Jan 1, 2023 | News, Regional Arts Events, Visual Arts
“From My Studio Window: A View From The Top” opens Jan 2nd and runs thru early March at the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in Millersburg, Pa. (nedsmithcenter.org). The reception will take place on Saturday February 11th, 1-4 p.m. (facebook.com/events/568862615083153). The show will consist of 16 paintings, mostly plein air.
About the Artist
Mary Lapos (aka MOTH) is an American Artist (1942 – ), a life-long resident of Central Pennsylvania who has been creating art for 50 years on a CREP farm (Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program) purchased in 1970 by her and her husband, Frank. Both were teachers in the Danville area, he for the district and she for IU#16. Their two children are raising their families in the area — one, an administrator with Bloomsburg University, the other a Veterinarian in private practice. After Frank’s untimely death in 2001, MOTH set up her studio In Frank’s repurposed and refurbished woodworking shop.
MOTH has produced pieces in almost all media and lately is gravitating back to black and white. Watercolor, oils, and pastels have been her favorite choices over the years, and 60% of her paintings have sold. She has had numerous one-woman shows in the Susquehanna Valley, including her largest and most far-reaching entitled “Painting Invisible People”. That collection was featured in such diverse locations as the Harrisburg Commonwealth School of Law and Widener University in Philadelphia. “Invisible People” was a multimedia show focusing on social justice, gender inequality, and generational poverty and discrimination issues in three separate Countries — India, Haiti, and the U.S.
MOTH’s most recent one-woman show, at the Exchange Gallery in Bloomsburg, was a two-themed venture: “In Tune: Key of D” and “In the Reign of COVID: Black or White”. The first was a conceptual production of twelve pieces featuring the processes of sympathetic vibrations and harmony utilizing the synchronistic qualities of color waves and sound waves of music. Put simply, if it sounds good it will look good. The second, consisting of nine pieces, was a visual reflection on the COVID experience from an artist’s perspective, with all pieces done in Black & White (graphite on watercolor paper).
MOTH’s work is held in private collections in the U.S., England, Ireland, India, Slovakia, Bolivia, and Namibia.
About the pseudonym MOTH
A moth is a spirit guide. It represents mystery, darkness/light, and transformation. The ability to create from the void, from nothing to something, from bad to blessed. Powerful. Ancient Wisdom. It perfectly compliments her goal in Art: to make the unknown known and the unseen seen, by everyone
Aug 14, 2022 | News, Regional Arts Events, Visual Arts
ARTIST RECEPTION: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 (6 — 9 pm)
COFFEE TALK: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2022 (1 – 5 pm)
Get your bell-bottom jeans ready! The Hazleton Art League proudly presents what will surely turn out to be one of the most memorable Hazleton art events of the year! After a successful run at the Antoine Dutot Museum & Art Gallery in Delaware Water Gap, PA., Jack and Jill Swersie’s retro PEACE & LOVE exhibition will be presented at the Hayden Family Center for the Arts in the heart of downtown Hazleton. Just in time for Hazleton’s 8 th Annual “Peace, Love and Chalk” competition, this month-long exhibit will feature artwork defining the upbeat idealism of the 1960s and early-1970s. Joining Pocono artists Jack and Jill Swersie will be artists Courtney Lauren Natt, Lois Silver Zini, Reenie Kernaghan, Elizabeth Tilley, Laurinda Faye, Sylvia Thompson, and Hazleton’s very own Mark Charles Rooney, Arthur Dworin, Jeremy Petrachonis, Marcy Lanza Oldham, and Danielle Beury.
Opening reception is Friday, September 2, 2022 (6-9 pm). The show will run through the 25th of September. Coffee Talk will be on Sunday, September 4, 2022 (1 pm – 5 pm). The “Peace, Love, Chalk” competition is on September 11 and, of course, the gallery will be open for that event.
1960s/70s attire is suggested for those who attend the opening reception on September 2nd. Food and wine will be served. The Hazleton Art League’s Hayden Family Center for the Arts is located at 31 W. Broad St. in Hazleton, PA.
Jul 3, 2022 | Danville, News, Visual Arts
Emma Varano’s upcoming exhibition with the Artspace Gallery is a showcase of their portfolio from their inaugural year at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. . Throughout their past two semesters, Varano became infatuated with the semantics of reflection and identity. Aptly titled Freshman Year, this exhibition shows all of the 2D work and some 3D that they created, from pieces more focused on technical skill to pieces that are more experimentation- and concept-oriented.
Emma Varano is a 19 year old queer visual artist pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Varano has been a resident of Danville, Pennsylvania since their childhood and attended Danville Area High School where they were an active member in their classes and clubs, taking an interest in the arts from an early age. Currently, they are a part-time resident at the Art Grind Gallery in Danville and will return to SAIC in the fall to continue expanding their artistic practice while being a Resident Advisor (RA) during the academic year.
Emma Varano’s primary practice departs from the tradition of oil painting and 2D media. Having a strong background in technical skill, Varano now is using their work as an investigation of identity formation, reflection, and self-expression. Going forward, they look to continue to imbue painting with sculpture and the fiber arts while wielding their experiences as a queer person growing up in Pennsylvania, their ever-evolving expression of gender and sexuality, and an ongoing exploration of what it means to be seen and perceived.
