October 4, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Poets’/artists’ collaboration at Hill gallery

This is “Hazel and Stella,” an 18” by 24” oil on canvas by Mt. Airy artist Eleanor Day, one of the artists whose work will be on display at the Chestnut Hill Gallery.

It began when painter Debby Souders and poet Kathleen Sheeder met at an art reception at the Chestnut Hill Gallery. Wouldn’t it be exciting, they wondered, to work together on a poetry and painting project?

Now, almost two years after that conversation, they have been joined by eight other poets and artists to create SideWays: A Poets’ and Artists’ Collaboration, which will run from Oct. 13 – 20 at the Chestnut Hill Gallery, 8117 Germantown Ave., which was recently voted “Best Art Gallery” in Philadelphia on Fox Philly’s Hot List.

The show includes paintings, photographs, sculpture and poems which have been written responsively to these works. Sheeder explains, “Each poet was paired with an artist and wrote responsively to four of his or her works. In so doing, the artist found new ways of looking at his own work, the poet found compelling images for his imaginative use, and we hope the audience will find not only two distinct works of art, but a third, in the complex relationship between the two.”

The general public is invited to the opening reception at 6-10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13. The artists will be introduced, and the poets will read from their works at 7 p.m. Joe Borrelli, owner and director of the Chestnut Hill Gallery, says, “We’re happy to host this show. We want to encourage this kind of literary and artistic partnership in the Chestnut Hill community, and it’s satisfying to support both emerging and established artists.”

Deborah Souders, an accomplished painter herself and teacher at the University of the Arts, describes the other artists and poets in the show as “extremely talented and diverse in their artistic approaches.” She says, “I think the public is in for a delightful surprise.” Poets participating in the show include Elizabeth Scanlon, Raymond Gilliar, Rick Topper, Peter Walsh and Kathleen Sheeder. Artists include Cheryl Harper, Eleanor Day, Michael Donato, Brea Souders and Debby Souders.