Studio B Fine Art Gallery, 39A East Philadelphia Avenue in Boyertown, PA, announced the art exhibit opening and book release of “Legacy: Remembrance Matters” on Friday, June 23, 2023 at its Opening Reception. The award ceremony + video tour is presented on Facebook LIVE here.
Congratulations to Award Winners!
Art Awards
Juror: Ellen Martignetti
Sponsor: Bob Wood
Best in Show:
Barbara Post for her collage “Lucinda’s Philosophy
Awards of Excellence:
Barbara Post for her collage “A Gathering of Artists”
Caren Cornman for her collage “A Wheelbarrow for Tiffany”
Lynn Millar for her watercolor “Carey Gulley Vinyard”
Curator’s Choice:
Marilyn Basehoar for her collage “Granny”
Writer’s Awards
Juror: Susan LeClair
Sponsor: Lesley Misko
Best in Show:
Philip Repko for the poems “Legacy Chair” and “Augury – An Invocation
Awards of Excellence:
Heather Goodman for her essay “Save the Dirt”
Kathryn Keegan for her poem “Legacy”
Vicki Haller-Graff for her monologue “Obitu-WOW-y”
Editor Mish’s Choice:
Marilyn Basehoar for her poem “She”
Rachael Ikins for her memoir “Beneath the Makeup: Memoir of a Small Town”
More about the exhibition:
“It is said that the greatest longing in the human soul is to be remembered,” offers Jane Stahl, Studio B’s Director of Community Relations. “I wanted our writers and artists to explore what will ‘remain,’ something about us that we hope to pass on—whether it be a tangible item or an example unique to our character or reputation to guide those who follow us. I hoped some would explore what foundations or expectations have been left by communities—families, hometowns, nations—etched as their marks on our lives,” she continues.
“Legacies can inspire and energize, bring joy and fond remembrances. These legacies mean dreaming big with the intention of changing the world for the better. Some, however, wound us, tear our hearts and the fabric of our communities and remind us of the profound and lasting impact we have on one another. In the end, legacies, large or small, remind us that none us gets out of this life alive and that our lives are enhanced by being mindful to make the best of every moment,” Stahl concludes.
Creating an immersive experience during the exhibit, fragrance artist Eric Vinskie will offer a collection of familiar fragrance accords available for sampling and for purchase—scents that will bring back memories—fresh-cut grass, pipe tobacco, suntan lotion, baked apples, grandma’s soap, for example.
“Scents evoke powerful memories because our olfactory bulb connects directly to our hippocampus—the seat of memory in our brain,” Vinskie explains. Raffle tickets will be sold to win a seat to an August 18, 2023, workshop, “Creating Your Legacy Fragrance,” where you’ll blend a signature perfume by which you’ll be remembered. Three seats to the workshop are being sponsored by Ingrid Weil of Ironhorse Realty.
Co-editor for Studio B’s 10th book of poetry, prose, and art, Eileen (Mish) Murphy is Assistant Poetry Editor for Cultural Daily magazine, teaches English and Literature at Polk State College, Florida, and plans to visit Boyertown to attend the studio’s opening reception. Murphy published her third book of poetry (fourth book overall), the collection Sex & Ketchup, in 2021 (Concrete Mist Press). Fortune Written on Wet Grass (Wapshott Press April 2020) was her first full length collection. Her second book Evil Me (chapbook) was published in 2020 (Blood Pudding Press) and will be featured in a Poetry House event in NYC in fall 2023.
Juror for the art in the exhibit is Ellen Martignetti, Building a Better Boyertown’s Main Street Manager. Martignetti is a graduate of Drexel University, with a degree in interior design. She has worked in the commercial design and furniture industry for many years and gained retail experience working at the Disney Store before focusing on her family.
Jurying the writing awards is Susan LeClair. For over twenty-five years, LeClair taught English at the high school and college levels in Virginia, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; served as librarian at Boyertown Senior High School; and was a faculty member in the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Teaching. She earned her BA in English from Illinois Wesleyan University and her Master’s Degree in Education from Seton Hall University. An avid traveler, she toured widely nationally and internationally. A love of art surfaced while growing up in Chicago where she took art lessons at the Art Institute.
Studio B’s “Legacy: Remembrance Matters” art exhibit; anthology of poetry, prose, and art; and art-related activities are sponsored by a grant award from the Boyertown Area Charitable Giving Program administered by Berks County Community Foundation and dedicated to the late Marianne Deery, Boyertown’s beloved mayor.
An addendum to the “Legacy” art exhibit and book release, Studio B, in conjunction with Building a Better Boyertown, invites the community to add to the “Before I Die” mural wall, located in the walkway between Bridget’s Place and The Peppermint Stick Candy Store that connects the Inner Core parking lot and East Philadelphia Avenue. “We are eager to invite the community to participate in the project by sharing their thoughts, hopes, and dreams publicly,” adds Stahl. The mural wall was inspired by Amy Muzopappa—a member of Studio B’s Advisory Council—and Judy Wetzel who had seen a “Before I Die” mural wall during a trip to Alaska.
Studio B:
Studio B, located in the heart of historic Boyertown, is the home of the Arts and Activities Alliance, a committee of Building a Better Boyertown, a nonprofit Main Street program dedicated to revitalizing small towns.
Studio B celebrates lifelong learning, creativity and personal involvement in the visual and communication arts and seeks to be a dynamic part of Boyertown community, a “go to” destination for learning, fun and friendship. The studio seeks to showcase the work of fine artists in themed exhibits—some juried, some open to all—and welcomes art in diverse media. In addition to art exhibits, workshops, and classes, Studio B also hosts activities and informal gatherings on assorted topics for small groups or meetings, gallery talks, and “Getting to Know You” opportunities.
Visitors are always welcome to view the changing exhibits; take lessons in the visual, literary, and communication arts offered by highly-trained local artists and teachers; and schedule small events or parties in its elegant facility. The studio proudly collaborates with the many unique businesses in the Boyertown community.
