The Adams County Arts Council’s November exhibitions bring together three artists whose work ranges from landscape painting and functional pottery to wood-carved totems and found-object art. Mary Jane Schnurer, Harley Weigle and jim mackey are featured in separate spaces at the Arts Education Center in Gettysburg.
In the Reception Hall, Schnurer’s exhibition follows an artistic journey that began with an arts council painting class in 2023. A retired educator who lives in the Gettysburg area, she started with acrylics before expanding into oils and pastels.
Her subjects include landscapes and scenes inspired by family excursions and plein air painting events. She credits instructors, fellow artists, friends and family with encouraging her development.
Schnurer’s work has been accepted into juried exhibitions at the Adams County Arts Council and York Art Association. Her honors include the Artists’ Choice Award at the Historic Gettysburg-Adams County Barn Art Show and the Judge’s Award at the Humane Society of Washington County’s Art for the Animals auction.
In the Gallery, ceramic artist Harley Weigle explores the relationship between form, surface and function. His studio practice draws on the traditions of functional pottery while considering the handmade object’s place in contemporary culture.
Weigle teaches ceramics at Shippensburg University, including wheel throwing, handbuilding and sculpture. He also serves as marketing director for ceramic tool company Mudtools, connecting his interests in making, teaching and visual communication.
The Studio features work by jim mackey, a self-trained artist with more than 50 years of experience who is known primarily for wood-carved totems and found-object art. His work explores personal experiences and difficult aspects of life.
“My Art deals with the darker side of existence,” mackey writes in his artist statement. He also describes art as a way to address his experiences with bipolar I disorder and past addiction.
Mackey has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His work is held in permanent collections at the Art Association of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania State Museum, Elizabethtown College and Ryan Licht Sang Bipolar Foundation.
For exhibition and visitor information, visit adamsarts.org.
