Two Local Artists Travel
to Pennsylvania
By Herb Drill
Tara Arlene Innmon and
Gayle Nord Harrison went to Philadelphia. Well, their artwork did!
The two Minneapolis artists were invited to be part of ArtFirst!
So they sent their art work to join that of Mouth painter Eric
Mohn, of Gaithersburg, MD, who—in a sense—was
going “home” there.
ArtFirst! at University Medical Center at Princeton, NJ features
professional artists with disabilities. It presents 80% of the price
of art sold to the artists, who receive awards to recognize excellence
and creativity. Their proceeds help support a Breast Health Center
at the medical facility and buy art for a permanent ArtFirst! collection
displayed at the center to motivate patients and visitors. The next
ArtFirst! will open on April 9, 2006 and run through May 5, 2006.
The exhibition is free and open to the public. At the 2006 ArtFirst!
Show, viewers will see watercolors, oil paintings, mixed media, sculpture,
photography, jewelry, stained glass, other fine craft, and more.
ArtFirst! premiered in 2003 with Eric Mohn as its featured artist.
Innmon and Harrison had their
work exhibited at ArtFirst! earlier this year to be part of this
prestigious juried art exhibit Innmon was an occupational therapist
until diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She began to go blind in 1986
and worked as a visual artist. Her pastel and acrylic pieces in that
period chronicle the changes in her vision. She now works with sculpture,
clay, and papier mache on canvas, exhibits coast-to-coast and has
garnered numerous awards. Before she became totally blind in 1994,
Innmon completed nearly 200 works of art. She exhibits her work across
the country and has won many awards. For 2005, her art has been shown
in four exhibitions so far, including the San Francisco Lighthouse,
where she received an Outstanding Artist Award. Locally her art is
showing through October, at Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave. S. in Minneapolis
at the Orange Underground Gallery. She sells prints and a line of
greeting cards. Currently she is working on an MFA at Hamline University
in Creative Writing, where she is working on a childhood memoir.
Her art can be seen at www.mnartists.org.
Harrison had polio when she was seven. She missed what she could
no longer do and opted for fantasy, building a different world with
dolls. Her creativity was aroused again when she moved to New York
City in 1963 and experienced its great museums. Harrison ultimately
settled on needlepoint tapestry. Her pieces are tributes to such
masters as Picasso, whose works she presents in intricate detail.
She was an occupational therapist until she retired in 1998. She
now devotes herself to doing original needlepoint series. She creates
scenes based upon her favorite works, depicting people, furnishings,
and objects that, to her, are beautiful and timely.
Mohn’s efforts
will also be on display at ALL ABOUT ART at MossRehab. The ALL
ABOUT ART exhibit was the brainchild of MossRehab volunteers and
staff members, who wanted to state in no uncertain terms that people
with disabilities have talent and commitment.
Mohn evokes the creative
process within. A quadriplegic since a car accident in 1963, he
translates his vision to canvas through precise strokes via a brush
in his mouth, and creates watercolor originals. Mohn displayed
his work at the exhibit in 1979, when MossRehab inaugurated its
showcase for artists with disabilities. Mohn’s
work from 1979 to present reflects patience and concentration. It
takes Eric about a week to complete an original. To view some of
Mohn’s work visit: www.ericmohn.com.
ALL ABOUT ART at MossRehab
is an invitational exhibition and sale. MossRehab offers a juried
exhibition by professional artists with disabilities. A patrons’ preview
party will open the show on October 19, 2005 with many artists
and show coordinators at the opening. ALL ABOUT ART opens to the
public October 20, 2005 and runs through December 4, 2005. The
public exhibit is free. ALL ABOUT ART funds will benefit the Family
Hospitality Suite at MossRehab at Elkins Park. For information,
contact: 215-663-6100.
There will be 58 artists
and about 170 pieces of work at MossRehab including Sandy D’Andrade
of Red Hook, NY, a 1977 graduate of Philadelphia College of Art,
who will present a fashion boutique, and Sal PanascI of Devon,
PA, a 1971 graduate of the University of the Arts who holds a degree
in graphic design.
Herb Drill is a charter member
of the now International Society of American Business Editors and
Writers. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma
Delta Chi.
