Jennifer Brown : Contrasts2

In June, Jennifer Brown brought her Contrasts exhibit to the North Gallery of Mulberry Art Studios.  The exhibit, which featured oil on canvas and charcoal on paper by the local artist, will be moving down to the Lousie Gallery on Mulberry Art Studios main floor.  It will be joined by a few new pieces and show throughout the month of July.  The public is invited to meet the artist at a First Friday opening reception on July 3rd from 5pm until 8pm.  Two Sunday receptions will be held on July 5th and 12th, both from 1pm until 4pm. 

Born and raised in Lancaster, PA, Jennifer Brown has created fine art for most of her life, but only recently began showing her work publicly. While Brown's medium of choice is charcoal, she also has a love and respect for oil paint and black and white photography. Brown is passionate about graphic and communication design, and as an Art Director at White Good and Company Advertising, she is able to utilize her artistic talent every day.

Brown's first public art showing was held on April 4th, 2008 and focused mainly on charcoal and chalk.  After a successful showing, Brown has continued her charcoal work, but has also begun to focus on her oil painting.  Her style and subject-matter varies from piece to piece, but one thing remains constant – her love of strong contrasting colors and values.

To learn more about this artist please visit her website, www.jbrowndesigns.com. 

HOPE International : The Art of Giving

HOPE International invites the public to attend its first annual benefit art auction, “The Art of Giving,” on July 9 from 6-9:30pm at Mulberry Art Studios in Lancaster. The auction will include paintings, pottery, sketches, and other unique pieces of art from both local and international artists, each inspired by the theme “Finding Dignity and Beauty in the Midst of Poverty.”  Interested bidders may preview the artwork at Mulberry Art Studios during First Friday festivities on July 3 and online at www.hopeinternational.org.

Proceeds from the auction will benefit HOPE International, a Lancaster-based nonprofit, in its work helping men and women break free from the devastating cycle of poverty through small loans, savings services, and basic business training. HOPE International currently serves a quarter of a million entrepreneurs in 14 countries around the world.

The auction will include a showing by world-renowned Christian filmmaker Nic McLean of his latest video project for HOPE International, as well as stories of the inspiration behind his work. Live music and hors d’oeuvres will also accompany the event. For more information on the auction, contact Lauren Fischer at lfischer@hopeinternational.org or 717-464-3220 x140.

HOPE International empowers those living in need around the world to escape poverty by providing microloans, savings services, training, and mentoring to help people become self-sufficient.  Working in 14 of the poorest, least-served countries in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean, HOPE is a Christian faith-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization focused on alleviating the many dimensions of poverty – physical, social, and spiritual – through microenterprise development. 

Lindsay Chevalier : Where My Feet Can Take Me

Where My Feet Can Take Me, a beautiful collection of photography from local artist Lindsay Chevalier, will be exhibited throughout the month of July in the North Gallery at Mulberry Art Studios.  The exhibit opens on July 3rd, and the public is encouraged to come out and meet the artist at a First Friday Reception that evening from 5pm until 8pm. 

The photographs that make up Where My Feet Can Take Me were primarily shot throughout the small town of Marietta where Lindsay lives.  Lindsay wandered around town on foot, often shooting the same subject matter she had shot previously.  “This challenged me to notice things about a subject I might not otherwise, like how the light fell perfectly on a dew drop, or the expression on my sons face as he played superheroes in the backyard.  I believe my subject limitations forced me to become a better photographer, one who is able to present the same flower I've passed a million times into something interesting to look at” Lindsay explains.

As a child, Lindsay lived in England.  It was there, on long walks with her father and her camera, that she fell in love with photography.   “My dad and I would go out taking pictures, he with his Minolta and I with my 110 film cartridge camera” says Lindsay.  “We never went out with a specific subject or shot in mind; we just took pictures for the heck of it.”  This spontaneity stuck with her as she developed her photographic eye, and as a result Lindsay prefers to simply capture what she sees in front of her instead of setting up a shot in a studio.