MOSAIC Community Land Trust To Hold Artist Reception This Saturday In Pottstown‏

Pottstown, Pa. – Local photographer Sharon K. Merkel will be on hand at MOSAIC Gallery, 10 S. Hanover Street in Pottstown, this Saturday, July 21 from 6-8 pm.  All are welcome to attend this free reception.

Ms. Merkel’s work is on view now at the gallery along with the paintings of Sharon McGinley in MOSAIC’s latest show, Nurturing Hope.  The show highlights the beauty in nature and in urban spaces, much like a community garden.  MOSAIC Community Land Trust, which runs the gallery, built Pottstown’s first community garden at 423 Chestnut Street this past spring.  Gardeners are now realizing the fruits of their labor at the garden site.

In the artist’s statement on her website, Ms. Merkel says, “My photographic work looks at my world with a very direct approach.  Photography is the art of exclusion – knowing what to include and what to leave out to create the correct balance and narrative.”  Her photos of urban buildings and barns often feature intersections with a brilliant sky or a lone tree.  Several prints of industrial buildings in Pottstown are included and for sale at MOSAIC Gallery.

MOSAIC receives a standard 30% commission on all art sales, so a purchase not only supports these local artists, but also the community garden, arts, and affordable housing mission of MOSAIC Community Land Trust.

This show is being curated by MOSAIC summer interns Amanda Hoffman and Blake Wrigley, who spent their early years in Pottstown and graduated from Boyertown High School.  Blake is a recent graduate of Messiah College and Amanda is a senior art major there.

Nurturing Hope will run through July 28. The MOSAIC gallery is located at 10 S. Hanover Street in Pottstown. Regular gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday from 4-7 pm. MOSAIC’s website is www.mosaiccommunitylandtrust.org.  Sharon Merkel’s website is www.skmerkel.com.

MOSAIC Gallery Art Show Opens July 4th In Pottstown

Primary Colors_by_Sharon_Merkel

Pottstown, Pa – Are you an art enthusiast who is interested in supporting local artists?  Do you want to take part in Pottstown’s growing arts scene while helping to boost the local economy?  Then come and check out Pottstown’s very own MOSAIC Gallery.

Opening this 4^th of July, MOSAIC presents Nurturing Hope, a show featuring area artists Sharon Merkel and Sharon McGinley.  You may know MOSAIC Community Land  Trust for bringing Pottstown its first community garden at 423 Chestnut Street, but MOSAIC also utilizes its office space at 10 S. Hanover Street as an art gallery.  This show highlights the beauty in nature and in urban spaces, much like a community garden.

Like a garden nestled into a congested city block, the spiritual paintings of Sharon McGinley contrast with the graphic urban photos of Sharon Merkel to embody the hope and vitality of an urban garden.

In her artist’s statement, photographer Sharon Merkel says of her work, “The images explore the place where man and nature meet.  I am fascinated with this intersection, the place where each affects the other.”  Her photos of urban buildings and barns often feature intersections with a brilliant sky or a lone tree.

Sharon McGinley’s paintings include bright colors, whimsy, and nature on a biblical or essential level.  “I explore the inner-connectedness of all things, the impermanence of earthly life and the joys and sorrows we experience on our journeys,” she says.

MOSAIC receives a standard 30% commission on all art sales, so a purchase not only supports these local artists, but also the community garden, arts, and affordable housing mission of MOSAIC Community Land Trust.

This show is being curated by MOSAIC summer interns Amanda Hoffman and Blake Wrigley, who spent their early years in Pottstown and graduated from Boyertown High School.  Blake is a recent graduate of Messiah College and Amanda is a senior art major there.

Nurturing Hope will run from July 4 – July 28.  All are welcome to an opening reception on Friday, July 6 from 7-9pm; food and drinks are sponsored by Lointer HOME.  The MOSAIC gallery, located at 10 S. Hanover Street in Pottstown, will be open from 10am -1 pm on July 4^th during the Pottstown Homecoming Parade.  (Rain date is July 5^th.) Regular gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday from 4 – 7 pm.

Chaos_by_Sharon_Merkel

McGinley_1

Sharon McGinley – 2