Jul 3, 2022 | News, Regional Arts Events, Visual Arts
The Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center is pleased to announce the Main Gallery exhibit for July “Trompe L’oeil and Beyond” a collection of surrealist oil paintings by Bloomsburg
University professor Vincent Hron. This exhibit will open with an artist’s reception from 6-8PM on Friday, July 8 th. Light refreshments will be provided. Trompe l’oeil is a French phrase which means “deceive the eye.” In painting, it refers to the creation of an optical illusion in which depicted objects appear to be three-dimensional. What at first looks like a hyper-realistic landscape will soon surprise and delight guests with elements such as a wrench, a pool floatie, or insects that seem to be coming out at the viewer.
Trompe L’oeil elements are often associated with the 16 th century “Vanitas” tradition in painting in which depictions of impermanent or fragile still life objects were used to
remind viewers of life’s precious, fleeting nature in order to encourage moral behavior. Though not all of the paintings in this exhibition employ trompe l’oeil, the goal
of helping viewers to become increasingly self-aware is part of all of the work. These images encourage the viewer to reconsider their expectations in the hope that it might
enable people to make choices that would lead to a better world.
Vince completed a B.F.A. from Drake University (Des Moines, IA,1984) and an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI, 1987). He received a Graduate Scholarship to study for a year at The State Academy of Fine Arts Karlsruhe, Germany. He then established a regular studio and exhibition practice in his hometown, Omaha, NE. He was an adjunct faculty member at several area colleges. In 1996 he accepted a position at Bloomsburg University and is currently a full professor having exhibited nationally, and having received numerous grants and awards. Vince has pieces on display in national and international collections.
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.
Feb 27, 2022 | Bloomsburg, News, Visual Arts
A project of the First Community Foundation Partnership of Pennsylvania, based in Williamsport, “Raise the Region” has for almost a
decade helped hundreds of non-profits throughout northcentral Pennsylvania raise an aggregate of more than $12 million. Each year since 2013, the
thirty-hour on-line event has grown in participating organizations, in donors, and in dollars raised. The Exchange first took part in 2014 – only six weeks after the fire in the Moose Exchange building. That year, many of our donors gave out of a sense of loss, but with their support we climbed out of that giant hole and over that giant obstacle, and we now attract contributions from donors who celebrate our successes.
This year’s event comes up on the 9th and 10th of March, a Wednesday and Thursday. As always, one can make donations through RaiseTheRegion.org
beginning at 6 p.m. on the first day and continuing for the next thirty hours. As part of its hosting of the event, the First Community Foundation has
attracted funding from a number of for-profit partners that will “stretch” your contributions; some of it comes as a straight percentage match of every
dollar, and some of it comes in the form of “prizes” for organizations that meet various criteria, whether attracting the most unique donors overall
or the most in a particular hour or just getting lucky to get chosen randomly. Our friends at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble take a very organized and enterprising approach, and they put in many hours on the phone in the weeks ahead of “Raise the Region”, contacting all of their donors and encouraging them to make gifts; the efforts have paid off, with BTE regularly winning for the most unique donors.
We do not have BTE’s long history and its extensive donor base to draw upon, so we do not try to compete for prizes – but that does not mean that we do not take “Raise the Region” seriously. Far from it: We recognize it as an excellent opportunity for us to make outreach to all of the people in our community who recognize the value of what The Exchange does throughout the year and to ask them to do what they can to support us through a monetary contribution (each one 100% tax-deductible, by the way). We appreciate every donation, in any amount and at any time, but we think it only prudent to take advantage of the s-t-r-et-c-h funds available during “Raise the Region”, and of course one never knows when we will get lucky and
win one of the prizes.
Any amount can go towards anything that we do, and feel free to tell us when you donate which of our programs you feel the strongest about. Whatever you choose to give, you can have 100% confidence that we will put it to good use, bringing the arts to all communities throughout our region. Your support ensures that #XMarksTheArts.
Nov 21, 2021 | Bloomsburg, Kids, News, Visual Arts
The Bloomsburg Children\’s Museum is happy to announce the opening of a new art exhibit titled \”Roundabout\” by Sara Mika of Mock Pie Studio. Mika is an artist in the North Mountain Art League (NMAL). NMAL has a permanent exhibit area in the Bloomsburg Children\’s Museum. Mika, who is also an art instructor with the Museum, is enthusiastic about showing her work to visitors.
Sara Mika said, \”I\’m so grateful for this opportunity to exhibit a grouping of my work at The Bloomsburg Children\’s Museum. Visitors young and old will have the opportunity to visually engage with my creations in an environment which is already so rich with creativity and educational opportunities. I love seeing the spark of excitement in the eyes of a child when they are experiencing all the museum has to offer,\” Mika said. \”Everything is designed just for them and they truly come alive in the space. I\’m also thankful for the opportunities the museum has provided for me to work in an instructional capacity with its visitors. As an artist and an art educator it\’s such a thrill to inspire and be inspired by the imagination of the children in our communities.\”
Mika explained the title of the show, \”The work in this \’Roundabout\’ exhibit is a collection of mostly older work that represents, in a roundabout sort of way, how I’ve arrived at the work I’m creating today.\”
Mika\’s work is on display from now until March 2022. The Bloomsburg Children\’s Museum is open Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
