Category Archives: December 2018

Grant Goes to Scranton Music Association

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Music Association grant

The Scranton Area Foundation recently awarded a grant to the Scranton Music Association to present Interactive, Educational Entertainment for Senior Citizens and Under-served Populations in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

All concerts are free to the public.

Shown from left are Scranton Music Association Officers including Doug Smith, board member; Cathy Van Nort, secretary; Jack Mead, vice president, and Scranton Area Foundation officers Laura Ducceschi, president/CEO, and Alan Hughes, board member.

Artist of the Month: Jill Swersie

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Dunmore Senior Center’s art teacher, Jill Swersie, is featured as Artist of the Years this month.

We are proud to feature the Dunmore Senior Center’s art teacher, Jill Swersie, this month and as our favorite Artist of the Years!  Jill teaches weekly oil painting classes at the Dunmore Senior Citizen Center.

In addition to her talent and artistic credits, Jill is a very special person. She comes to class early and stays late and provides an additional drawing class, at no charge. She is constantly offering the Center exposure to additional media like charcoal, watercolor, sculpture, scratchboard, etc.  

Jill personally connects to all of the students and is well aware of the trials and tribulations in their lives.  She reaches out to her students in need with personal phone calls, handmade cards and greetings signed by class members, and follows up on their progress.  

In class, Jill meets with us individually and offers us artistic advice in order to improve our pieces.  She instinctively knows when a “dab of Alizarin Crimson” or ”highlights of Cadmium Yellow” are needed and passes along those techniques and that knowledge.  Jill is our #1 cheerleader, encouraging us, promoting the arts, and arranging at least two art shows a year for us to exhibit our works.

She and her charming husband, Jack, even host an annual class picnic at her lovely home in the Poconos, and has provided en plein air classes for us in her area.

Professionally, Jill has been oil painting for over 35 years. Her work has been exhibited in art galleries and at shows in New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Colorado.

Her paintings have been seen at almost every local art venue, and her exhibition awards are numerous. Her first mural, “Art of the Dance”, can be seen in downtown Stroudsburg, and her latest mural greets patrons as they enter East Stroudsburg’s Pocono Cinema and Cultural Center.

As one of five artists selected for Adams Outdoor Advertising’s ArtPop Exhibition, a larger-than-life copy of her oil painting “Man’s Best Friend” was seen on billboards throughout the Pocono region in 2016.

More of Jill’s artwork can be seen at here.

Jill has become not only our teacher but also our mentor, our sounding board, and our friend.

Thanks, Jill, and Happy New Year from your devoted students.

Design Talk LIVE Broadcast from Marywood’s School of Architecture

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Marywood red carpet

Marywood University Interior Architecture (IARC) students are shown on the Red Carpet at the “Unofficial” HGTV Stars Reunion, at the fall High Point Market in North Carolina. Pictured from left are: Brooke Jennings, third-year IARC, Dunmore; Courtney Mackrell, third-year IARC; Natasha Gillot, fourth-year IARC; Natalia Colasurdo, third-year IARC, and Kristin Cussat, fourth-year IARC.

Marywood University’s interior architecture department recently announced that it will be the inaugural school hosting a weekly one-hour interview segment on the first live broadcast network on social media, Design Talk LIVE.

The inaugural show launched this week and will continue on Mondays at 12 p.m. EST.

Marywood’s interior architecture faculty member and president of the University Hall of Innovation, Stephen Garrison, along with students from the School of Architecture at Marywood University, will interview designers, manufacturers, and style influencers around the world.

Design Talk LIVEis the first live broadcast network on social media. The flagship show on the network just celebrated its first anniversary and has reached more than three million views in that time.

Since 2014, Marywood University’s architecture and interior architecture students have spent summer academic sessions learning about and preparing for “The Groovystuff by Design: Connecting Education with Industry Challenge.” The special topics course, taught by Stephen Garrison, assistant professor of interior architecture/design, focuses on residential furniture design using recycled materials.

Marywood University’s School of Architecture students have been exhibiting their works at the High Point Market since 2014. The winning entry from the High Point Market goes into production with Groovystuff, and students are able to earn royalties on their sales. Groovystuff is a not-for-profit company that represents a breakthrough approach to the nurturing of home furnishings design talent, in partnership with leading U.S. colleges and universities. Its foundation, “The University Hall of Innovation & Job Creation, “sponsors this initiative, which provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate sustainability through an eco-friendly furniture design challenge.

Recently, several Marywood University students exhibited at the High Point Market. The students interviewed and live streamed from the Red Carpet at The “Unofficial” HGTV Stars Reunion. HGTV personalities from shows including:Trading Spaces, Fixer Upper, Love It or List It, etc. were interviewed by Marywood students at the Fall High Point Market in North Carolina.

For additional information about the upcoming Design Talk LIVEbroadcast, visit https://www.designtalklive.com/. For additional information about Marywood University’s School of Architecture, please visit www.marywood.edu/architecture/, or call (570) 961-4536.