About the Art

November 01 – January 31, 2013
Employee Gallery

CLE Salutes our Military is in honor of our military personnel. The display is a tribute of how proud the city is of the men and women who defend and protect our country and freedom. It is also a reminder to be grateful for those who have given their lives to make it possible for us to live in a prosperous and safe country.  

Artist Details

Vaughn Smith

VAUGHN SMITH has been a Survey Crew Chief since October, 2003 for the City of Cleveland’s Mayors’ Office of Capital Projects, Division of Engineering & Construction. He has been interested in photography since childhood. While working in the D.C. area the summer of 2001 he took photos of the Pentagon just 10 days before 9/11. Photo’s that would become a tragic reminder how quickly life can change, after which he became an avid amateur photographer. The photos he submitted for this exhibit were taken during Cleveland Marine Week 2012.

Sean Coyne

Sean Coyne  is an employee at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in the Airport Operations Department. In 2010, he graduated from Kent State University with a degree in Aviation Management and is currently pursuing an MBA from Cleveland State University. When not working, Sean enjoys photography and website design.

Cindy Haney

Cindy Haney has been employed with the City of Cleveland, Department of Port Control since 1989. As a young child, she has always had an interest in photography.  Cindy perceives photography as a way of “preserving memories”.  Her photos has mostly been of her 4 children and preserving the memories of their growing years.  Cindy has had no formal classes as a photographer; however she hopes to improve her skills and take a few classes now that her children are grown. 

Edwin A. Jones

Edwin A. Jones is the Assistant Safety Chief and Training officer at the Cleveland Aircraft Rescue & Firefighting Department where he has served for 23-years. Ed also has a combined total of 30-years’ service with the Air Force active duty and reserves. Ed has been deployed twice since 2003 in support of Iraqi Freedom. Ed enjoys photography and utilizes his skills to supplement training materials locally and internationally. Ed, originally from Geneva, Ohio currently lives in Cleveland with his lovely wife Caroline, daughter Elissa, and son Alex. 

Phyllis J. Barrett "Kiki"

An Ohio native who enjoys Westlake in the summer and when the weather turns frosty, heads to her home away from home in St. Petersburg, FL.  After serious study at the Westlake School of Portraiture, Phyllis launched her artwork into a professional career.  Progressing in mediums of charcoal, pastel and oil, Phyllis realized her lifetime desire.  She is also an accomplished watercolor artist.  She credits photographing her own reference material and looking closely into it as a challenge, one worth striving for to produce “show stopping work”.   Phyllis has exhibited in Ohio and Florida.  She is an active member of Suntan Cultural Arts Center in St. Petersburg, FL. and has judged and been awarded merits in several Tampa area shows.

Phyllis and her husband are proud parents of Major Dennis Marshall, United States Army, Retired. Phyllis J.  Barrett may be contacted at Phyllisjbarrett@hotmail.com.

Brady Melton, Jr.

BRADY MELTON, JR. is a photo-journalist who has photographed numerous scenes: nature throughout Ohio; the California redwoods; the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Pyramids of Egypt; and a witches’ sun dance on a Mexican mountaintop.

Melton is a fifty-year member of the Karamu Camera Guild –­ one of the oldest African American photography groups in America.

Notables in Melton’s portfolio include Muhammad Ali, James Brown, Magic Johnson, Dr. Marvin McMickle, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Mayor Carl Stokes, Senator Louis Stokes and Governor Andrew Young.  For years, the Cleveland Public Library, in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, has exhibited Melton’s award-winning photographs.

Eric Ortiz

Eric Ortiz tries to capture a mood or feeling that has inspired him.  He works in mixed media over painted grounds. Eric received his B.F.A in graphic design at Cleveland State University.  He uses the computer to create images for his compositions. His inspiration comes from artists such as Leroy Neiman, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Jan Pienkowski, Kara Walker, Andy Warhol, Hector Vega, Sebastian Kruger and Derek Hess. Eric’s works have been featured in the Doubting Thomas Gallery in Tremont as well as the Zaller Gallery on Waterloo Rd. Eric also had the privilege to design and paint two guitars for the 2012 Guitar Mania sponsored by the United Way.

Kolman Rosenberg

Kolman Rosenberg is a freelance editorial, documentary, fine art photographer and owner of Kolman Rosenberg Photography.  He resides and works in Mentor, Ohio and has exhibited and won many awards for his photography.  Kolman has had his work published in a number of books, magazines and television.  Kolman also teaches photography classes at the Cleveland Photographic Society, where he served as the Director of their Fundamentals of Good Photography School.  He also teaches classes at the Mentor, Ohio Dodd Cameras store. More of Kolman’s images can be seen on his website, www.kolmanphotos.com.  He also publishes a regular blog at, www.photographyunposed.wordpress.com.

Mary "Mimi" Sandman

MARY “Mimi” Sandman is an award winning photographer who has had many of her photos published and in juried art shows.  Her photography can be found in private homes and corporate collections though out the United States, England, Australia, Scotland, Costa Rica, Brazil, Japan and Thailand.

Mimi’s photos have been used by the Medina County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Audubon, and the Audubon.  She also has photos in Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Art Program’s permanent art inventory. One of her photos is part of the art collection at the new Hospice of Medina County building.

Michael Spear

Michael Spear is a commercial and fine art photographer based in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Bowling Green State University in 1986.  Interested in photography from an early age, he has been shooting since 7th grade. He was the photography editor and photographer for both his high school and college yearbooks. After graduation from Bowling Green, he worked in advertising, was a freelancer for several local publications and assisted Bill Pappas, a local professional photographer, before starting his current studio business. Michael's work has been published in local, regional and international markets.

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