking, dancing, nibbles from the region’s top chefs, live music and more. An art voucher for a piece of artwork is included with admission. 5-9 p.m. Nov. 21. $75 pre-sale; $80 at the door. The Center in the Mercantile Building, 115 E. Fifth St., Downtown, artworkscincinnati.org.
This article appears in Sep 17-23, 2014.