The Artists’ Studio: Jan. 17, 2013

Colorful Figure

 
Vivid figure studies by painter Alexandra Price are on display alongside mixed media works by Annmarie Ciccarelli in this month’s exhibit at New Visions Studio & Gallery on Vine Street in Scranton. A native of Fanwood, N.J., Price is currently in her third year of study at Marywood University.
 
“In one piece of art that I birth, there can be a million different emotions that live through it, and I strive for the canvas to tell the viewer its own life story. What is left to live on the surface also conveys hints or memories of the layers beneath while each piece emanates it’s own distinct personality,” she explains in an artist’s statement on the “My Colorful Personalities” series.
 
The exhibit will remain on display through Jan. 19. Gallery hours are noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Call 878-3970 or visit www.newvisitionsstudio.com for more information.
 

America’s Mirror

Pressed to name one illustrator who captured the face of America in the 20th century, most of you would see Norman Rockwell’s familiar depictions flash before your eyes. An exhibition showcasing the artist’s Saturday Evening Post covers opened at the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery at Misericordia University on Jan. 14. Painted during a 40 year relationship with the magazine between 1916 and 1963, all of Rockwell’s 323 covers — an average of seven covers a year — can be browsed in the show, which will remain on display through Feb. 28. In addition to original tear sheets, viewers will have the opportunity to view three original paintings on loan from private collection.
 
“What I enjoy most about this exhibit is that it gives everyone a chance to make their own personal connection with Rockwell’s work,” offered Rockwell Museum curator of education Thomas C. Daly in a Misericordia press release. “Even if they weren’t alive when the cover appeared, they see themselves in a situation, remember a moment in time, or relate to the humor in everyday life that he conveyed.”

Supplementing the exhibit are a lecture by Daly titled Norman Rockwell and the 20th Century at 2:30 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 24, and a 12-minute film American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell, available for viewing in the gallery throughout the exhibition.
 
Born at the turn of the century in New York City, the artist received his first Christmas card commission before he turned 16. His depictions of small-town life grew more consistent after he moved to Vermont with his second wife and children in 1939. He relocated to Massachusettes in the ’50s and in 1977 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his “vivid and affectionate portraits of our country.”
 
Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday. Visit www.misericordia.edu/art for more information or call 674-6250.
 

Your Latent Artist

Your resolution to try new things in the New Year is one of those ideas that sound great in theory. Then you’re faced with the reality of putting it into practice. Just where are all these new things to try? If you wander through First Friday exhibitions with awe-filled admiration telling your friends, “I could never do that,” an art class might prove you wrong. ArtWorks Gallery & Studio is offering classes for children and adults at all levels of experience this winter and spring. Stretch beyond your comfort zone and with a little practice you’ll be pointing out the artwork you made to your friends in a future student exhibition.
 
The first section of a combination drawing and painting workshop series with Renee Emanuel and Bill Teitsworth begins Jan. 22 and continues weekly at 5:45 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday evenings through Feb. 26. Advance registration and payment is recommended for all courses as class size is limited. A second series runs concurrently on Wednesdays.
 
You’ll feel more secure walking into one of the region’s ongoing life drawing groups after taking a figure drawing course with illustrator Ted Michalowski. A new class series featuring partially clothed live models run Jan. 26-Feb. 23 at Artworks. A two-tiered, four-session each drawing workshop with Nina Davidowitz titled Beyond the Stick Figure in begins in February and continues in March. Take one or both depending on your experience level. Davidowitz will also offer a colored pencil workshop in April. Renee Emanuel hosts two series of watermedia painting classes for beginners and more advanced students. Gain confidence in creating compositions and then express your own imagination in either watercolor or acrylics. The first series runs Feb. 5 through Feb. 26 and the second is scheduled to run March 19-April 9. If you’re into a more practical expression, learn how to make your jewelry in a green-themed recycled earring workshop Feb. 16. The one-day workshop is appropriate for teen age 14 and older and adults.
 
Children can study the ancient Asian art of wax-relief batiking in January or take a more general series of exploratory courses starting in April with Judy Youshock. Classes range from $35 each to $125 per series. Visit www.artworksnepa.com for details or call 207-1815 for more information and to learn how to register. ArtWorks is located at 503 Lackawanna Avenue in Scranton.