For Immediate Release -- 6/6/06
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
Press contact only: Jeanne Mozier -- 304-258-4248

ARTISTS TALK ABOUT A LIFE OF WORK

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV -- A panel of seven West Virginia artists share stories, insights and advice from a cumulative total of more than 150 years of successful work on Wednesday, June 11 from 7 to 9pm at the Ice House in Berkeley Springs. The evening panel which comes with an array of desserts is the conclusion of a yearlong program in artist business training produced by the Morgan Arts Council.

"Nothing finishes off classes in everything from marketing to curating better than hearing from people who have lived the life," said Jeanne Mozier, project director of the artist training series. "This selection of artists have bought homes, built studios and sent their kids to college all as working artists. " Mozier believes this panel can inspire young people who may not believe you can make a living as an artist, can offer advice to artists in mid-career and let other lifelong artists swap experiences. "The general public will love the stories," she says. "Plus there are great desserts."

The artists invited to speak on "My Life as an Artist" include jewelers Jean Pierre and Carol Hsu of Berkeley Springs as well as performer Jill Klein Rone also of Berkeley Springs. Sculptor Mark Blumenstein and performer Glenn Singer are coming from Greenbrier County. "Many folks may remember Glenn and his stick horse performing as El Glenno in the Five Rings Festival a few years ago," said Mozier.

Pam and Ren Parziale of Sycamore Pottery in Kearneysville are the remaining artists making up the panel. In 2006, Pam Parziale received the Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award for her life as an artist.

This project is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and West Virginia Commission on the Arts. The Ice House is located on Independence and Mercer in downtown Berkeley Springs. For more information, call 258-2300 or check online at www.berkeleysprings.com.