Event Advisory: Melinda Steffy at The Grantham Church Art Gallery

"Collecting Stones: Minerals & Material Memory"

July 24-August 28, 2010
Artist Reception Sunday, July 25 from 11:45am-2:00pm

The Grantham Church Art Gallery

Grantham, PA 17027
(Google map: 421 Grantham Road, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055)

Philadelphia artist Melinda Steffy’s current artwork explores aspects of memory and its loss, family history, alchemy and the symbolic meanings of materials.  With the belief that materials retain meaning from their previous uses, items like antique lace, the spice turmeric, tarnished copper, burned paper and dead ladybugs make their way into rhythmic visual compositions that reference traditional quilt-making and dyeing techniques as well as mineral formations and mythological stories.  Returning to her hometown for her first solo exhibit in the area, Steffy presents a selection of paintings, textiles and mixed-media works.

"...the poetry of Steffy’s work lies in her ability to translate philosophical concepts into visually complex and abstract compositions. The materials she chooses to use in her art-making are an integral part of the finished piece."

100 words - Anais Mitchell: Hadestown

Anaïs Mitchell: Hadestown
Think film noir – dusky rendezvous in dark alleys, the sound of passing trains, a red-lipsticked lounge singer with sloshing drink, the fat man upstairs obscured by billowing cigar smoke. Then add a hobo with banjo in hand, a delicate maiden in a field of yellow flowers and a raucous Greek chorus dancing the jitterbug. Wrap them together in lush arrangements of instruments, with poetry poignant enough to make you hold your breath. Give them the names of gods and mortals; let them sing an ancient but timely tale of love and loss, of power and pain. What more could you want?

http://www.anaismitchell.com/