December’s Art Exhibit “When the Student is Ready, the Teacher Appears”, brought to you by Swarthmore Friends of the Arts, presents the artwork of local artists Michele Southworth and Nancy Barch.
An exhibition of original mixed media by Ms. Southworth and Ms. Barch will be on display from December 1st through January 1st at Swarthmore Borough Hall, 121 Park Avenue. The public is invited to the artist’s opening reception on Saturday, December 3rd, from 2 to 4 pm. Both the exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
In 2011, Michele Southworth was a ceramicist who had come to a turning point and needed to work in a new medium to refocus and refresh her creative eye. Nancy Barch was a mixed media painter, much admired for her striking and innovative abstract work, who offered classes and workshops in the Delaware Valley area. Since their first encounter in a 12-week mixed media painting class at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, their artistic relationship and friendship has developed and grown. Ms. Southworth observes that “Nancy’s teaching, for me, hits the sweet spot of offering techniques, resources, inspiration, and feedback while giving her students complete freedom and support to develop their own creative voice and direction.” They now spend one Sunday a month together painting and eating pizza, and are pleased to present a joint show of their work.
Ms. Barch, whose art studio is located in Clifton Heights, began her career as a freelance illustrator in Philadelphia. She left the commercial art field to enter the fine art arena, initially focusing on watercolor, and then transitioning to mixed media to create her paintings. She has garnered numerous awards for her work, and maintains an active teaching schedule, which allows her to share her knowledge and passion for art with others.
Ms. Southworth’s day job is as a family therapist and therapist trainer/educator at Council for Relationships in Philadelphia, where she derives great satisfaction and fulfillment from work that deeply engages the verbal and cerebral side of herself. After listening and talking all day, it is freeing and very valuable to have opportunities for expression that do not involve words or thinking.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Exhibit hours are M-Th 9am – 8pm, Fri 10am – 7pm, Sat 10am – 3pm, Sun 1 – 5pm.
The exhibit is sponsored by Swarthmore Friends of the Arts. For information about Swarthmore Friends of the Arts or to submit a request for your own show, visit www.swarthmorearts.org or contact Martha Perkins, martha.perkins@gmail.com. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for exhibition schedules and images of unique local artwork.
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