By: Carrie Heath, July 25, 2023
The Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center is thrilled to announce a widely varied exhibit in the Main Gallery for August, “Alice Mickey Hard: A Retrospective.” This exhibit will feature
some of the work of beloved local art teacher, Alice Mickey Hard, who passed away in 2022. Exhibit guests will be able to view Alice’s incredible ability to see the beauty in
everything from a very early age, as well as her gift of being able to express that beauty through art. There will be pieces in the exhibit from the 1930s through the 2010s, in
ceramics and clay, fiber arts, acrylics, pen and ink, batik, quilting, watercolor, pastels and more. The exhibit will open on Saturday, August 5 th at noon. However, the reception
for this and the Atrium exhibit will be held on Sunday, August 13 th from 2-4PM, so that the artists’ families may attend. The reception is free and open to the public, and light
refreshments will be provided.
Alice Carlson Mickey Hard was born in Lorraine, Ohio on December 8, 1931. She married Max Mickey in 1954. Alice and Max moved to Wellsboro in 1959 and had three
children: John Mickey, Judy Watson, and Ann Miller. Alice began teaching art in the Wellsboro Area School District in 1967. Before she retired in 1994, she was named
Head of the Art Department and Teacher of the Year in 1987. She was a member of the
Williamsport Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Surface Design, Pennsylvania Council of the Arts, and a charter member of the Wellsboro Art Support
Group. In October, 1983, she had a batik printed in the September issue of Fiber Arts. It was a commissioned batik Peace banner that now hangs in a cathedral in Budapest,
Hungary. Alice contributed to many Vesta shows and other art shows at the Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center and around Wellsboro. Her first husband Max passed in 2009.
Alice remarried in 2012 to Larry Hard. He passed away in 2014. Alice was a prolific artist throughout her life until she passed away at 90 in 2022.
Come to the Gmeiner in August to see the amazing talent of a Wellsboro artist who is sorely missed by family, friends, and former students. Some original works of art will be
for sale. Alice’s family has also commissioned some small items printed with her original works that will be for sale during this exhibit.
This display is appropriate for all ages, and there will be a scavenger hunt activity for children. The Gmeiner is located at 134 Main Street, Wellsboro, behind the Green Free
Library. We are open from 12-6PM Tuesday through Sunday and admission to the gallery is always free.