Hamburg artists Jay Ressler and Martha Ressler were among the 25 Berks County artists who teamed up to help renovate Art Plus Gallery.
The West Reading non-profit gallery held its grand reopening on Jan. 8. A ribbon cutting was hosted by West Reading Mayor Val Rodriguez, West Reading Community Revitalization Foundation Manager Christin Kelley, Berks Art Council Executive Director Karen Haver and the 25 member artists.
The renovation of Art Plus Gallery at 604 Penn Ave. included flooring, paint, light fixtures, signs and other materials. From planning through design and execution, virtually all of the work was done by gallery members, according to an Art Plus Gallery release.
“When I look at what we achieved with a budget of $5,000, I still can’t believe it,” said gallery director Karen Weber in a release. “We now have a casual sitting space, gift shop and sales area on new hardwood floors, with gallery lighting to spotlight members’ art on freshly painted walls. There’s a lot behind the new logo and signs on the outside of our gallery.”
The co-operative is a group of 25 artists working in a variety of media, including acrylics, ceramics, fiber art, illustration, jewelry, mixed media, mosaics, oil paints, pen and ink, photography, pottery, sculpture, silkwares and watercolors. Hamburg artists Jay Ressler and Martha Ressler are members of the co-operative gallery. Jay’s art medium is composite photography and encaustics. Martha’s is studio art quilts.
According to the Art Plus Gallery website http://www.artplusgallerypa.com/, “The mission of Art Plus Gallery is to give juried, local artists of varied art media support for displaying, marketing and selling their artwork. We connect artists to the community. As a non-profit, self-run cooperative gallery dedicated to outreach, we also connect the community to art through significant art-related activities.” .
“Our gallery is unique in that we are a community of almost 25 artists all working together as a whole to make our gallery and its mission a success, to support and mentor each other and bring art to the community both through the gallery and community art events we sponsor throughout the year,” said Weber in a release.
Art Plus also organizes art-related activities aimed at building skills and enthusiasm for art among K-12 students, including the 2015 The Nature of Nolde Student Art Contest, according to a release.
Hamburg freshman Katy Wilson also won honorable mention for her photograph “Nolde Forest” in the photography category of the The Nature of Nolde Art Contest. The winners of the first annual “Noldes” are January’s featured exhibit at Art Plus Gallery.
For more information about Art Plus Gallery, visit http://www.artplusgallerypa.com/.