STATE COLLEGE — The State College Framing Company and Gallery is hosting an exhibition by the Central Pennsylvania Pastel Society Friday, May 6, through Friday, June 10, with an opening night reception scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The business is located at 160 Rolling Ridge Drive in State College.
The show will feature more than 70 works created by 24 different artists.
The Central Pennsylvania Pastel Society was founded in 2004 with “the idea to share and foster the love and medium of pastel,” said Virginia Belser, the president of the group.
The group focuses on promoting awareness of the medium of pastels, offer educational activities to members and provide a community in which members can learn and grow as artists. Members range from beginners to professionals, and not all focus solely on pastels.
The society “operates as a group to become better artists,” according to John McQueary, the owner of the State College Framing Company and Gallery.
The gallery usually hosts two shows per year and the Central Pennsylvania Pastel Society was chosen as this year’s spring show.
During the opening reception, there will be artists in the gallery demonstrating the process of pastel painting on site, “so that public can see what the crazy medium of pastels is,” said Belser.
Belser noted that pastels are widely misunderstood. “Pastel refers to the medium, not the color palette,” she said.
“If people come to reception, they (will) get to experience pastels both in the frame and by watching the process,” she added.
