Artists come home for gala event

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on November 20, 2016

Lele Galer shows her large artistic heart. She also showed her financial generosity by donating 100 percent of the sale price for more than 20 of her pieces that were for sale at the annual Unionville Art Gala.

It was a homecoming of sorts for some of the artists showing at the 41st annual Unionville Art Gala.

Carol Apicella, the chairperson for this year’s gala, said 25 percent of this year’s exhibitors are new, but some art not new to the school district. Two of the new artists went to U-CF schools and a third is a longtime favorite who showed her big heart, artistically and financially.

Gregory Tomb (he pronounces it tome) went to U-CF schools from fourth to eighth grade before attending Archmere Academy in Wilmington for high school. Over time he moved to Santa Cruz, Calif. He earned the award for the farthest traveled to take part in this year’s gala.

Tomb is a glassblower who got involved in this year’s art show through an old teacher at Pocopson Elementary School.

His glass bowls, orbs, vases and other shapes are all naturally done, he said, colored by using metal oxides. He said the blues come from cobalt; the pinks and reds come from silver and gold.

Student artists Dakota Kilgariff and Clarisse Confrancesco offer some social commentary on modern man’s thirst for caffeine with this pop art sculpture they call The “Desire of Man.”

Tomb admitted he doesn’t fully understand the chemistry behind the colors, but that doesn’t interfere with his work. He buys the colors and adds them to his own molten glass at a temperature of about 2,100 degrees.

This year’s art show was also a homecoming for Kelly McConnell Cox, though she still lives only a few minutes away from Unionville High. She graduated from UHS in 1995 and this was her first year showing her works at her alma mater. And she did so by showing with her father Roger McConnell, a retired orthodontist.

Father and daughter share a teacher, the late Rea Reedier, Roger McConnell said. He started taking lessons with Redifer and then brought his daughter to classes.

“I was the old dog who couldn’t learn new tricks,” Roger McConnell said.

He said he was enjoying showing with his daughter.

As for Cox, her tongue in cheek comment was that she didn’t know how she’d feel about displaying her work along side that of her father, adding, “I’ll find out.” She smiled and said, “I’m happy to.”

But if making a full circle is what coming home is all about, artist Lele Galer came home also.

Galer was the featured artist this year after having been the show’s chairperson for seven years, shown there for eight years, chairing the Chadds Ford Elementary School Art Sale and Show and being an Art in Action PTO mom at Pocopson.

She showed more than 60 pieces at this year’s gala and was giving a 100 percent donation to the school’s PTO for 22 of those pieces of art.

Being the featured artist was both exciting and an honor for her.

“To be the featured artist at the Unionville show, something I gave heart and soul to for many years, I appreciate all the time and effort it takes to set up the show. And I live the Art Gala,” she said. “Making all the art work for the show is a pleasure.”

The Art Gala is the second largest fundraiser for the UHS PTO. Apicella said the money raised goes toward education enrichment programs and for community outreach. While there was no monetary goal in mind for this year, Apicella said any amount more than $7,500 would be good.

This year’s gala was Friday and Saturday, Nov. 18 and 19.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.