Thursday, March 28, 2013

April 2013 Events

Musical acts, held every Friday evening from  6-8pm:

  • 5th - Caleb Murphy
  • 12th - Lynne and Chuck 
  • 19th - Sean and friends
  • 26th - Poetry reading (last Friday of every month)


Children's Make and Take Workshops, held every Saturday, 10-1:30pm:
  • 6th - Collage
  • 13th - Drawing 


The Indiana Art Association will hold its classes on:
  • Wednesday, April 3 - IAA Critique : Christopher Beckman, a former cast member on The Real World : Chicago and fellow artist, will be openly critique artwork done by IAA members, 7pm-9pm
  • Saturday, April 13 - Drawing, 2-5pm
  • Sunday, April 14 - Figure Drawing, Life Studies, 2-4pm
  • Saturday, April 27 - Painting, 10-3pm
  • Sunday, April 28 - Painting, 10-3pm

Brandon Johnson Music fundraiser will be held on Saturday, April 13 from 6 until 8pm


On April 15th, the League of Women Voters will meet from 6:30-8:30pm


There will be an Adult Photo Workshop, "Why Are You Afraid of Your Digital Camera?", held on April 20 from 9am until 3:30pm. The cost of the workshop is $50, half of which will go to Friends of the Parks. 


The University Museum Goes Downtown! Selected works from the Permanent Collection at IUP will be on exhibition at The Artists Hand Gallery from April 9 until May 4, 2013. The Opening reception will be held on Friday, April 12 from 6 until 8pm. 

Please take advantage of these events and attend! We look forward to seeing all of your faces soon!

Becky Solar

"Growing up in Indiana County, as the daughter of a coal-miner, and one of 9 children, supplies were limited. We painted with watercolors on the ends of newsprint rolls from the Gazette; and if there were no watercolors, with crayons, pencils, or anything else we could find."

"Collage is something I just started to do in my teens, not even knowing that it was a recognized form of art; I simply loved doing it. For a few years, I worked with stained glass, but found that stained glass and my small child didn't go well together. I needed other outlets for my creative needs and began sewing more, making costumes, window treatments, quilts, clothing, handbags, and basically anything I needed around the house."


Becky pieces together images to create an atmosphere for her works. The primary colors that she uses allow for a three-dimensional illusion. The use of a light source in her work also brings the images off of the page. 

Fruit Bowl
Collage
$199

Becky also turns her collage skills into cards. "My collages are created by hand cutting images from discarded magazines and catalogs. After almost 40 years of lying dormant, my love of collage was reawakened by exchanging artists trading cards with my talented sisters and nieces, then progressed as the result of a life changing event. Collaging allowed me to express feelings that I could not write in a journal. I was encouraged by my family and many old and new wonderful friends. I truly feel they are wind beneath my wings, in my art and in my 'New Life Journey'."

Tea Party, Heart, and Renewal
Collage Cards
$4 each

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Julie Bernstein Engelmann

Julie Bernstein Engelmann has lived in Indiana, PA for over 20 years. The Artists Hand Gallery, as well as Pittsburgh's Gallerie Chiz, house her artwork. As a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, she has won many Best of Show awards and First Place prizes here in Western Pennsylvania. As Julie completes her paintings she says she watches for "the moment when its resonant spiritual space opens up like a hologram and [she] sees something thrilling come to life that [she's] never seen before." Julie wants her artwork to give off a sense of beauty, freedom, presence, warmth, joy, ease, harmony, richness, and surprise. 



Julie's work is very abstract and gives off a sense of kinetic movement; her paintings are very busy, but still lead the viewer's eye swirling around the canvas. She works with acrylic and latex which lend themselves to creating texture and saturated colors. Her composition tends to be very circular in nature, while expressing her brushwork very well; the viewer is able to get a feel for the artist in her work. 




Tikki Room
Acrylic and Latex
$180
Things We Laugh About
Acrylic and Latex
$375


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Barry Poglien performing Friday, March 15 
6 to 8


Come enjoy the sounds of Barry Poglien here at the gallery from 6 until 8pm this Friday, March 15!   Barry Poglein, a resident of Indiana County, PA., is primarily a sculptor working in ice and wood. His talents range from playing acoustic guitar, vocal, and performance art to mural painting and portrait drawing.
 He will be playing an acoustic set and all are welcome to attend.




He has composed and performed music, which relates to activities with which he has participated.  “Don’t Put Your Photomontage Out in the Garage”, “Lines, Lines, Lines, They’re Everywhere”, “Rubber Gloves”, and “It’s Time to Give Thanks” are a few of the memorable pieces which he has recently performed with Songworks in the Johnstown area. 



Stop in and enjoy the sounds and humor of this talented artist!

Richard Vitale

A native of Western Pennsylvania, Vitale is a retired art teacher and holds a bachelors and masters degree in art education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. His watercolors have hung in galleries in both Western Pennsylvania and Delaware. He is also the recipient of more than 65 awards. Nautical scenes as well as landscapes, including studies of the Amish, are favorite topics for Vitale's watercolors. 


In these paintings, Richard uses the white of the paper to his advantage. While some artists have trouble trying to render water and the reflections it causes, Vitale shows expertise. His work gives off a sense of realism combined with a hint of illustration. The nautical subject in these works, as mentioned above, is a very common theme in his watercolors, which he reproduces with ease. 


Hatteras Harbor
Watercolor
$675



Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Janet Runyan

Janet has a degree in fine arts from IUP, where she studied ceramics with Frank Ross. She has taken a number of graduate classes from Donn Hedman, who has greatly influenced and encouraged her sculptural work. Janet taught art for 18 years in the Marion Center Area School District; her young students have inspired an imaginative spirit in her work. She enjoys using clay to relate subtle commentary to issues that defy resolution. Most of her favorite pieces are hand-built sculptures, she also creates functional ware. Her sculptures are a combination of commentary and whimsy. Her evolving "Rabbit Wars Series" makes no direct statement, but asks you to consider the absurdity of war. 


Janet uses a humorous approach when thinking up a concept for her ceramic pieces; she uses them as a critique of societal issues. Her work has a very raw feel to it, which works well with the subject matter. The way that she applies the glaze creates believable, almost 3 dimensional texture. 
Laughing Sheep                                      Spotted Sheep
Ceramic                                                 Ceramic
$70                                                        $64


Small Rabbit Warrior
Ceramic
$100