NPAA 50th Anniversary Exhibition
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Mon Oct 14 2024
The bulletin board allows members to sign in and create a post to inform the general membership that they won an award or are in an upcoming exhibition including opening reception date and time, dates of exhibition, dates of future seminars, or lectures and any arts related event that might offer the membership a shared experience. The posts also allow members a chance to choose a photo file to upload images that add to their story. Members can also add comments to support or remark on the post.
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Mon Oct 14 2024
The Northwestern Pennsylvania Artists Association is celebrating 50 Years of Art and Community with a Special Exhibition at Mercyhurst University’s Cummings Art Gallery from October 15, 2024 to January 17, 2025. Artist Reception on November 7, 2024, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, where the public can meet the artists and enjoy refreshments.
Posted by: Passle Helminski on Mon Sep 23 2024
Good afternoon Passle, I'm writing to let you know that your piece, "Together" has won Best in Show at our Festival Gallery Exhibit! I could spend a while writing about why and how our judge came to her decision, but I'll let her own words express that. Attached you will find her juror's statement and I'll put her bio below. This award comes with a $1,000 cash prize, and we'll have that payment mailed out mid-October. Thank you so much for sharing your work with us once again and congratulations! Jessica Wohl Biography Jessica Wohl is a multidisciplinary artist who uses found remnants of domestic culture to explore social inequities that range from systemic racism to the demands of motherhood. Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota she graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute and received her MFA from the University of Georgia. Among other publications, her work has been featured in the New York Times T Magazine, New American Paintings, Vogue, ArtNews, and has been widely exhibited nationally and internationally. She has held residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Stove Works, the Hambidge Center for the Art and participated in An Artist Residency in Motherhood. She is currently an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Art, Art History and Visual Studies department at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. Regards, David George Dalton Creative Arts Guild | Juror’s Statement Jessica Wohl Best In Show: Together. Passle Helminski Best 2D Work: Isolèe. Renel Plouffe Best 3D Work: Melody 1. Amy Reader My role as an artist-juror for this exhibition was to identify works that stand out as particularly noteworthy from those works selected by the Creative Arts Guild for inclusion in the exhibition. My approach in making these selections was rooted in identifying those few works that keep me guessing, pose questions, reveal something new, or transcend the expected, all the while doing so with technical mastery. I was looking for works where the materials and processes the artists employ are imperative to communicating their meaning. In Isolèe, the subject’s tender and inviting smile is matched in spirit by the floral motifs surrounding them. I see the subject’s dyed hair, piercings and tattoos as a sign that this person is perhaps trying to distinguish themselves from others, or express their individuality. I wonder if the overabundance of flowers surrounding them may be a metaphor for the joy this person spreads, or if the frenzied strokes and blackness they engulf may imply a more foreboding tone that the subject may be breaking through with kindness. Wearing what looks like an apron, or overalls, I assume the subject may be at work, and that Plouffe is both artist, viewer and customer, setting up another nuanced relationship. In addition, I was particularly struck by Isolèe’s resemblance to Edouard Manet’s painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Given the history of the painted portrait–which was traditionally reserved for wealthy, powerful aristocrats–both Plouffe and Manet use the portrait as a vehicle to center and make important a young, potentially overlooked worker. This gesture is powerful, as it shifts our gaze to someone who needs to be seen and understood in all of their complexity. And that green stroke of paint on their chin? It is every bit as confident, quirky and mysterious as the subject themselves, and serves as an unavoidable reminder that this image is first and foremost a painting. Melody 1 stood out to me not only for its excellent craftsmanship but also for its interaction with the gallery space. I am taken by Reader’s use of materials to bridge the gap between the natural