Nestled on a side street in Akron’s notoriously artsy Highland Square neighborhood, the Blue Sky Gallery strays from the notion of a typical modern-day exhibition venue. Joseph Blue Sky and his wife, Donna Webb, would prefer to be known more as storytellers than curators. The gallery is built in the structure they’d longed for for years — formerly an Acme store, built in 1923. They haven’t established hours and don’t spend time constructing elaborate displays with trendy track lighting — or even dusting the shelves too often. Natural light pours in through the large front windows, and visitors are welcome nearly any time, by appointment. “We do a lot of different kinds of things,” said Webb. “We do tile installations, pottery and figurative work. A lot of it tells stories. Some might call it narrative art or storytelling art.” “We are both painters and sculptors,” said Blue Sky. “Whatever comes up. Art can be anything.” The gallery is a testament to that philosophy: Everywhere is evidence of art projects. It’s clear that Blue Sky and Webb use every square inch of space to create their work. One long wall is lined with test pieces, many with notes attached. Blue Sky does ceramic sculpture, with many of his pieces exploring elements of myth, legend and history. His illustrations reflect a fascination with film, especially old-school horror. Webb often works on the potter’s wheel, creating vibrant pieces that confront the dynamic of inner and outer spaces. Blue Sky’s sense of architecture and drama and Webb’s exuberant colors lead to a kind of synergy in their collaborations. Webb has been a professor of art at The University of Akron for the last 30 years, and has commissioned several large jobs for herself around the city. Last year she completed a series of nine murals for the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority. Each two-foot-by-six-foot mural represented elements of Howard Street, the formerly booming blues and jazz sector of the city. Exiting the elevator on each floor of the Lauer Building, visitors are greeted with a different composition of a Howard Street landmark. A tenth piece in the series, titled “The Boogie Man of Howard Street,” was intended to capture the nighttime energy of the area. “Boogie Man” can be found at Stark State College in North Canton. Blue Sky is currently working on a sculpture titled “Mr. Midnight’s Goblin Chair.” Slightly modeled after the Lincoln Memorial and inspired by a poem he’s able to recite from memory, the sculpture depicts Mr. Midnight in a dark and contemplative position, dwarfed by his high-backed throne. “He’s the holder of our deepest, darkest fears, and so he sits here and broods on them,” explained Blue Sky. “It’s about the good and evil in all of us.” Both longtime Akron residents, the couple is drawn to projects that involve the city and its communities. Blue Sky has participated in Art in the Square. Webb is additionally involved with a collaborative group of scientists and artists called the Synapse Center for Art and Design, an initiative born at the University of Akron that explores the connections between and mutual interests of science and arts professionals. Webb’s current project for Synapse is a piece on how artists and scientists view water. The challenge, she said, lies in making the invisibility of water visible within her art. In addition, Webb participates in the Color Line Project — another U of Akron initiative, though this one is part of the drama department. “Color Line collects stories about race and about the experience of growing up in Akron,” she said. It’s a project that unites a number of her interests — Akron history (and particularly Howard Street), the arts and, of course, storytelling. Another Webb project in the works is the construction of an altered book, derived from a not-yet-published canal dictionary she’s written about the series of locks running through downtown Akron. The dictionary is presently being transcribed to the Internet by one of her students, so it may be viewed as travelers walk along the canal. Back in the gallery, each of these disparate projects seems to have a home. Most representative of the Blue Sky gallery, it seems, is a piece that sits in the center of one of the large front windows. It’s based on a fable influenced by the Tale of the Seven Arts, which tells how everything on the earth was made from clay. Above the piece in faded paint is their motto, “We are making the world.” Written By Ashley Schweigert