Academy of Natural Sciences Opens Art Gallery

A newly renovated gallery at the Academy of Natural
Sciences will feature changing displays of contemporary and historic
artworks that explore the inherent-but often overlooked-beauty of
science.

The Art of Science Gallery, located on the first floor, will
showcase rarely seen treasures from the Academy’s own world-renowned
collections, works by contemporary artists, and imagery generated by
Academy scientists, past and present.

The current exhibit, which opened Feb. 27 and runs through May
2, is First Impressions: Thomas Horsfield’s printed plants of Java.
Horsfield (1773-1859) was a Bethlehem, Pa., native and Academy member
who became the first American scientist to explore Southeast Asia. The
exhibit features 22 detailed prints made by applying ink to plants he
collected on the Indonesian island of Java. The images are both an
accurate record of the plant life on Java 200 years ago and also are
visually striking artistic compositions. And that’s the point of the
gallery.

“The line between art and science is often a blurry one,”
said Barbara Ceiga, vice president for public operations. “This
gallery gives us the opportunity to introduce our visitors to the idea
that science can be beautiful.”

Upcoming shows will feature a wide range of subjects, from
dramatic X-ray images of fish skeletons (May 15 through August 1) to
colorful illustrations of grasshoppers. Some shows will feature works by
contemporary artists and others will showcase imagery created by Academy
scientists in the course of their own research. Founded in 1812, the
Academy is the oldest natural history museum in the Americas and has a
long history of research, exploration and discovery, and important
collections to show for it.

For exhibit updates, visit www.ansp.org.

The Clay Studio 3rd Floor Students and Artists

Renown National and Local Artists at Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Oaks

Philadelphia’s Most Exceptional Talents Among 300 Artists at March 19-21 Festival

The Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Oaks will showcase the works of more than 300 distinguished artists from across the country; but the Festival will also highlight the wealth of creative talent within the greater Philadelphia by showcasing work by more than a dozen nationally-known, local artists. The Festival will be held from Friday, March 19 through Sunday, March 21, 2010 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA.

The Sugarloaf Crafts Festival will feature an eclectic mix of artists whose work is exhibited in fine galleries, shown at museums, and acquired by prestigious collections, as well as to new artists showcasing experimental techniques and bold creative vision. Craftspeople will display and sell affordable and innovative functional and decorative pottery, sculpture, glass, home décor, furniture and home accessories, leather, fiber and wearables, items for gifts, fine art and photography.

The Sugarloaf Crafts Festival in Somerset will feature some of greater Philadelphia’s most exceptional artists, including:

Colleen Attara (Yardley, PA) Colleen combines her love of the environment with fine art to create three-dimensional pieces from recycled windows.  Her art has been featured in numerous galleries and publications including Art Business News, Philadelphia Magazine, and Cottages and Bungalows.

Arlene Freed (Langhorne, PA) Arlene uses mixed metals along with her hand painted silks (embedded in a resin), to add texture, color and balance to her jewelry. Her works have won numerous awards, and can be seen in galleries across the country.

Elaine Dimino (Philadelphia, PA) Elaine’s gift boxes are custom made with the carefully selected fabrics and are uniquely decorated with beads and metal appliqués, decorative trims, ribbons and laces.

Armond Scavo (Philadelphia, PA) Armond has been photographing landscapes, seascapes, florals, and abstracts for more than 40 years.  His love of Philadelphia’s urban landscapes, makes them frequent subjects of his work.

The lively marketplace of the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival is enhanced by a full schedule of family entertainment. Master craftspeople will showcase their expertise in a range of media, including ceramics, metal spinning, and woodturning in live demonstrations. The Festival also celebrates the skill of making small-batch specialty gourmet foods, available for sampling and purchase. Visitors will enjoy live musical performances, and children can experience the adventure of time travel with a special puppet show from Middle Earth Studios.

The Sugarloaf Crafts Festival will be held Friday, March 19 and Saturday, March 20 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Sunday, March 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center, located at located at 100 Station Ave, in Oaks, PA.  (For GPS navigation use “Intersection of Egypt Rd & Mill Rd – Phoenixville, PA  19460″ and follow the signs to the Expo Center.)

Adult admission to the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival is $7 when purchased online, $8 for adults at the door, and free for children under 12. Admission is good for all three days, and free parking is available.

For more information about the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival, directions, or to purchase discount admission tickets online visit www.SugarloafCrafts.com or call (800) 210-9900.

Additional show information, artist profiles, and special offers may be found on Sugarloaf’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sugarloafcrafts.

About the Sugarloaf Craft Festivals:

For over 30 years, the nation’s most talented artisans have sold their contemporary crafts and fine art at Sugarloaf Craft Festivals, rated as one of the top craft experiences in the country.  Last year, more than 180,000 visitors purchased over $16 million in fine arts and crafts directly from the artists at Sugarloaf festivals.

