ART

SEIZED SUPPLIES
Michele Pred creates sculptures using confiscated items from airport security checkpoints. An exhibit of her latest work, “Remainders,” includes an American flag made from pocketknives, a nest made of hundreds of woven cell-phone chargers, and a series of delicate hearts made from small pairs of scissors. A large piece titled “Encirclement” uses thousands of pairs of scissors, matches, and knives to build a ring that is 6 feet in diameter. Most of Ms. Pred’s materials were confiscated after September 11 at San Francisco’s International Airport. Through Tuesday, October 26, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Nancy Hoffman Gallery, 429 West Broadway, between Spring and Prince streets, 212-966-6676, free.

VASE PLACE
The exhibit “Vasemania: Neoclassical Form and Ornament,” which closes on Wednesday, features about 100 rarely displayed pieces of silver, textiles, ceramics, furniture, works on paper, and paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. The exhibit explores the revival of classicism in the 18th century in popular vase motifs. It includes not just functional vessels and garden ornaments but items in which the vase is used as a design motif – in wine and water urns, knife boxes, ink wells, perfume burners, furnishing fabrics, and carved paneling. Through Wednesday, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 18 W. 86th St., between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, 212-501-3023, $3 general, $2 seniors and students.

HOME STRANGE HOME
“One Story” is an exhibit of pen-and-ink drawings by Scott Teplin. Mr. Teplin draws unpopulated one-story buildings without roofs, inviting viewers to peer into detailed layouts that include unusually clever touches. Through Saturday, tomorrow-Saturday, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Adam Baumgold Gallery, 74 E. 79th St. at Park Avenue, 212-861-7338, free.

BENEFITS

PATRONS OF THE ARTS
The National Arts Awards gala, presented by the Americans for the Arts, honors Chuck Close, philanthropist Raymond Nasher, choreographer Paul Taylor, Procter & Gamble’s A.G. Lafley, and high school principal William Bassell. Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Cipriani 42nd Street, 110 E. 42nd St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 202-371-2830, $1,000-$5,000.

BOOKS

GRANT STORIES
Marc Eliot reads from his biography “Cary Grant” (Harmony). Grant’s life holds fodder for hundreds of pages: He was told at age 10 that his mother had died, but found out 18 years later she was alive in an asylum. Grant had a serious gay relationship in addition to five marriages to women, and late in life took weekly LSD “treatments.” The book also intimates that the FBI pressured Grant to spy on his second wife, Barbara Hutton, in return for American citizenship. Tonight, 7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle, 1972 Broadway at 66th Street, 212-595-6859, free.

THE 6 TRAIN TO PARIS
Contributors to “The Best American Travel Writing 2004” (Houghton Mifflin) read from their tales of world travel. The three writers talk about the origins of their pieces and then read selections from their work: Tad Friend contributed the story of an unusual trip to Paris, George Packer looked at politics in the Ivory Coast, and Elizabeth Rubin wrote about Afghanistan. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. readings, 8:15 p.m. book signing, the Explorers Club, 46 E. 70th St., between Park and Madison avenues, $15 general, $5 students, free for members, seating is on a first-come first-served basis.

WISE WORDS
Literary critic Harold Bloom discusses his new book “Where Shall Wisdom Be Found” (Riverhead), in which he searches for insight in the Western canon from Job to Proust. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., Columbia University Bookstore, 2922 Broadway at 115th Street, 212-854-4131, free.

COMEDY

PROOF OF PRODIGY
Comedian Paul Scheer hosts a lineup of performers who present material they wrote in their youth. “I Was a Teenage Genius!” includes angstridden teenage poetry, summer-camp crafts, unlyrical ballads, and other evidence of questionable early creative taste. The show is presented by PSNBC, NBC’s performance and development lab. Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m. doors open, 8 p.m. show, the Marquee, 356 Bowery, between Great Jones and East 4th streets, www.nbc.com/psnbc, $5.

DANCE

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING
Henning Rubsam’s Sense dance company performs his new contemporary ballet piece “Django,” set to music by European jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. The program, which features four members of the on-hiatus Dance Theatre of Harlem, also includes a tribute to pop composer Woody Herman, a Pointe work piece set to music by young composer Richardo Llorca, and the new “Guitar Concerto.” Readers of The New York Sun are eligible for a special ticket price of $15 (www.sensedance.org, enter discount code “dancer”). Wednesday through Sunday, Wednesday-Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Ave. at 25th Street, 212-868-4444, $30 priority seating, $22 general, $15 seniors and students.

FASHION

SKIRTING THE ISSUE
The designer of 21st Century Kilts, Howie Nicholsby, holds public fittings for men and women in the market for designer kilts. Attendees can view the latest designs and have pieces made to order. Tomorrow, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Roosevelt Hotel, Madison Avenue at 45th Street, 678-571-4746, free.

FOOD & DRINK

TASTE OF FREEDOM
A South African food festival that coincides with the country’s 10th anniversary of freedom includes prix-fixe lunches and dinners paired with South African wines. Dishes includes ostrich carpaccio, Durban “bunny chow” (a mutton dish with curry), and traditional Malva pudding. Tomorrow through Friday, November 12, Millennium UN Plaza Hotel, Ambassador Grill & Lounge, 44th Street between First and Second Avenue, 212-702-5014, $25 lunch, $40 dinner, add $15 for wine.

