Lackawanna County and Scranton Made have partnered up to host the 1st Annual Arts on the Square on July 27, 2013 Noon-8pm on CourtHouse Square. Applications and more info can be found by clicking here.
PocoNotes LLC
“It’s About the Music!”
Post Office Box 428
Lake Ariel, PA 18436
Invitation to The Blues
The sights and sounds of America’s own music
Lake Ariel, PA – May 7, 2013 — On June 22 and 23, 2013, Scranton’s historic Tripp House will be the setting for a two-day event hosted by PocoNotes entitled “The Faces and Voices of The Blues…Too.” It will showcase the photography of acclaimed documentary photographer, Jim Gavenus, and the guitar mastery of Blues legend, Roy Book Binder.
Jim Gavenus’ photographs are exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide and, most recently, his photographs were chosen by The 55th Annual Grammy Awards to honor Doc Watson in their “In Memoriam” tribute. Jim’s intimate and poignant images cover a wide range of subjects and have earned him the Gordon Parks Documentary Photographer of the Year Award, as well as a place in the North Carolina Bluegrass Hall of Fame. He has photographed more than 30 Hall of Fame musicians on – and behind – some of the most famous stages in the music world, and his images appear for Sony Music, Columbia Records, Lost Highway Records, Merlefest and FarmAid. Jim travels extensively to lecture, exhibit and expand his portfolio and shares his passion for, and knowledge of, photography with his students at Luzerne County Community College, as well as through his innovative photography workshops.
Roy Book Binder has been touring the world with countless Blues legends for 50 years and is now a legend himself. It’s been said that, in his travels, he has seen millions of faces and has rocked them all. “The Book” learned his craft from Reverend Gary Davis, the blind Harlem street preacher who was the musical mentor to numerous Blues musicians, and Roy has shared the stage with notables such as Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, John Jackson, Sonny Terry, Doc Watson, Ray Charles, Brownie McGhee and Hot Tuna. He has appeared on TNN’s “Nashville Now” over 30 times with the best that country music has to offer and has performed at hundreds of festivals over the years, including The National Storytelling Festival, The Chicago Blues Festival, The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, The King Biscuit Blues Festival, The 50th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival and, for nearly two decades, Merlefest as the host of the Acoustic Blues Stage. Roy is listed in the “Book of Blues Who’s Who” and is a master storyteller with an eclectic body of work that covers not only the Blues but also country, bluegrass, ragtime, folk and popular songs that originated in Tin Pan Alley.
Separately and together, Jim and Roy are more than just “Faces” and “Voices” and this event will be more than just The Blues. With their combined years of dedication to bringing music forward to future generations, they will use their respective talents to provide the visuals and the soundtrack for a century’s worth of music of every genre.
The photo exhibit is free and will be open to the public on Saturday from 12:00 Noon to 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p.m. It will feature several iconic images from Jim’s extensive portfolio and will debut several acquisitions from his most recent travels.
Jim will hold a photography workshop on Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., after which he and his students will join Roy for “Porch Time” which will be an informal gathering where everyone is invited to bring an instrument and “pick and grin” with Roy and Jim…as they bring the music to life through songs and stories.
At the Saturday evening concert, Roy will captivate his audience not only with his guitar playing but also with tales of the artists who wrote the songs and the people he has met in his five decades of playing for countless audiences across the world. Tickets for the concert are $25 in advance and $30 at the door for adults, with a two-for-one discount being offered to Seniors and Students. This is an all-ages event with an emphasis on generations of families sharing this experience together. Therefore, there is no charge for children, 12 years of age and under, who attend with an adult. In a show of appreciation for their service to our country, there is also no charge for members of the military and their families.
Roy’s guitar workshop will be the final event of the weekend and will be held on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. It will be geared toward all levels of guitar playing and the stories he shares are sure to entertain everyone.
Although there is no charge for the workshops, reservations are requested. Tickets for the concert can be purchased in advance directly from PocoNotes at www.PocoNotes.com or (888) 800-POCO or in Downtown Scranton at either Duffy Accessories at 218 Linden Street or Nada & Co. at 137 Wyoming Avenue. If tickets remain, they will be sold at the door.
This event is hosted by PocoNotes, who presents artists that people need to know in places that people need to see. With a total of 16 events and 62 artists already to their credit, five of whom are Grammy-nominated musicians, “The Faces and Voices of The Blues…Too” is their latest gathering of good people and good music in an intimate setting where the artists and the audience will create something special together. It is their fourth event at the Tripp House, which is the stunningly-restored landmark located at 1011 North Main Avenue in Scranton. Its elegance, historic importance and architectural beauty provide the perfect backdrop for presenting music that has been influencing artists for decades.
PocoNotes is proud to note that funding for this project was provided in part by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, which is administered by The Pocono Arts Council, as well as by a Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Grant, a program of the Lackawanna County Commissioners and the Lackawanna Council on Arts, Culture and Education.