world and the space this work inhabits. Assuming the fiber here is felted wool, I reveled in the journey Melody 1 took me on that started with the sheep that grew the wool, the farmer that sheared it, the artist who felted and shaped it, the fungal-like form that it becomes, and how the wall it hangs on becomes the terrestrial support that may hold a deep and hidden network of spores below the surface. This work’s ability to transform the gallery wall from an architectural structure into a living surface capable of supporting a foreign lifeform, like a fungus, ignites the imagination, makes me consider what world this object might belong to, and takes me along for the ride to that mysterious place. I find joy in how this tiny but mighty work makes me wonder about what lies beneath the surface, how what we see in the visible world is only, perhaps, a small taste of the invisible world, and reminds me to make more room for imagination. The work that captivated me the most in the exhibition was Together, by Passle Helminski. The phenomenon of pairing of the recognizable with the unrecognizable captured my curiosity, and would not let go. While I felt confident in identifying the horse hair, I continually asked myself–about the white, fibrous surfaces–what is that? Is it a sweater? Is it found? Did Helminski knit this herself? Wait, is it woven? What is the sticky, skin-like surface that enshrouds it? The brilliant handling of these materials that mask their identity gripped me during my time in the gallery. I went back to it time and time again, thinking I could understand it more with more time spent. In time I observed the meticulous care with which the horse hair was threaded, but I was still left reveling in the mystery of such a foreign object. These sculptures feel like shells-made-soft, with the hair evoking something living within it, or perhaps, once living within it. Are they alive, or are they relics of what once lived there? Are they ceremonial garments to be worn? To whom do they belong? The compulsion to touch, and the frustration from not being able to do so, creates a tension so potent and thrilling that it is almost inescapable. In a world filled with so many familiar and unremarkable objects, to create something that time and again, withholds its identity, and teases me with intrigue, is a truly brilliant thing. I send a heartfelt congratulations to the award winners and to all of the artists who had work selected for this exhibition. It was my honor to spend time with the work, and I am delighted to have shared the space with the products of your time, effort and life experiences. Best, Jessica Wohl Festival Exhibit Juror ‘24
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Wed Sep 18 2024
NPAA members Bryan Toy and Kristina Faulkner recently participated with twenty other outdoor painting enthusiasts in the Roger Tory Peterson Institute 2024 Plein Air Festival in Jamestown, NY. Three days of painting around Chautauqua County culminated in a "wet paint" show and sale at RTPI.
Posted by: Jodi Staniunas- Hopper on Fri Sep 06 2024
If you are interested in donating to the Lottery (you receive your piece back if not chosen) Please email jstaniunashopper@mercyhurst.edu to be put on the ticket Comp list. This will entitle you to a ticket to the showcase. There is an $70 up-charge for VIP Tickets and only 120 will be sold. I again Thank you for considering supporting Erie's School of the Arts at Mercyhurst University. JODI Details of Lottery Participation: DROP OFF: At the Mercyhurst Cummings Gallery will be on Sunday, September 29, 3-5pm; Monday, September 30, 2:30-4:30 pm. We will have forms to fill out and sign. EVENT: Arty Party Show, Auction & Lottery, Tuesday, October 1, 6:30-8:30pm PICK UP: At the Mercyhurst Cummings Gallery will be Wednesday, October 2, 1-4pm; Thursday, October 3, 12-1:30; Friday, October 4, 9am-12pm; and Saturday, October 5, 9:30-11:30am.
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Tue Sep 03 2024
A group show with new work by Thomas Ferraro, Ron Bayuzick, Brian Pardini, Dorothy Kloss, Sarah Jacobs & Shelle Barron On view September 5 - October 12, 2024. Opening Reception Thursday, September 5th from 5 to 8pm
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Sat Aug 24 2024
Judy and I recently visited the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and we were blown away by the Marisol: A Retrospective exhibition. This is an amazing in-depth exhibition covering all aspects of Marisol's life and art. You have to see this in person to really appreciate the creativity of the artist's installations as well as other media types. Of course AKG will also impress you with their collection of master works. On the way back stop in at Hoak's restaurant on the lake in Hamburg NY. for a delicious perch dinner.
Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Truly worth the visit. And we'll have to check out Hoak's Restaurant.
Posted by: Jack Stone on Mon Sep 02 2024
An exhibition by the members of the Barracuda Group at The 1020 Collective. Shelle Barron, Ron Bayuzick, Thomas Ferraro, Sarah Jacobs, Dorothy Kloss and Brian Pardini. Opening reception, Thursday, September 5, 5:00 – 8:00 pm. Show runs from September 5 – October 12. For more information and hours visit 1020collective.com
Posted by: Todd Paropacic on Thu Aug 22 2024
Join our artists' exhibition reception for works tackling climate crisis and environmental justice. Enjoy performances, art installations in and out of FEED galleries, and snacks and drinks in our Gift Shop. Stroll around the corner for poetry + media art at our pop-up gallery: 13 East 13 Street. Curated by Benton C Bainbridge | snacks + drinks: Bill's Cafe Fri Aug 23, 7-10 PM • suggested donation $5-10 1307 State Street: Movement performance by Nora Almeida + iki nakagawa Media Art by D-Fuse (London), Melissa A. Troutman + The Sound Serum (Erie), Matos (Bronx), iki nakagawa (Brooklyn) and KellyKillz (Erie) also on view: mobile art by E.S.P. TV (activated by Erie Art Company), sound art installation by William Laziza and video sculpture installation by Nathaniel Hale Garnon + Michalina Wilińska, projection sculpture by Liquid Light Factory, Todd Paropacic live drawing,
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Sat Jul 20 2024
Deb Berkebile, with help from Sandy Shelenberger, will be hosting this year's NPAA picnic. Deb's address is 6932 Bushnell Road, Conneaut OH 44030 About 35 miles from downtown Erie or about 50 minutes. August 31st from 1pm to 5pm Pot luck, bring your own drinks, and NPAA provides hot dogs, hamburgers, buns, plates, silverware, napkins, cups and ice. yahoooo...thank you Deb and Sandy
Need to hear from anyone interested in going.....we are at 30 so far....greg
You two are awesome. Thanks for hosting.
update your calendar for this must attend event...
Looking forward to our picnic...greg
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Tue Aug 20 2024
ARTchive Party at St. Mary’s - 310 East 10th St. This will be held at Deb and Kris’s Studio September 4th starting at 4pm. As I am sure you are all aware, NPAA is celebrating 50 years this year. We started in 1974 and ….we are still here and going strong. This has not happened in isolation. We had a lot of help from members and friends along the way. Mercyhurst has kindly offered NPAA to have a 50 year celebration exhibition this fall starting October 15th, 2024. The reception is November 7th, 2024. This will be beer, wine and appetizers thanks to Mercyhurst. I would like to see some kind of NPAA history at this event. To do this we have organized the NPAA ARTchive Party at St. Mary’s - 310 East 10th St. This will be held at Deb and Kris’s Studio September 4th starting at 4pm. Join us for Beer, wine, pizza and a trip down memory lane. Our task is to go through a number of boxes of NPAA archives and put together source material for some form of history to be set up at the Mercyhurst exhibition. I am not sure what the final display form will be but hopefully it will become obvious once we gather materials. All I ask is to not handle any documents with pizza sauce on your hands…lol… The attached collage was whipped together from info in my possession. If you are interested please let me know. I would appreciate only members that can make it respond. I get swamped quickly. This way we can make sure there is enough food and drink to go around. This will be a fun trip down memory lane and it will be nice to see you all…and thanks to Bryan Toy, Kris Risto and Deb Sementelli for helping to organize this event. Full disclosure…the “ARTchive” title came from my wife Judy…she is the best…
Posted by: Rita Duris on Sun Aug 04 2024
Just found out that one of my charcoal studies for Beauty in Movement has been selected to be part of the Cincinnati Art Club's ViewPoint 56 National Juried Art Exhibition. This is the third year that I will be showing at the beautiful Eisele Gallery in Cincinnati !
