March tends to be an unpredictable month weather-wise. Warm days raise our hopes until grey skies remind us we’re not finished with winter yet.  But when it comes to the art scene, March is consistent; there are always many events to attend.

The Main Line Art Center’s (MLAC) annual Professional Artist Members (PAM) Exhibition opens this Friday, March 13^th in Haverford. This top notch exhibition features 25 artists making art inspired by contemporary themes. Expect to see a rich variety of paintings, photography, sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media on display. The exhibiting artists, from in and around the Philadelphia area include Sharon Bartmann, John A. Benigno, Bill Brookover, Linda Dubin Garfield, Neila Kun, Deborah Laverell, Adam Levin, Cheryl Levin, Doris Peltzman, Jean Plough, Susan Richards, John Rodgers, Barry Simon, Andrea G. Snyder, Helge Speth, Dore Vorum and more.

The PAM program celebrates, supports, and promotes a select group of MLAC Members to aid in furthering their artistic careers. This year’s show was juried by Sharon Ewing, Director at Gross McCleaf Gallery, Robert Aibel, Founder and Co-Director at Moderne Gallery and Jeff Schaller, Artist and Founder the County Studio Tours. The Friday night reception is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and the show runs through April 12^th. For more details visit https://www.mainlineart.org/events/event/professional-artist-members-exhibition-·-2020/.

Two new shows are opening this Thursday March 12^th at Chester County Art Association (CCAA) in West Chester. For the group show “Unconventional Materials: Dansko”, artists were asked to choose from available scraps of leather donated by the Dansko shoe company and fashion them into new and unique pieces of art. Regardless of whether they used soft, coarse or heavily textured leather scraps, artists rose to the challenge and created some interesting hand-tooled works of art.

Anna Bellenger is the featured solo artist for March. Her whimsical paintings are of squirrels playing hopscotch and birds playing marbles, among other scenes. Her animals engaged in human activities are sure to entertain viewers young and old. Bellenger has said she had a wonderful teacher in Cy Twombly. She's lucky! A reception for both shows will be held on Thursday, March 12^th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Cerulean Arts Collective artists Kassem Amoudi, Ronnie Bookbinder, Fran Gallun, Charlese Kalick and Kathleen McSherry are hosting a new group exhibition at their gallery on Ridge Ave. in Philadelphia, from March 11^th to April 5^th. This show features Amoudi’s bold abstracts, McSherry’s engaging works made of discarded objects, Gallun’s works made with shapes arranged on top of textured backgrounds, Kalick’s geometrics and Bookbinder’s loose expressions of urban scenes. Each of these artists like layers - whether it be via the application of their preferred medium, or by the way they arrange found or cut objects. An opening reception will be held this Saturday March 14^th from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information visit: https://ceruleanarts.com/pages/upcoming-exhibitions

The Chester County Historical Society (CCHS) is holding its 38^th Annual Antiques & Art Show this weekend at Church Farm School in Exton. The preview party is on Friday, March 13^th starting at 5:00 p.m. The show will continue on Saturday, March 14^th and Sunday March 15^th from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Visit: http://www.chestercohistorical.org/2020-antiques-show for more details and to purchase tickets.

Get ready for next weekend when Chadds Ford Elementary School presents its 71st Annual Art Show & Sale. This revered event, being held on March 20^th and 21^st, will showcase more than 65 artists from the Brandywine Valley and beyond. What a great way to see so many contemporary artists under one roof. The show also spotlights local artisans working in metal, wood, glass and more. This year’s featured artist is Rick Phillips, whose style, critics say, is “reminiscent of 19th century painters who used the richness of light and color to create atmosphere that could almost be touched.” The show’s donating artist is Stephen Brehm, a plein air painter who was influenced by artists like Wayne Thiebaud and John Singer Sargeant. Brehm’s command of his subject matter is evident whether he is painting bovines, canines or seascapes. As many people know, Betsy Wyeth, wife of the late Andrew Wyeth, started the Chadds Ford Annual Art Show & Sale in 1949 and continued her involvement in the show while her son Jamie Wyeth was a student at Chadds Ford Elementary. The adults-only opening reception is on Friday, March 20^th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The family-friendly exhibit and sale is Saturday, March 21^st from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For more details visit: https://cfes.ucfsd.org/artshow/information.

Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!

About Constance McBride

A native of Philadelphia, Constance McBride lived in Arizona for 16 years, where desert observations made a transformative impact on her work as a research based visual artist. Passionate about contemporary art, she was actively engaged in the local arts community. She served as a board member for several art organizations, managed an artist collective/gallery space, curated and juried several exhibitions and wrote for two arts publications in Phoenix. She taught ceramics at Shemer Art Center and Museum and exhibited her work both locally and nationally. McBride returned to Pennsylvania in 2018 and resides in Chester Springs with her husband and two dogs. In West Chester, she serves as a board member at The Art Trust Gallery at Meridian Bank and teaches ceramics at Chester County Art Association. She also teaches at Clay on Main in Oley, PA. She is a member of American Craft Council, Philadelphia Sculptors, and Women’s Caucus for Art, Philadelphia Chapter.

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