Creating New Origins through Collaborations

The Origins Gallery in Stroudsburg, PA held an Artists' Reception on Saturday November 14^th for their Collaborations exhibition. The show featured work of local artists who worked in conjunction with others to create pieces. This creative exercise proved to beneficial to each artist's individual talent as something uniquely wonderful emerged through their combined endeavors. The evening also included music by the venue's assistant curator, Ashley Catherine Fontones, who was testing out the gallery's new sound system by playing a collaboration between techno music and classic big band jazz along with an opportunity to win some art through the gallery's ever popular raffle.

As one entered the gallery after descending the stairway from the main street of the town, one could not help to be immediately struck by the colorful imagery found in both the two and three dimensional work. Hues of amazing vibrancy greeted the eye enticing the viewer to explore the deeper intricacies of each piece. Those who knew of the individual artist who collaborated with another to produce the work found it difficult (if not impossible) to distinguish one signature style from another. This added an aesthetic meaningfulness to the work as each artist seemed to had brought the best of the other artist's talents to the fore. A number of the pieces were initiated during the gallery's Open Studios program that occurred during the Summer of 2015.

The conversation shared by the sizable number of people who attended the reception were a combination of those who shared their collaborative experiences in creating the work and those who sought to verbally explore the essence of their results. In either case, the unique qualities of the exhibit inspired inquisitive understandings that transcended the abilities of the artists to convey singularly. A pause to these chats ensued as the gallery's curators, Jody Singer and Ashley Catherine Fontones, took the stage to welcome the gathering to the event and share some announcements relating to the venue as well as the upcoming endeavors of other local galleries. It was after their words did the conversation resume until the much anticipated moment of the Art Raffle arrived.

Jody and Ashley took the stage once again to begin selecting the tickets that would lead to an enthusiastic art lover to take home one of the coveted objects donated by area artists and others. Mr. Singer proceeded to select each ticket and read it numeric sequences as Ms. Fontones modeled the item as she enhanced its beauty by adding her own. An excitement filled the room as each digit was revealed until the crescendo piqued when a scream from the ticket holder pierced the room with the owner's joy.

This process would continue until the final item was given to the final winner of the raffle. It was after this did Jody and Ashley share their appreciation to the gathering for attending and the artists who helped make this exhibit the best one yet. Their loving words touched the gathering as they concluded their journeys with the art and bade each other a fond fare well. These gentle adieus combined with a eagerness to return to the gallery for their next artists' reception as it was sure to be even more enjoyable that the one they had just experienced.

The Collaborations Exhibition will continue to be on display at The Origins Gallery until until November 22^nd. It was a great reception and I recommend all art lovers to visit the work while it remains on display. The next exhibition to be presented will be their Monochromatica Exhibition featuring work based on variations of one single color created by local artists. The Artist's Reception is scheduled for Saturday November 28^th beginning at 6pm. Area artists are invited to participate in the exhibit by simply dropping off their work at the gallery on November 23^rd or November 24^th. You can view photographs taken during the Artists' Reception of the current exhibit at The Creating New Origins through Collaborations Gallery at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154349985628761.1073741922.91146283760&type=3.

The Origins Gallery is located on the lower level of The Gamers Edge Comics and Games Store www.facebook.com/TheGamersEdgeStroudsburg?fref=ts which can be found at 580 Main St. in Stroudsburg, PA. The Origins Gallery is a contemporary arts gallery within the Pocono Art District having one of the highest and fastest sales records in the Stroudsburg area, provides a space to those who teach the arts to those who would like to learn from them, and continues to do everything with the local community in mind. You can learn more about The Origins Gallery by exploring their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/OriginsGalleryStroudsburg or their website at www.originsgallery.org.

Photography by Paparazzi Paul.