Virtual Gallery Walkthru
Many thanks to Bryant Girsch of DaVinci Art Alliance for our stellar walkthru recording
For gallery info
Margaret Griffen – info@cheltenhamarts.org
Artessa Art info and images
Karen Hunter McLaughlin- kamcl@artessaalliance.org

February 7-28, 2021
Artessa Alliance artists explore how they connect to each other during a pandemic that keeps us all apart.
Gallery open by appointment
and on Sunday February 14 & 21, from 12-3pm
Cheltenham Center for the Arts
439 Ashbourne Road
Cheltenham, PA 19012
P: 215.379.4660
Cheltenham, PA, January 12, 2021—Artessa Alliance is a group of women-identified visual artists from the Greater Philadelphia area. We are a tessellation of women artists–each single member made stronger by our combined power. Our connection was retailored in 2020, during the early months of the Covid pandemic shut-down when members of local women artist group, MamaCITA, used the lockdown time to reflect, respond, and reinvent as Artessa Alliance.
This February marks the recently re-formed collaborative’s first exhibition under their new name and mission. Apart:Together will examine the relevance, stressors and joys of using art to stay connected during difficult times.
“Having a supportive group of women artists has been a lifeline during this pandemic. We’ve been weathering the storm together, now more than ever. ” remarked Julia Way Rix, who will be exhibiting new time-based media work.
This will be the collective’s third biannual exhibition at their affiliated home, Cheltenham Center for the Arts. Apart:Together will feature diverse work in traditional mediums such as painting, printmaking and sculpture, as well as contemporary video and installation.
Participating artists:
Karen Hunter McLaughlin, Brenda Howell, Janice Hayes-Cha, Teresa Shields, Mo Ganey, Michelle Ciarlo Hayes, Nathalie Borozny, Kimberly Mehler, Julie Mann, Rashidah Salam, Elena Drozdova, Glynis Raisch, Megan Greenholt, Rebecca Schultz, Julia Way Rix.
Installation Slideshow
Contact the Gallery for purchase info@cheltenhamarts.org
Exhibition Videos
Apart:Together – A Deeper Look
10%, Megan Greenholt
10%, Megan Greenholt From the Apart:Together ExhibitI participated in an online creativity project for 100 days in 2020 with the intention to develop a daily practice. Most of my project was completed during the initial phase of the covid pandemic and quarantine. My...
My Joy, Teresa Shields
My Joy, Teresa Shields When my 1st daughter was born, more often than not she would seek out Dad. Jokingly, I said, “The next one is mine.” And she was. Of my three daughters, Mia Joy resembles me the most and we share the strongest connection. Mia means...
Varied Works, Brenda Howell
Varied Works, Brenda HowellMy fellow Artessa artists have held me up Made me laugh (a lot) AND Made me get my butt in the studio They’ve really helped me stay sane I hope that everyone has had one special person or better yet a group of special someone’s to help them...
Apart:Together, Karen Hunter McLaughlin
“The Ripple Effect is based on the understanding that we are all connected. These connections stretch like an incredibly interwoven and complicated tapestry. Each of us exists within this tapestry. Thoughts and actions are like stones dropped in a pond and they create ripples that travel outward.”
Ouroboros, Julie Mann
Ouroboros, Julie Mann The human brain has an uncanny ability to see patterns and make connections based on the world we've experienced. That is one reason optical illusions work, and why we see digital images and Pointillist paintings as something more than mere...
Branching Out, Boxed In- Glynis Frost Raisch
Boxed Out, Branching In- Glynis Frost Raisch I have 2 pieces in this show. They are both paper mache and they both incorporate little houses; the houses are symbolic of family and home and community. They are made of cardboard and wheat paste and newspaper. The...
In My Own Backyard, Kimberly Mehler
In My Own Backyard, Kimberly Mehler Isolation Creations During Covid lockdown, I began a short daily painting exercise as a meditative practice to help cope with the stress of the news. I found that I was drawn to the variety of pine cones lying upon the...
Nesting, Michelle Ciarlo Hayes
Nesting, Michelle Ciarlo Hayes From the Apart:Together ExhibitionThis little piece is called "Nesting" and is based on a sweet bird who regularly visited the window box of my studio during the spring of 2020. She would steal pieces of the coconut box liner as well as...