First Friday warms up winter

Java, Juice and Art Cafe

Joanne Landis

Java, Juice and Art Cafe will feature renowned artist Joanne Landis in its main gallery at 125 W. Fourth St. Her exhibition, "Paintings Too Big to Fit Anywhere," will include new works in oil. There will be an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday. The show will run through the end of December.

A native New Yorker, Landis made the move to Troxelville in 1992. She has taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Drexel University in Philadelphia and the New School, New York City.

She is a graduate of the Parsons School of Design. She has worked as a freelance fashion illustrator and her illustrations were published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine section as well as Women's Wear Daily.

Landis considers herself a storyteller and each painting usually expresses something that is happening in her life. "I create an environment for the figures that mirrors their internal geography. The narrations are either straightforward or abstracted and dreamlike, and follow a path to a story - myth sometimes, archetypes sometimes and everyday women sometimes," she said.

Some of her recent shows have been displayed at Penn State University, University Park, Drexel University, Philadelphia, and in 2007, she was awarded a fellowship for Schloss Pluschow Mecklenburg, Germany.

She also has had her paintings shown in various magazines, including Southern Accents, Better Homes and Gardens' "Traditional Home" and Arts and Antique. She has had both solo and group shows nationwide since 1977 and, more recently, in Germany. She has won numerous awards and her work is in many private collections.

Bill Mauro

Bill Mauro will be Java, Juice and Art Cafe's guest artist in the cafe gallery for First Friday. His show, "Advancements in Technicolor," featuring oil on canvas and primed paper, will be on display through the end of December. There will be an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m.

He studies painting and creative writing at Lycoming College and will graduate with dual majors in 2011.

"Taking a few years off and going back to school has helped me to appreciate the endless support my family has given me and the education I'm fortunate enough to receive this close to home. Those two things have afforded me the opportunity to realize and pursue the things I love - art and music.

"I'm showing some figure studies from last year in oil on canvas. I began with an acrylic ground and thin layer of acrylic gesso before starting the oil. My interest here was in texture, surface and experimenting with oil. I'm also showing a few oil paintings on paper from my painting course this semester. Subject matter isn't as important here - I'm exploring color, composition, texture and the complexities of oil paint," he said.

The Pajama Factory

The Pajama Factory, a developing artist and artisan's community at 1307 Park Ave., is opening its walls, open studios, gardens, even elevator shafts if requested, for a new gallery that plant manager Marshall Harris calls an "un-gallery," or floating gallery. It will debut this Friday during the building's First Friday celebration. The event will include artwork for display and sale, music and more.

The term "gallery" connotes a room with artwork on the walls, maybe a sculpture in the corner under special lighting, curators and competition with other artists to score a tiny section of the wall. The Pajama Factory's floating gallery is the building itself. It's a blank canvas for original ideas, hallways of open wall space, high-ceilinged rooms and intimate storage spaces. "If you want to hang a postage-sized painting on a 15 by 15 foot wall and light it with a flashlight - because that is your work - we want you to do that," says Harris, who is soliciting work from artists across the country. "You want to do an outdoor installation or fly something from our flag pole, knock yourself out."

The innovative idea is based on the versatility of the 300,000 square-foot building. "The Pajama Factory is the perfect locale to develop a floating gallery," says Harris, whose work - large scale sculpture requiring lots of room - is exhibited throughout the building, along with sculptures by Becky Reiser, Pajama Factory tenant, images by photographer Brian Martin, of Buffalo, N.Y. and other tenant-artists' work at the Pajama Factory.

"The idea is to use available space to offer artists public exposure to their work," says Harris, "and to provide a destination for those who appreciate art - eventually we can host the first Art Basel Williamsport, in honor of the most famous art show worldwide, held the past 40 years in Switzerland."

There are no fees, no hurdles for artists who want to participate in this unconventional "un-gallery."

Inclusion is based on your creativity and motivation to use the available space in a brave, artistic new way. To learn more, call Marshall Harris at 323-7650.

Trimtex Mill Store

First Friday at the Trimtex Mill Store, 38 W. Fourth St., is sure to put some winter sparkle in your spirit. We have a festive line-up of artistic and musical talent. First, Martha Barlow has created an over-the-top collection of fantastic, whimsically obtuse holiday sculptural dioramas. "Spending my free time crafting glitzy light-up Christmas extravaganzas not only makes me and others smile, but reminds me life is what you make it. For me, life is sparkly, lit-up, kitschy, fun-furred and sometimes musical," Barlow said regarding her most recent works.

The Trimtex Mill Store will also be showcasing the work of Deborah Kordecki. She designs and develops trimmed inspirational banners, tabrets and flags for churches and businesses.

Karen Ruhl, from Special Occasion Florals in Hepburn Plaza, has created some phenomenal holiday floral arrangements that will be on display through the month of December.

Bob Zaccaria and Friends will be playing an eclectic mix of Christmas music from 6 to 9 p.m.. As always, this group of cheery musicians will be sure to put a tune in your heart with their collection of your favorite bluegrass and classic Americana holiday favorites.PHO