Article & Photos By Barbara Arnstein
The Founders Show exhibit is an art exhibit showcasing foundational artists from the early days of the Springville Center for the Arts, in the Center’s newly renovated Harold L. Olmsted Gallery. The Center is located at 37 North Buffalo Street, in the former Baptist Church of Springville, a historic red brick Late Gothic Revival style church built in 1869 that was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. There will be a reception there this Saturday December 2, from 6:30-8pm, giving visitors the opportunity to meet the artists, view the art and the Center’s renovated spaces, and also
enjoy refreshments and music. On December 6th, between 6:30-8pm, there will be an Artist’s Night at the Arts Cafe in Springville, located at 5 East Main Street. On that night, there will be a discussion, led by Executive Director Seth Wochensky, featuring seven of the show’s artists. They will tell stories and relate memories of the SCA’s beginnings and audience members will have the chance to ask questions then, and also chat with them later on. The artists who will participate include Bob Adler, Judson Brown, Marty Hoffman, Charles Houseman, Tom Irish, Joseph Ward and Judy Wright.
About the exhibit, Seth Wochensky commented, “It pays homage to people involved in the early years of the SCA, as artists and organizers, who have helped it make so much progress”. Cassandra Cross, the Visual Arts Director of the Springville Center for the Arts, commented “We are excited to introduce the community to the artists who helped to make SCA the organization it is today.” The artists whose work is featured in the exhibit include: Bob Adler, Sharon Bartell, Judson Brown, John Burn, Doris Calnen, Anneliese Garver, Marty Hoffman, Charles Houseman, Tom Irish, Bernadette Keleher, Kathleen McDonnell, Doris Palmer Morris, Nancy Miess, Karl Miller, Carol Mongerson, Jewel Mowry, Lucy Muther, Holly Nachbar, Linda Nagle, Joe Orffeo, Karen Sienk, Pam Stachowski, Fran Vacanti, Joe Ward and Judy Wright.
Fran Vacanti was honored by the naming of the Center’s Fran Vacanti Classroom, while Carol Mongerson was honored by having the Center’s theater named after her (which is presently undergoing renovation). The exhibit features her painting, “Winter’s Light”, an outdoor scene of leafless trees and snow. Some of the many other works depicting nature include Charles Houseman’s painting of a scenic shore, Pam Stachowski’s painting of a brook, Karen Sienk’s quilt featuring a tree and Marty Hoffman’s photo of a mountain and river. Doris Palmer Morris painted geraniums, and Linda Nagle painted a white rhododendron. Tom Irish’s painting is in a frame resembling a television cabinet, complete with an antenna. It includes several people, and a robot and a puppet, like those on children’s television shows in the 1950’s. Judy Wright has four pieces in the show. One is a ceramics piece on a pedestal, and the others are two watercolors of buildings, and a portrait.
The show runs from now until New Year’s Eve. Gallery hours are Wednesdays from 10ma-5pm., Thursdays from 10am-7pm, Fridays from 10am-5pm, and Saturdays from 10am-2pm.