CLARION – Fifteen area artists, working in a variety of media, will gather this Sunday, April 6, at the Haskell House in Clarion to exhibit their work at the United Way of Clarion County’s (UWCA) Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts (PPA)-sponsored Artist Showcase and Reception.
The event runs from 2 to 5 p.m.
Tickets are $10, which, in addition to admission, includes small appetizers, cookies and beverages (coffee, water). A cash bar, with limited cocktails, wine and beer, is available.
Ann Harting, who administers the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ PPA grant program for the UWCA United in the Arts Committee (UAC), discussed the event’s impetus: “We surveyed artists and the community. Artists were looking to network and meet people and trying to get the word out about their art. Members of the community were looking to find local art.
“We thought this showcase sort of encompassed all that — people can come in and see whose doing art, the art that is available, and then the artists can get their name out and their work out.”
Artists, all from Clarion County, will display their work throughout the lower level of the Haskell House. The exhibition is not a sale, but rather artists have the opportunity to let patrons know where to find their work locally — galleries, markets, craft shows or pop-ups — and relay other pertinent information, such as if they are teaching or giving lessons.
“We want to create more of an awareness of the art available in the area and the artists,” reported Harting. “I know myself, as an artist, it seems very difficult to network. There’s not really an art center or a community center where there’s art happening all the time. We’re trying to let [those attending] know about the [UWCA’s PPA] grants and just let people know what we have in Clarion County.”
Harting administers two PPA grants for the United Way’s UAC — a Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program and the Creative Sector Flex Fund.
“The Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator Program, those are $2,000 grants for individual artists, photographers, painters, landscape architecture folks, musicians. It’s a wide range of creative aspects, but has to be used for a specific purpose,” Harting explained. “The Creative Sector Flex Fund is for non-profit art entities, like businesses, with revenue between $10,000 and $200,000 annually. Those are $5,000 grants that can be used for general operating support.”
She continued, “The grant monies can be used in a variety of different ways — equipment or supplies, professional development, updating computers, things like that. Most of our photographers, of course, are updating equipment. A lot of the musical folks need microphones or bigger speakers. They can use it to have a website built or upgraded. There’s a lot of uses for it. They can use grant money to either start a business or further an existing business related to the arts.”
The UWCA has administered PPA grants for the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts’ Region 13, consisting of Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana and Jefferson counties, since 2021. PPA grants were disbursed throughout this five-county area for the first time in 2022.
Three grant-sponsored artists are exhibiting their work at Sunday’s event — wood carver Jake Jacobson of Clarion; Tannis Mohr from New Bethlehem, an illustrator; and Knox’s Sonya Porter, a photographer.
Jacobson, who created and works out of Tre Kronor Studio, is self-taught. His carvings, which are infused with Scandinavian spirituality, possess a recognizable personality and mood of introspection reminiscent of ancient druid and Viking works of the late 19th and early 20th Century.
Mohr, who operates Mohr Illustrations, creates visually compelling and innovative designs using media such as watercolors, gauche (a water medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent, and sometimes additional inert material), clay and digital illustration. She seeks to communicate a powerful message through her work, employing an artistic vision and technical expertise to inspire creativity and connect with the audience on an emotional level.
Porter photographs women and children, weddings and seniors. Her true love is fine art portraits, especially featuring wind-blown hair. She considers her work a therapeutic outlet, both personally and for the subjects.
Other artists displaying their work are Taylor Banner (Clarion), mixed media collage; Karl Jacobson (Clarion), painting; Ann Harting (Leeper), pottery and fiber art; Marie Lewis (New Bethlehem), pottery; Linda Schirmer (Limestone), photography; Emma Zacherl (Clarion), oil painting; Tatiana Datemasch (New Bethlehem), watercolor painting; Jason Lewis (Clarion), oil painting and graphite drawings; Jillian Cota (Clarion), watercolor painting; Mary Hamilton (Rimersburg), linocut block printing; Rusty Hamilton (Saint Charles), live edge woodware; and Debra Harrison-Hall (Cranberry), illustration.
The Gallery at New Bethlehem Town Center, owned by Sandy Mateer, is also participating.
Throughout the event three musical guests are slated to perform — Keridwyn, a folk and Celtic group whose members are from Clarion and Distant; Tassa Ellis and Son (New Bethlehem); and Samantha Sears (Clarion).
Tickets for the exhibition can be purchased online through a link on the UWCA’s website or at the door.