The Artists’ Studio: Nov. 15, 2012

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Student Showcase

 
The Hazleton Art League (hazletonsartleague.org) has been given CPR or maybe it’s just that manager Mark Charles Rooney has decided to keep ec and dc abreast of the network’s exhibitions. In any case, like good girl scouts we’re always happy to make new friends. And this week we’re happy to meet Ashley-based artist Rachel Mrak (originally of Clarks Summit), if only online.
 
You may have met her in person at her recent First Friday Scranton exhibition at New Life Church in the former Electric Theatre Company space on the second floor of the Hotel Jermyn.
 
The artist teaches classes to students age 2 through adult via Mrak Fine Arts (www.MrakFineArts.com) in both Luzerne and Sugarloaf, and it is their work that will be on Saturday, Nov. 18 in the art league’s gallery at 225 East Broad St. from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
 
Of her own work, Mrak says:
“I am inspired by the human form. Its quiet grace. Its beauty. Its intricacies. I love the endless range of emotion and thought the body can evoke — without words or frill or assumption. It is a powerfully universal language. The slow curve of a back or sharp angle of an arm tells a story that can be understood simultaneously by all but, in the same moment, speaks privately to each individual. I endeavor to capture these stories in each of my drawings.”
 
A graduate of Keystone College, Mrak has also studied with Steve Colley in Waverly. She will offer a Fall Watercolor Painting workshop at the Hoyt Library (www.hoytlibrary.org) in Kingston on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Contact the library at 287-2013.
 
Those interested in HAL membership might want to act sooner rather than later. The league’s Members Exhibit opens Dec. 1 and runs through Dec. 30 with an opening reception Dec. 8. Artists can apply for membership when they drop off their framed, ready to hang work (maximum 18 inches by 24 inches) Nov. 23-25 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Contact Mark Charles Rooney at 817-1075 or krishnablue13@hotmail.com for more information.
 

Atlas Today; Mark Ciocca

Artist Shrugged

 
You don’t have to read Mark Ciocca’s statement to get the gist of his 12 inch by 9 inch linocut Atlas Today (at right).
This year’s AfA 2012 Holiday Auction raffle, the work could be yours for a lucky $2 ticket purchase (3 for $5). The event will be held on both floors of the Scranton gallery on Saturday after 6 p.m.
 
Just who is bearing the burden of capitalism?
 
Atlas Today is a work you could look and thinking about for some time, go about your day and come back to later to look at again and think about some more. You may need to google “Tasarruf.” You won’t regret it, although no handy bull’s-eye definition pops up. In investment banking the term applies to savings deposits managed in the form of a bank account offering special legally defined protection but what intrigued me was the use of the word in music, implying the taking liberties with someone else’s composition. In mythology it refers to “the gift of disposition,” first the capacity to bring things into being and then secondly assuming the authority to bestow favors or woes upon people as you choose.
 
On the auction invitation, Ciocca explains that the work, “depicts the burden the working class has to shoulder for the failure and greed of banking institutions and the government sponsored measures to redistribute wealth have caused austerity worldwide, which is why the word “austerity” is repeated throughout the print in several languages. Austerity is widening the disparity between the classes and it is affecting access to the most basic needs of the working class. These unfolding events are the class struggle of today.”
 
The auction, however, is quite the opposite of austere. Live music by the Doug Smith Jazz Trio, open bar with wine and cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, desserts and even champagne are included in the event’s $25 tickets, available at the door. Call 969-1040 for more information. 

 

For the Dogs

 
If you prefer your art in unexpected places or just have an activist’s love of animals, we may see you at Valley Dog in Larksville for the shop’s Third Friday Animal Art Gathering.
Scheduled to run from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., the event is sponsored by Modified k9 pit-bull rescue and rehabilitation network and features live music by The Ends of the Earth as well as photographs by Amanda Hrycyna and paintings by Derek Zielinski. Scranton boutique The Fanciful Fox will also be offering wares for sale. Food and refreshments will be served.
Valley Dog is located at 213 E. Luzerne Ave., Kingston. Call 714-6239 for more information.