For more information about the event, go to www.PocoNotes.com. For more information about the artists, you can visit Jim at www.GavenusPhoto.com and Roy at www.RoyBookBinder.com. Of course, you can always call Dolores and Pat at (888) 800-POCO. They’d love to hear from you.
For additional information or to schedule interviews with the artists, contact:
Dolores Hippler
Patrick Harper
PocoNotes LLC
(888) 800-POCO (7626)
“Three Realists” exhibition which opened Friday, May 3 at the Hazleton Art League is a museum quality exhibition of work by three very talented local artists. The reception is this Saturday, May 11 from 6-8pm .
Abstract Landscapes
Brooke Wandall
May 3 – 35, 2013 @ Artworks Gallery & Studio
Please join us on Friday, May 3, from 6-9 PM, for the opening reception of Abstract Landscapes, recent paintings by Brooke Wandall.
When I paint, I become a completely different person. Maybe I have multiple personalities but when I paint, all the chaos in life fades away. I can focus when otherwise focusing is a chore. Every painting is its’ own experience. I’ve been finding such unique ways to call a painting my own: scraping, digging, pushing, letting the paint drip and experimenting with different mediums (some that dry fast and some slower). Really every painting is its’ own experience held together as a series by similar paint marks and colors.
Brooke Wandall, is an abstract painter from Newton Ransom.
ARTWORKS GALLERY & STUDIO
503 Lackawanna Avenue Scranton, PA 18503
www.artworksnepa.com
570-207-1815
Come let your imagination run wild as you experience the stories and imagery of art and music on First Friday. The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple will host an exhibit, Into the Forest- Recent Paintings on May 3, 2013, featuring the works of talented local artist, Maria Grzybowski. The evening is set to open at 6:00 pm with a musical performance by the talented West Scranton Intermediate Strings Orchestra.
Maria Grzybowski is a painter hailing from West Pittston who specializes in acrylic and ink mediums. Her work focuses on nature themes, particularly a study of animals. In recent work, she combines animals with the human figure and other imagery to form new relationships. In tracing the source of the inspiration for her work inspiration, Maria can recall her and her sisters drawing and making up games for entertainment. “We didn’t have video games, cable television, etc. I spent a lot of time playing in my parent’s garden which spanned a city block. We also traveled to my grandfather’s house frequently, where there was a lot of countryside to explore.”
Continuing this spirit of exploration Maria’s studies led her to Penn State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Art Education degree completing her student teaching outside of Philadelphia. This was followed with studies at Marywood University where she received her Master of Fine Arts in Painting, as well as studies in Florence, Italy as part of that degree. In addition to being an artist she also currently teaches art in the Scranton School District.
Concerning her work, Maria prefers to refer to the common theme found within it as “Imaginary Realism”. It is mostly acrylic on birch, and occasionally ink on watercolor paper, along with a few experimental collages with the major theme being that of nature, and currently with an emphasis on animals. The combination of the animals in somewhat juxtaposed settings recalls in the viewer children’s literary themes akin to Hans Christian Anderson’s and the Grimm Brother’s “true” fairy tales; imaginary worlds where values are personified and allegories realized. Much like those who pen successful imaginative children’s literature Maria’s work connects with the viewer through their ability to identify with the presence of nature in the work.
Regarding the inspiration for her creations reveals a penchant for art history references, travel, children’s story book illustration and nature. “During the school year I don’t get to travel/visit museums much, so I supplement by reading art magazines such as Juxtapoz, BlueCanvas, and Creative Quarterly. I follow the art of James Jean, Shaun Tan, Erica il Cane, Julie Heffernan and Craola Simkins for inspiration. I also am drawn to Gauguin, Chagall, Joseph Cornell and Leonardo Da Vinci.”
As far as her work and finding time to create Maria states:
Teaching is actually a good career choice as far as time is considered. I have the whole summer, evenings, and weekends to make art. The difficulty can lie in having enough energy. I feel that a good teacher expends a lot of energy. So the issue becomes increasing energy, which I do by walking, going to yoga and taking naps.
Also, I have changed the way I work. I no longer work for three days straight on a painting, stopping only to eat & sleep. Now it is done in snippets of time, like an hour here and there. I think this actually makes the work stronger because it gives me distance from it, rather than being engulfed. You are able to return to it with fresh eyes.
And when it comes to a respite from her work, on the weekends she “likes to take the dogs for a long walk, and then they fall asleep for about two hours on the little couch in my studio while I work- heaven.”
Three local artists let their imagination run wild this May as New Visions Studio & Gallery presents “Unimpeded Imagination” featuring artwork by Jordan Fees, Chantal Rich and Ashley Ruth Truitt. The exhibit will run May 3 – 25 with an opening reception on May 3rd from 6pm to 10pm, as a part of First Friday Scranton. The reception is free and open to the public and will include food, drink and meet and greet opportunities with the artists. This is a family friendly exhibit and children and adults alike are welcome to attend.
