UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art will host their annual Holiday Art and Ornament Sale fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Palmer Museum of Art on Penn State's University Park campus.
Local artists will be offering ornaments and other works of art for sale throughout the museum’s galleries and lobby. The Friends, the museum’s membership organization, have worked together with these artists and several local businesses to create this event to raise funds to support more than 100 annual education programs and events at the museum, which are offered to all visitors, admission-free.
Christine Stangel has been selected as this year’s featured artist and was commissioned to design the 2017 signature ornament. She said as she described these works of art, "Every ornament started its journey as a lump of a creamy white clay, shaped on a wheel and completed with a hand-built top and eyelet." Stangel created three distinct shapes that will be exclusively offered for sale only at the Palmer. Each work is hollow, sturdy to hold, and uniquely different as they've been carefully hand-painted and fired to solidify.
Stangel explains,"I truly love being a potter and take pride in each and every piece I make. Creating a piece that will be used every day, something that might become treasured or passed along as a gift is my mission as an artist and absolute pleasure."
Other artists participating in this year’s sale include Kimberly Brooks Filkins, Suzanne Decker, Cathy Frank, Elli Groninger, Sue Harter, James Hayes, Kat Oliva, Deb Parsons, State College Weavers Guild, and Caryl Strauss. There will be a variety of art and ornaments for sale including those made with glass, beads, clay, fiber, and metal. The Friends Board of Directors has sponsored a tree again this year that will feature limited editions of commissioned ornaments from the past.
A Friends’ one-year gift membership will also be available to purchase. The individual level begins at $35 and provides benefits such as an invitation to the members-only Holiday Art and Ornament Preview Sale preview reception, as well as invitations to other members-only events throughout the year and a 10 percent discount at the Museum Store, excluding consignment items.
The Friends partnered with the following local businesses that have helped to shape this year’s event through various sponsorships: The State College Framing Company and Gallery, 2017–18 Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art Board of Directors, LMR Interior Design, and Avant Garden.
Exhibitions on view at the Palmer Museum of Art this fall are "Asher B. Durand: To Begin Again," Sept. 5 through Dec. 10; "New Acquisitions: Minna Citron after Atelier 17," Sept. 5 through Dec. 10; and "BIG Deal: Sizeable Paintings from the Permanent Collection," Sept. 5 through Dec. 17.
The Palmer Museum of Art on the Penn State University Park campus is a free-admission arts resource for the University and surrounding communities in central Pennsylvania. With a collection of 8,300 objects representing a variety of cultures and spanning centuries of art, the Palmer is the largest art museum between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Areas of strength include its collection of American art from the late 18th century to the present, Old Master paintings, photography, ceramics and studio glass, and a growing collection of contemporary art. The museum presents 10 exhibitions each year and, with 11 galleries, a print-study room, 150-seat auditorium, and outdoor sculpture garden, the Palmer Museum of Art is the leading cultural resource for residents of and visitors to the region.
Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays and some holidays. The museum will have modified hours of noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec.16, through Thursday, Dec. 21. The museum will be closed Friday, Dec. 22, through Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.
The Palmer Museum of Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
For more information on the museum and a calendar of other upcoming events, visit palmermuseum.psu.edu.