SUSTAINABLE SUCCULENCE
A panel of chefs and restaurateurs discusses the connection between healthy food and environmental responsibility. The “Living with Nature” discussion is moderated by filmmaker Ruth Ozeki, and includes the author of the well-known vegetarian Moosewood cookbooks, Mollie Katzen; a farmer and founder of the Vermont local-food restaurant Farmers Diner, Tod Murphy; the chef at the organic Blue Hill Restaurant, Dan Barber, and nutritionist Joan Dye Gussow. A resource fair offering goods by local farmers precedes the talk. Tomorrow, 6 p.m. fair, 7:30 p.m. talk, American Museum of Natural History, LeFrak Theater, 77th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue, 212-496-3423, free, registration recommended.

MUSIC

BLOWING IN THE WIND
The wind ensemble Windscape joins pianist Frederic Chu for a concert that includes pieces by Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and Ravel’s “Mother Goose Suite.” Windscape is comprised of flautist Tara Helen O’Connor, oboist Randall Wolfgang, clarinetist Alan Kay, bassoonist Frank Morelli, and horn player David Jolley. The concert launches the Surrounding Beethoven series. Thursday, 8 p.m., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, 212-570-3949, $35.

URBAN COWBOYS
The Russian-born, Bronx-bred musician Regina Spektor performs in the Live From Home concert series this week. Country rocker Buddy Miller and Bob Dylan-inspired John Wesley Harding join her for a performance that benefits Housing Works. Friday, 7 p.m. doors open, 7:30 p.m. show, Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby St., between Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-3324, $25, seating is on a first-come first-served basis.

NATURE

FEATHERED FRIENDS
The New York City Audubon Society presents a series of weekend bird-watching walks. Wave Hill opens early for the walks, which provide an opportunity to watch songbirds on their flights south for the winter. Participants should bring a field guide and binoculars to spot white throated sparrows, double-crested cormorants, red-belly woodpeckers, tufted titmice, and other travelers in flight. Sundays through October 31, 8:30 a.m., Wave Hill, meet at main gate, 249th Street and Independence Avenue, Bronx, 718-549-3200 ext. 305, $20 general, $15 members, registration required.

POETRY

SURREAL STANZAS
Poet Janet Hamill’s class, “Surrealism and the Radical Imagination,” covers the Romanticists’ fascination with the sublime, how Symbolists elevated the use of imagery, and the Surrealists’ attempted liberation of the poetic imagination. Students are advised to bring “a desire to rescue poetry from some of its present unimaginative abuses.” Tuesdays, October 12 through November 5, 7 p.m., Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church, 131 E. 10th St. at Tenth Avenue, 212-674-0910, $300 includes one-year membership and tuition to any and all fall and spring classes.

READINGS

NYC STORIES
The Selected Shorts series celebrates WNYC’s 80th anniversary with an evening of readings. Eli Wallach, Blair Brown, and Ivy Austin read stories about radio and New York City by Dawn Powell, John Cheever, James Thurber, Alison Townsend, Linda Pastan, and David Lehman. Wednesday, October 20, 8 p.m., Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-669-3333, $21 and $25 general, $19 and $23 seniors and students, $18 and $22 members.

TALKS

EVER-GREENE
The centenary of Graham Greene’s birth is marked with a panel discussion moderated by Salon senior writer Laura Miller. Author Pico Iyer and literary critic James Wood participate. Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., New York Public Library, South Court Auditorium, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, 212-930-0855, $10 general, $7 members.

TRANSPORTATION

DRINK AND RIDE
Tired walkers can get a break this week with a free pedicab ride courtesy of Red Bicyclette, a new French wine. Frenchmen in berets do the pedaling, and riders are treated to a complimentary baguette. Wednesday and Thursday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m., at Grand Central Station, Times Square, and Union Square, free.

TOURS

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK
The Shakespeare Society stages the Arden in New York Walk to benefit its Adopt-a-School program. Inspired by the Forest of Arden portrayed in “As You Like It,” the walk offers fall foliage and the chance to encounter Shakespearian characters along the way. The walk ends with a wine and cheese reception. Tomorrow, 4-6 p.m., meet at the Shakespeare Garden near the Delacorte Theatre, near 80th Street and Central Park West, 212-327-2749, $50. Rain date: Thursday.

BENEATH CENTRAL PARK
A walking tour peels away Central Park’s grassy surface to discover the people that occupied its 778 acres before its creation: Bone-boiling plants, saloons, and shanties were displaced along with communities of free African-Americans, and Irish and German immigrants. Topics in the Municipal Art Society tour include Seneca Village, Gilhooley’s Burial Plot, the Cro ton Aqueduct, the Stone Block House, McGowan’s Pass, and the Mount St. Vincent Convent. Saturday, 2 p.m., meet at the southeast corner of Central Park West and 83rd Street, 212-439-1049, $15 general, $12 members.

WORKSHOPS

GUIDE TO AUDITIONS
A casting director for the soap opera “Guiding Light,” Rob Decina, teaches wannabe small-screen stars how to audition for television roles. Mr. Decina, the author of “The Art of Auditioning” (Allworth), argues that acting and auditioning are two very different skills. Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Drama Book Shop, 250 W. 40th St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues, 212-944-0595, reservations required.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.