About the artists:
Jordan Fees
The imagination is a powerful thing. We can picture ourselves in a far off land or in a world that exists only in the mind. As a child, few things were as important to me as my imagination. It’s for that very reason that I became interested in the arts. There is perhaps no greater collection of imaginative stories than the fairy tales collected by the Grimm brothers. When we hear these stories for the first time, we can put ourselves in the shoes of the characters. One moment we’re escaping the clutches of a child-eating witch, the next we’re taking a trip up the beanstalk in search of a giant.
These tales had a great impact on me and as a young artist; I would recreate images that illustrated scenes of struggle and triumph and good vs. evil. Throughout the years, fairy tales would be a subject that I turned to frequently for inspiration when creating art.
The idea for this series came about when I decided to take a design-based approach to my work, using some of the characters and environments to pull the viewer into the frame. We feel as if we are part of the action and are able to get a glimpse into the world of Grimm. The illustrations were done in pencil and watercolor and in a whimsical color palette that ties each piece together. I drew inspiration from such influences as vintage storybook illustration, the work of Disney and comic book art and hope that my illustrations will ignite the imagination of all who see them and evoke fond memories for the child in all of us.
Chantal Rich
Originally hailing from Connecticut, Chantal Rich’s heart lives in Scranton. The rest of her resides in Dunmore along with her husband, two toddlers, two dogs, and a cat that hates her. She started crafting at an early age when an aunt taught her to sew tube dresses for her dolls – she was hooked and hasn’t stopping making things since. Other hobbies include hoping that her daughter grows out of her obsession with princesses soon, exploring NEPA, and writing very short biographies of herself.
She received a BA in Fine Arts/American Studies from the University of Maine at Machias after a very long college career. She often thinks about the juxtaposition of art and craft, specifically art versus craft. In her artwork, she marries the concepts of art and craft, blurring the lines between them. She doesn’t believe that “craft” should be relegated the women’s living rooms, but rather celebrated the way that “art” is.
Her preferred mediums are in what are considered traditional women’s crafts – embroidery, sewing and patchwork. However, since having children, she has begun exploring toy making as an art form when making dolls for my daughter or sailboats for my son. she also paints and occasionally makes jewelry. Recently, she has become obsessed with linocuts and printmaking – and has begun printing her own fabrics to use in both artwork and in making dresses for her daughter.
Ashley Ruth Truitt
I have been very influenced by other cultures, and inspired by diversity. I have enjoyed traveling to two different countries in Africa: Kenya and South Africa, as well as traveling to Jamaica. I also spent some time at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and found that art can be a positive outlet and therapeutic for others as well. While I was in Kenya, I spent a day in a special need classroom. I was able to draw with the children and then I was able to face paint all the students. The students were so excited and it brought so many smiles. I didn’t understand why it meant so much to the kids until one of the teachers with tears in her eyes explained that no one had ever taken the time to do something special like that for the children. That was the first time that many of them had ever experienced anything like that. Even simple artistic expression can impact and influence another’s life in a positive way.
Another example is while I was in Jamaica I had the opportunity to paint a Muriel inside a man’s home. Although we had struggled with the language barrier with the man who owned the home, he understood the message of the painting immediately. These and other experiences have helped me find that art can bring hope and inspiration into a person’s life no matter what their circumstances.
I grew up in a large family that was made even larger through adoption and the hosting of foreign exchange students. Art has no language barriers, and this has helped to act as a stepping stone even within my family relationships. I am now married and starting my own family. I can’t wait to be able to explore artistic adventures with my growing family, as well as seeing how that will impact my own art in the future.
I recently have enjoyed teaching art to young students. It has been a joy to see them explore their artistic abilities, and see their artistic curiosity expand. I myself continue to enjoy learning as well, and feel that pursuing art is a lifelong process.
###
New Visions Studio & Gallery
201 Vine St. Scranton, PA
570-878-3970
newvisionsstudio.comnewvisionsstudio@gmail.com
H: Tuesday – Sunday 12pm-6pm, open later during classes and events
Wow! What an April First Friday Scranton. Warmer temperatures brought record crowds out to downtown Scranton and the venues and artists provided a multitude of stimulating entertainment including a strong college contingent showing their artistic might. Check out the photos below to see what you missed. Hoping to see you out next First Friday Scranton, May 3, 2013!
Another tremendous auction! Thank you to all who supported the auction including our gracious sponsors, artists who donated their talents, the Coal Town Rounders who provided superb ambiance, master auctioneer Ken Rivenburg, our enthusiastic emcee Conor McGuigan, the community sponsors who provided items for the silent auction and wine pull, our many volunteers, and the Scranton Cultural Center for the use of their historic site. Can’t wait for next year!