Love your work Rita. Congratulations.
congrats Rita..
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Fri Jul 05 2024
Don't forget NPAA, your art organization on Tuesday, 8-13-24.
Posted by: Passle Helminski on Sat Aug 03 2024
Hello, Passle, I am pleased to let you know that both of your pieces Water Tones and Orbs were accepted into the Nature Inspired exhibition. Please drop off the work this week, Monday 7/29 - Friday 8/2 between 11-5pm at Fowler-Kellogg Art Center. The exhibition will open August 7, with a reception from 3-5pm. We hope to see you there! You can also view each piece online here as of August 7:https://art.chq.org/exhibitions/nature-inspired-open-cva-members-exhibition-2024/ Looking forward to sharing your work! Erika -- Erika Diamond she/her Associate Director of Galleries Chautauqua Visual Arts galleries@chq.org | o: 716.357.6460
congrats Passle
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Mon Aug 05 2024
The Erie Community Foundation’s marketing department is looking for an artist who may be interested in doing chalk art this year for Erie Gives! Erie Gives is on August 13th, but they would love to have the artist come on August 12th, so the art is ready for the big day. ECF is hoping to use chalk more as a sense of direction for donors, sponsors, and various nonprofits that will be joining them throughout the day for donations, activities, or interviews! Reach out to Rachel Hardner if you are interested. This is a wonderful event and you will help make a difference for our community. Rachel Hardner 814-602-6960
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Sat Aug 03 2024
NPAA is celebrating 50 years this year. We started in 1974. Mercyhurst has kindly offered NPAA to have a 50 year celebration exhibition this fall starting October 15th, 2024. The reception is November 7th, 2024. I would like to see some kind of NPAA history at this event. I have assembled a list of all exhibitions NPAA put together since 1975. That would be 112 to be exact…I also started a timeline on who our presidents were over the years and major accomplishments along the way. What I need from all of you is fill in info on our history and take a close look at what I have documented so far. I would like to see more info on our past presidents and documents on major events etc. I also need help putting this together in a presentable format. This does not have to be a big thing, just a brief presentation in some convenient form. It will be located on the stand-alone wall and or table you first see as you walk in to Cummings gallery. Is there anyone out there that could take on this project? The board could sure use your help and it will help us celebrate 50 years in style. Let’s do this right! gregzb@verizon.net Thanks, greg
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Sat Aug 03 2024
Off-Site GGG Exhibit: Paintings by Rachael J. Burke Glass Growers Gallery is currently exhibiting an incredible collection of paintings by Rachael J. Burke around the corner at Bricks American Steakhouse. For those who haven't yet visited, Bricks American Steakhouse is located in the historic Cashier’s House, 417 State Street, Erie, PA. The exhibit of works for sale is up now and a changing collection of Rachael's work will be on display at Bricks American Steakhouse until October of 2024. Be sure to stop by to see it in person any time during their open hours: • Tuesday-Thursday 11 AM-8 PM • Friday-Saturday 11 AM-10 PM
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Sat Aug 03 2024
Palettes of Waterford now in its 3rd year, features 50 local artists this year. Artists are given a wooden palette canvas to create diverse works, displayed at sponsor businesses from May until the September auction. The community can tour and solve a puzzle based on the art’s clues. Events throughout the summer, including an Art Walk, keep the excitement alive. This year the event culminates in an auction on Saturday, September 14th, at Gazebo Park, featuring vendors, music, and a preview of the art starting at 11 a.m. The auction begins at 1 p.m., with proceeds split between the artists and WECAN. WECAN uses their share to support community outreach, and donates $500 to Fort LeBoeuf High School’s art department, and $1,000 to a scholarship for an art student each year. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at Palettes of Waterford and WECAN Waterford. CONTACT: wecanwaterford@gmail.com or Darlene Ryan 814-823-2116
Posted by: Jodi Staniunas- Hopper on Tue Jul 16 2024
Do you have a work of Art could be part of the Arty Party Auction & Lottery fundraiser? If so, I’d like to talk to you. Without your donation, the Lottery will not exist; the Excellence in the Arts fund will not materialize; and students will be farther away from fulfilling their potential and dreams. If your artwork is chosen by a lottery winner, you will receive a check for $250.* As a participant you will receive a ticket to the Arty Party show and link to the online Silent Auction loaded with items. Tickets to the VIP Reception and entry in the Lottery can be purchased for an upcharge as there are only 120 tickets available. The lottery drawing will be based on 1 winner per 12 people. To enter please send your information (and, if available, a pix of the work) to Jstaniunashopper@mercyhurst.edu. Drop off will be on Sunday Sept 29th 3-5pm, Monday, Sept. 30, 2:30-4:30 pm.
