Sycamore Studios Mystic Realm at Millworks
“Mystic Realm”
In this gift called “life” that we are given, we all bring something different to the dance—talents shared with the world make us unique in our offerings. For the three Millworks artists that comprise Sycamore Shade Studio #215, singer Van Morrison laid the foundation for their latest installation, Mystic Realm #5. Morrison in his own stylistic manner sang, “as we sail into the mystic…let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic.” Valhalla! The philosophical double meaning of his song captures a journey across the sea on the surface but much deeper it relinquishes a life well lived coming to its end with no fear or trepidation. I envisioned Sycamore’s “Mystic Realm” sculpture as the portal to that glorious end.
For this trio of artists working in clay and glass and playing with fire, they have the science down to an artform as viewed in the Millworks Lobby, opening 3rd in The Burg this Friday. Justin Pettingell, Cindi Hardwicke and Kathy Mina, comrades in arms form a modern-day Three Musketeers. Cindi is the mother figure of the realm, literally, as Justin is her son and Kathy is her artistic cousin. The sculptures come full circle as Sycamore’s fantasy world is replete with landscape, loyalty and legend. Each realm builds upon the other in dramatizing its universe through clay creations, laser-cut wood, glass and jewels. Each artist is highly skilled in a specific area and their work all comes together beautifully, with multi-dimensional storylines, characters and “symbolic explanations of how the world came to be, mostly from Celtic origins,” shared Cindi. The latest edition of “Mystic Realm” focuses on the importance of trees in their world and ours. The Mighty Oak “provides protection and sustenance, its branches spread wide, and its roots run deep,” added Cindi.
Sycamore Shade’s overarching theme is timely and shares a cautionary tale for the ages, touching on issues like climate change, the environment, and how everything in our world is interconnected. We need to take special care of the gifts of nature, of what we have been blessed with, before it too vanishes, “Into the Mystic.”
Domestic Affairs at Susquehanna Art Museum
The irony of the exhibition title, “Domestic Affairs,” newly unveiled at SAM is not lost on the cognoscenti as its multiple meanings are waiting to be unpacked much like freshly laundered towels to be dispensed in the linen closet. With its broadside volley of shot, the theme is open ended with an allusion to clandestine trysts or a new paradigm in the delegation of daily chores in the home. The final decision is yours to make. You will be hard pressed for proof of any definitive answer upon viewing SAM’s ninth juried art exhibit. A modest gallery of 21 artists, crafters, painters, photographers and textile technicians all offer up their personal platform of persuasion. The well-spaced installations in the Doshi Gallery allow for freedom of thought and observation.
Standouts from our perspective are Jessica Shannon’s subtly mixed media piece, ‘The Cycle,’ which takes an impactful walk down a Shipoke-style block of colorful row homes. There’s a vacant address of residence, an idyllic home, a condemned house and a structure burned out next to it. They exist standing side by side without judgement or reprisal as this is a part of modern-day life. Photographs and paintings complement each other’s point of view depicting and questioning domestic life as we know it today. With every possible combination of familial roles on display, the domestic disquietude divides dramatically to a dedicated democracy between partners. Case in point are the works of photography and archival pigment prints by Seth Steven Bechtold, and work by oil portraitist and painter, Steven Pearson from Mechanicsburg. They let the viewer write the script from their own life experiences.
Voting at SAM is now underway for the public to choose their favorite. There are surprises, some surreal, that make this concise show a treat for the senses in its wide-open chess game layout. You have through Jan. 5 to make your move. And if you wait until Nov. 16, you get the added bonus of Edvard Munch: Works on Paper, coming to the Lehr Gallery.
Art by Ann Benton Yeager
Ann Without the E at the Art Association of Harrisburg
Abstract artist, Ann Benton Yeager doesn’t need any letters added onto her name or anything else for that matter as she has hit her stride as an artist of exceptional skill. Deeply entrenched at Millworks Studios for years now, she is currently spreading her wings in a one woman show devoted to her oeuvre of onomatopoeia in painting words, like ‘splash’, sizzle’, ‘pop’ and ‘pow’, just to name a few descriptive ‘zingers’ being bandied about at the AAH. This ‘humdinger’ of a show opens on Nov. 22 with a reception and runs through the new year ending Jan. 3, bringing ‘bubbly’ to 2025.
Carrie Wissler-Thomas, president of the esteemed association is excited to see how Director of Exhibitions Nate Foster hangs this show given the genre’s elusive air. Mounting a show of this ferocity requires putting your thinking cap on. The show will feature between 60 to 80 canvases, as it is an all-inclusive retrospective of the artist’s works. Ann, a self-taught artist now in her 15th year of creating, stands tall in a long line of skilled and renowned painters. Her mother, Linda Benton McCloskey is well known for her legendary landscapes, and her husband Robert is also an artist. The three share space in Millworks Studio 103. Ann’s great-great uncle is also the famous painter, Thomas Hart Benton.
Foster revealed that Ann works in acrylic, cold wax and oil, fluid art, mixed media and encaustic, a type of hot wax art. The artist feels strongly that “abstract art is endless in its possibilities and infinite in design.” Reserve Friday, Nov. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. to meet Ann in person.
Amie Bantz
Amie Bantz Art in a Vault in Lancaster
Art activist, muralist, and painter of great repute, Amie Bantz now calls Lancaster home and is excited about the new show that just opened at the Lancaster Art Vault, running through Dec. 28. The exhibit, “Embodied Emotions: Celebrating the Human Form” showcases Amie’s art, along with fellow practitioners Vikki Sloviter, Dan Graziano and Judith Gresh. Amie’s entries include “a girl, a cat, a painting…” Intrigued yet? We are.
Emerging artists Genevieve Sherman in November and Ceanna Davis in December add their perspective to what makes us human. In speaking with the Vault’s owner and founder, Victoria Abadir, she shared, “The gallery is concurrently holding another exhibit featuring the impressionistic stylings of painter, Christiane David, who recently returned from Burgundy in France.” David’s show is “Impressionists Celebration: 150th Anniversary of Impressionism.”
The Lancaster Art Vault, located at 100 N. Queen St., is well worth the drive. Plan on making a day of it exploring Lancaster. Queen Street is full of an eclectic array of galleries and restaurants no matter your tastes. Hankering for a slice of Brooklyn? Head to Brooklyn Pizza. Yorgos Restaurant and Lounge just doors away offers modern-day Greek fare plus breakfast. Sakuro Restaurant serves Japanese. It is obvious N. Queen is the scene for a day of adventure away from home.
Art Splash
Artist Carrie Wissler-Thomas and Jonathan Frazier of the AAH are featured for the month of November at Smith Fine Art and Custom Framing. The two were feted at an opening night reception this past week at the gallery in New Cumberland.
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