Local artists featured in First Friday openings

CHAMBERSBURG - Two new art exhibits will open downtown on First Friday July 1 and will remain on view for Chambersfest visitors later in the month.

At The Foundry

The Foundry artists’ cooperative, 100 S. Main St., Chambersburg, has a variety of activities planned from 5-8 p.m. First Friday, including the opening of  “Paintings by Heidi Yacoubian."

“Art gives me an opportunity to communicate the things that I find interesting - that make me smile!” Yacoubian said in a press release announcing her show.  A rising senior at Greencastle Antrim High School, her love of art was first sparked in ninth grade when she took her first art class with Carolyn Baker; she has also studied with Alex Miller at Greencastle and more recently, with Prof. Philip Lindsey Wilson at Wilson College.

A meet-the-artist reception with Yacoubian is planned as part of the Foundry's First Friday program.

Also on First Friday at The Foundry, Zane Tindall, a Foundry member, will do a live metalworking demonstration in the Ping’s walkway. Tindall is a St. Thomas blacksmith who makes everything from earrings to knives.

Guests will be able to sample and vote on The Foundry’s drink in the Second Annual "Stars, Stripes & Straws" summer beverage contest. You can purchase your official drink glass on the Courthouse Plaza for $5, starting at 5 p.m. There will only be 150 glasses for sale. Glass holders will receive a ballot with participating businesses listed. Follow the list to sample a variety of beverages and vote for your favorite. All ballots must be turned in by 8 p.m. that night to be entered into a drawing to win a $100 gift certificate to the participating business of your choice.

Kids can also make-and-take a free patriotic pinwheel craft.

The show will be on view until July 30.

At the Arts Council

Also First Friday, the Council for the Arts, 81 North Main Street, Chambersburg, will host a meet-the-artists reception and opening from 5-7 p.m. for “Water Works: Paintings in Watercolor by Eric Miller and Kent Roberts."

Both artists are Council instructors.

“I enjoy painting: it gives me a great sense of accomplishment to make an idea become reality!” said Eric Miller, in a press release announcing the opening. “The inspiration and subjects for my paintings are most often found at my home or nearby ... I’ve found that there are endless sources of interest and beauty there, whether it’s something grown in my garden, a small bird sitting on a branch, or an old weathered door. I believe that my best paintings are the ones I feel connected to personally, and that say something about me.”

Miller earned a bachelor of science degree in art education from Millersville State College in 1976, and a master’s degree in art education from Millersville University in 1999. He taught art at the secondary level in New Oxford and Littlestown for more than 30 years before retiring in 2010. A member of the board of directors of the Hanover Area Arts Guild and a member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and the Franklin County Art Alliance, Miller currently offers watercolor and sketchbook classes at the Council for the Arts.  His work is mostly done in watercolor, but he also uses acrylics, oils, and mixed media. He shows and sells his work in area exhibits and galleries.

Kent Robertshas been a professional artist since 1977. One of the area’s most successful freelance artists, he works extensively as a watercolor pet portrait artist, with hundreds of customers across the country. He is also a widely popular caricature artist, drawing fast and funny likenesses at many area craft shows, private parties and on commission.

Roberts earned his BFA degree from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1977, and his masters in education degree from the University of Maryland in 1980. He has worked as an illustrator, designer, caricaturist, teacher, police suspect sketch artist and fine artist.

“One of my passions is teaching,” Roberts said. He teaches ongoing classes in watercolor at the Council for the Arts. “I enjoy introducing people to this exciting and versatile medium, and then watching them grow and improve as artists!” A signature member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Roberts has won numerous awards for his paintings over the years, including Best of Show in the Waynesboro Studio Art Club Exhibition in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015, and Best of Show at the Franklin County Art Alliance Exhibition in 2015 and 2016.

The Council for the Arts show will be on view until August 26.