For clarity: Pick up will be Wednesday Oct 2nd 1-4pm; Thursday Oct 3rd 12-1:30pm; Friday Oct 4th 9-12pm; Saturday 9:30-11:30am
PICK UP: will be Wednesday 1-4pm, Thursday 12-1:30, Friday 9am-12pm, and Saturday 9:30-11:30am.
Thanks Greg! Glad to have you aboard!
You can count me in Jodi...
Posted by: Passle Helminski on Wed Jul 17 2024
I just found out that I received the sculpture award in the Westmorland Art Nationals.
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Sat Jul 13 2024
Jamie Borowicz and Rita Duris are currently showing at 1020 Collective on Holland Street . The theme is Beauty in Movement where each of the artists created works based on the exploration of the female form. Although each share the commonality of this theme; their exploration is vastly different. During an Artist Talk on July 16 at 6:00, Jamie Borowicz and Rita Duris will discuss their reasons behind the exploration; offering a male and female perspective on the female form. Please come and join the conversation! July 16 at 1020 Collective on Holland street at 6:00
Posted by: Passle Helminski on Fri Jul 12 2024
Dear Passle Helminski, Congratulations! The juror Nicole Horn selected your work "Birth of the Universe” for the FCCA August 2024 “Artist Choice” Regional All-Media Juried Exhibit in the Frederick Gallery at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA). The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, July 27, at 1 pm. The Juror Talk/Awards video featuring all work in the exhibition will be videotaped and posted at a later date on our FCCA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkvxAll60mc9RbU9Z3ug00w
Congratulations Passle!
Posted by: Todd Paropacic on Thu Jul 11 2024
Todd Paropacic has been selected as FEED Media Art Center's newest Sandbox Artist in Residence. He will be exploring his usual abstract portraiture, displaying them in digital form for the first time. For this residency, he is also collaborating with artificial intelligence and exploring animation. He will be opening his studio for the first time on July 19th at 7 PM
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Mon Jul 08 2024
1937 was the last summer before the war. Picasso, Man Ray, and friends, passionate artists and poets, gathered in the South of France. This film recounts the end of a great artistic era over one particular summer. You will be able to watch Picasso work on his art from sketch to a final piece mostly in photos...well worth your time. Just so you know..there is nudity..no surprises here.
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Tue Jul 02 2024
Passle Helminski in 10th annual please touch exhibition at A/NT gallery
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Tue Jul 02 2024
Passle's work has been chosen to be exhibited in Art of the State 2024 at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. We were honored to have had Marc Jacobson, Jennifer-Navva Milliken and Eric Sung judge the large quantity of entries with 2,200 works for consideration. Following a very challenging jury process, 96 were chosen. Entry Accepted: Scouring Art of the State will be featured in the gallery from September 8, 2024 - January 5, 2025
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Tue Jul 02 2024
The juror Chris Gregson selected Passle's work "Soul Searching” for the FCCA June 2024 “Artist Choice” Regional All-Media Juried Exhibit in the Frederick Gallery at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA). The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, June 1, at 1 pm.
Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Tue Jul 02 2024
"A Few Things About Artists" is an hour-long documentary by Erie filmmaker Tom Weber that explores the lives the lives and works of many of the area's leading visual artists. It received partial funding from Erie Arts & Culture / Pennsylvania Partners for the Arts, and had its broadcast premiere Feb. 1, 2018, on WQLN-TV54 in Erie, PA. The film features Susan Kemenyffy, Fran Schanz, Kris Risto, Shelle Barron, Karen Dodson, Tom Ferraro, Brad Lethaby, Suzanne Proulx, John Bavaro, Jeff Kuntz, Evan Everhart and Bob Jensen. Weber's previous films aired on WQLN include "1000," a collaboration with poet/activist Abdullah Washington about Erie people striving for excellence, and "The Trouble With Poets" (2014), which examines Erie's community of performing poets such as Sean Thomas Dougherty, Monica Igras and Chuck Joy. "I have a deep and abiding interest in artists of all kinds," says Weber is a former newspaper reporter who has taught filmmaking at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Point Park University and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. "Artists take ideas and emotions and express them in tangible ways through their work. Their stories need to be heard." Two beautiful places created by artists are featured in the documentary, which is accompanied by an original musical score created by Erie guitarist Joseph Allen Popp. Time-lapse sequences filmed in metal artist Evan Everhart's Millcreek sculpture garden -- which includes both real trees and fantastic metal replicas standing side-by-side -- are seen at the beginning of the film. "Raku Place," the expansive Japanese-inspired garden in McKean Township built by Susan Kemenyffy and her husband Steven, is the subject of an extended montage that ends the film. Raku Place is listed in the Smithsonian Institution's Archive of American Gardens. A number of the artists discuss how their need to create art helped them through life-threatening events. John Bavaro, interviewed together with his wife Suzanne Proulx, recounts how he struggled to recover from a debilitating stroke by exploring new digital painting techniques. We see actual CAT scans of Bavaro's brain, which he converted to digital images of fantastical "brain trees" made up of veins and capillaries. Jeff Kuntz, an impressionistic painter who is recovering from heroin addiction, openly discusses his struggle and the importance of making art to his recovery. Kuntz is a graduate of Edinboro University's art program who studied with several of the other featured artists, and offers some candid observations about the need for art education in schools. Other artists talk about how they use art to understand themselves and their lives, what they do when inspiration isn't flowing, and how they sustain their work while making a living. Weber, a one-man crew who shoots and edits all his own footage, has been producing independent documentaries and concert videos since 2002. These include "Troubadour Blues" (2011) a film about hard-traveling folksingers like Peter Case, Mary Gauthier and Chris Smither, and "Over The Pavement" (2015), a concert video with some of the world's best improvisational musicians filmed in Detroit.
Posted by: Anne Cutri on Fri Jun 21 2024
Juried Exhibition for which I have three pieces. Closing this weekend at Sweetwater Center for the Arts in Sewickley.
Posted by: Anne Cutri on Fri Jun 21 2024
This show is at the Red Brick Gallery, in Foxburg, PA. Myself, CJ Hurley and Kathe Umlauf the NPAA artists who were invited to this wonderful event. It is closing June 30th.
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Posted by: Gregory Zbach on Thu Jun 06 2024
the show includes10 of GGG artists who have been actively exhibiting their work at GGG for over 20 years. Five of these artists are from NPAA> Featured artists: Susan Stone (Since 1979), Jack Coville (Since 1983), Joyce Perowicz (Since 1984), Marie Spaeder Haas (Since 1986), Annoel Krider (Since 1991), Eddie Mitchell (Since 1991), Jan Lutz (Since 1995), Noreen Finn (Since 1999), Greg Zbach (Since 2003), Thomas Ferraro (Since 2004)
Posted by: on Thu Jan 01 1970
Posted by: on Thu Jan 01 1970
Posted by: on Thu Jan 01 1970
Posted by: on Thu Jan 01 1970