Katie Baldwin, Julia Blaukopf, Andrea Cote, Oscar Muňoz,

Matthew Neff, Marisha Simons & Ben Volta

Curated by Amie Potsic

Sweet Spot

January 28 – February 18, 2010

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists

1521 Locust Street, Lower Level

Philadelphia, PA  19102

http://www.cfeva.org

In conjunction with Philagrafika 2010 and Fiber Philadelphia 2010, The Center for Emerging Visual Artists is pleased to present Sweet Spot, an exhibition of works by Katie Baldwin, Julia Blaukopf, Andrea Cote, Oscar Muňoz, Matthew Neff, Marisha Simons, and Ben Volta, curated by Amie Potsic.

Selected especially for the Philagrafika 2010 and Fiber Philadelphia 2010 festivals, Sweet Spot features Colombian artist Oscar Muňoz and six CFEVA artists whose prints, sculpture, and installations incorporate printmaking and fiber in unusual and unexpected ways.

Philadelphia Live Arts Festival

Second Thursdays Series

Artists from the Live Arts Festival artist residency program or a guest artist from the region talk about their work process and share their musings, imaginings and ideas that are the inspiration for what will eventually evolve into a new work.

They’ll be casual, intimate gatherings, so anything goes. The artists may perform segments of new work, tell stories about their un-traditional research, or just discuss what they’re currently imagining for their upcoming piece. Your feedback and questions throughout are warmly welcomed and encouraged!

Why you should come:

• Free admission
• Free beer
• You’ll hang with the artists, meet new people, see cool stuff, and be part of amazing conversations (or just listen in if you’d rather!).

When you should come:

• The second Thursday of each month, October – June 7pm

Upcoming featured artists:

• January 14, 2010

• Whit MacLaughlin / New Paradise Laboratories (FATEBOOK, 2009)Dare to take a peek inside the brain of Whit MacLaughlin, the Artistic Director of New Paradise Laboratories and mastermind behind 2009’s FATEBOOK.  Whit will give insight into his latest projects: FREEDOM CLUB (in collaboration with The Riot Group); MORT (the third part ofNPL’s American Party trilogy preceded by BATCH and PROM); and his newest idea, F@#CK COMPUTERS. For more advance details on the new works, visit http://www.princeton.edu/arts/news/archive/freedom-club/.Miro Dance Theatre
• Amanda Miller and Tobin Rothlein of Miro Dance Theatre will be showing a slideshow of their recent trip to India where they performed their newest work, How am I Not Myself?In the work, two classically trained dancers, one in Ballet and the other Bharatnatyam, examine the questions that come with dance, identity, and moving beyond the classical form. At the age of four Amanda Miller and Viji Rao began their classical training on opposite sides of the world. Now, thirty years later, following professional classical careers, they are both engaged in their own unique forms of contemporary dance. In How am I Not Myself? they join with video artist Tobin Rothlein to look at their transition from classical to contemporary with an exciting dialogue of movement and multimedia and a celebration of the contemporary and the unclassifiable.
• Makoto Hirano & Ben Camp
• Ben Camp and Makoto Hirano will be showing a few scenes that may or may not make it into their upcoming work, PunchKapow. PunchKapow is an original devised piece in development by Ben, Alex Torra, Makoto, Charlotte Ford, Mikaal Sulaimon, and Brett Cassidy.  The piece is inspired by representations of violence and how much fun they can be – comic books, action movies, video games, and anime.  People love violence, and we want to dive into the joy of fighting as much as the darkness. This piece is the first for an organization called Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, and will priemere in November.JANUARY PRE-SERIES BONUS EVENT:For this month’s Second Thursdays Series, you’ll enter the Festival studio through AREA 919’s gallery space. Between 6pm and 7pm, visit AREA 919 for a glass of wine and their Antique Collection of 18th and 19th Century works in stone, marble, iron, and wood from Europe, India, China, and America.  For more information: www.area919.com.

• Where it all happens: The Festival Studio , 919 N 5th St Philadelphia, PA 19123, Free onsite parking + abundant neighborhood street parking

A Survey of Contemporary Studio Furniture & Historic Glass

Wexler Gallery presents a survey of contemporary studio furniture including works by Timothy S. Philbrick, Silas Kopf, Tom Huang, Wendy Stayman, John Dunnigan, and more.  Historic pieces by master glass artists such as Mark Peiser and Joel Philip Myers will also be on view.  The show will run from January 4 – February 27, 2010. *An opening reception will take place First Friday, February 5, 2010 from 5 – 8pm.

Timothy S. Philbrick, Window Seat, 1999, Curly maple, upholstered, 25 X 36 X 17”

Wexler Gallery is located at 201 North Third Street in the historical district of Old City Philadelphia.