Kevin Vogrin

The blog of poet, artist, and filmmaker Kevin Vogrin.

http://kevinvogrin.com/

My name is Kevin Vogrin, a filmmaker, photographer, and trainer, specializing in promotional, documentary, concert, and short film work. Over the past 10 years I made completed over 200 films. My site showcases not only commercial projects but also my personal art, as actively creating art increases skills and creativity that transfer into commercial work.

Kate Hearity: Shadows and Smoke...

For twelve years the musician known as k8 has rocked Northeastern PA and beyond with her hard-driving, folk-tinged original songs. After twelve years k8 has decided to step off the stage - to make room for Kate Hearity!

Shadows and Smoke...
http://katehearity.tumblr.com/

Check out k8 - sorry, Kate's blog for all sorts of insights into the life of a singer/songwriter. If you've never heard her, she has links to some of her songs, and news about upcoming performances. The next one is this Tuesday, May 5 at Breakers inside the Mohegan Sun Casino in Plains Township.  Her show runs from 7:00 - 8:00 PM, so don't be late!

NEPA Scene

The Vintage Theater in Scranton closed its doors for good this past weekend. But before it did it hosted one last event, a party celebrating everything The Vintage meant to anyone who took advantage of the wonderful things it had to offer. I first got involved with The Vintage through the Bloggers' Roundtable back in September 2011, at the invitation of Rich Howells. So it was fitting that I found myself in The Vintage this past Saturday evening talking with Rich Howells in the final hours of the place's existence.

We reminisced a bit, but eventually the conversation turned to a new project of his that was just about ready to launch, a site called NEPA Scene that would bring together blog posts, web postings, and original material into one central site that would present every facet of arts, music, entertainment, and other happenings throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. That site has now gone live!

NEPA Scene
www.nepascene.com
also on
facebook.com/nepascene
twitter.com/nepascene
youtube.com/nepascene
instagram.com/nepascene

From the "About" page:

NEPA Scene covers everything from music and movies to food and books, with an emphasis on artists and entertainers located in or traveling through Northeastern Pennsylvania, though its coverage area extends to Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey. Instead of simply reporting on creative people, the site also works directly with them to share content and spread the word about everything that’s happening in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and beyond.

Looking for something to do? Wondering what's going on or coming up? Check out NEPA Scene!

PeterParkerPA

It's hard to believe that I joined Twitter over five years ago (in early 2008).  Time flies by when you are having fun and tweeting about it!  Anyway, one of my first followers on Twitter was @PeterParker_PA, the handle of Times Leader/Go Lackawanna journalist Christopher Hughes.

Chris messaged me through Twitter the other day and needed some guidance on specific topic bloggers for an upcoming piece.  After helping him out, he informed me that he has a blog! 

I don't know if my design blog, www.peterparkerpa.com, would be eligible for inclusion on the site. I'm doing a lot of pop culture mashups with well-known video game, TV, and movie characters to put on T-shirts to sell online. I'm also adding any corporate logo work I've completed and I'm working to backlog the napkin art series to the site. 

You can read more about his projects on the Bio section of the blog.

One of my favorite things about Chris's blog is that he has been posting some of the photos he's taken of his napkin art.  He started drawing napkins for his daughter’s school lunch in April 2011 and posting them on his Twitter account.  At some point, I think that I told him he should start a blog with them (and obviously he did).  He is too talented and the drawings are too awesome not to share with others.  Also - according to the photo captions -  They’re a hit at lunchtime!


I would be doing a disservice if I didn't make mention of the other Times Leader bloggers.  You can find them at the following URL:  http://www.timesleader.com/section/BLOGS

 

The Vintage blog

The Vintage in Scranton (formerly known as The Vintage Theater) has a blog! Located at 326 Spruce Street in Scranton, The Vintage has been home to many events in which NEPA bloggers have participated, including the recent Pecha Kucha Night, and is the home base for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers Collective!

The Vintage blog
http://scrantonsvintagetheater.com/blog/

From the site's main page:

The Vintage is dedicated to cultivating and exhibiting the various talents of this region in the literary, performing and visual arts fields. Since January of 2009, The Vintage has served as a versatile venue and hosted countless artists, performers, writers, film makers and all others who strive to enhance themselves and the greater community through the power of the arts. Located at 326 Spruce Street in Downtown Scranton, The Vintage strives to present entertaining as well as engaging programming for patrons of all ages.

Check out the blog for The Vintage and see what they have to offer! And be sure to check out The Vintage itself!

afagallery

The Artists for Art Gallery in Scranton has a blog!

afagallery
http://afagallery.wordpress.com/

From their About page:

AFA’s mission is to foster an appreciation of the visual arts, to present the visual arts to the NEPA region and to provide support to regional artists.

The afagallery blog is not limited to events at the AFA Gallery, but also posts about shows and events at other regional venues, including the Blue Heron Gallery, the Sordoni, the Butternut, and ArtWorks. Northeastern Pennsylvania has a remarkable art scene, and is home to more artists, writers,  poets, musicians, performers, and craftspeople than the daily headlines would lead you to believe. Check out the afagallery blog for a taste of what's out there!

The AFA Gallery is located at 514 Lackawanna Avenue in Scranton. Their hours are Thursday through Saturday 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. You can also check out the Artists for Art webpage at http://artistsforart.org/.

Tina Imel

I attended the second Scranton Pecha Kucha night this weekend, hosted by blogger Mandy Boyle and with presentations by ten individuals, including Mandy, NEPA Blogs co-administrator Michelle Davies, and bloggers Brian Fulton, Glenn Burgess, Catherine Shefski, and Cheri Sundra.  Among the presenters was someone I recognized from the second Scranton StorySlam, a woman with platinum-blonde hair who had served as Conor McGuigan's on-stage assistant. As the night progressed, I leaned that she was a local artist named Tina Imel. Her presentation was all about her art and the experience of being an artist with roots firmly planted in Northeastern Pennsylvania, yet with a global presence established through online networking.

Tina Imel
http://tinalimel.blogspot.com/

From her blog's "About Me":

Tina Imel's oil paintings are an amalgamation of classical portraiture, Punch cartoons and medical texts. Her portraits border on the surreal. She often incorporates pieces of someone else's past into her own environment. Her fondness of possessions that have outlived their owners and her traditional style of painting give her introspective and very personal work a connection to history. Tina is an award winning artist whose work has been shown in galleries across the United States and Europe. Her paintings will be published in two upcoming books, including a collection of contemporary female surrealists.

Tina also has an extended Internet presence!

Her non-blog website: http://tinaimel.net/
Her Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/tina.imel?ref=profile
Her Flickr Photostream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinaimel/
Her MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/tinaimel
Her Twitter page: https://twitter.com/tinaimel

Over the years I have met many brilliant and creative people who have made a conscious decision to stay in Northeastern Pennsylvania and work to make this area a better place - if only through their continued presences. It's people like Tina Imel who give me hope for the future of NEPA!

The Vintage Theater IndieGoGo Fundraiser

The Vintage Theater has been a good friend to the NEPA blogging community and has served as the venue for many blogging-related events in the past year, including the Bloggers' Roundtable, the Bluekey Tweetup, Pecha Kucha Night, and the Scranton StorySlam. Back in May they announced the shocking news that they would be vacating the 119 Penn Avenue location at the end of the month. But since that time proprietors Conor O'Brien and Theresa O'Connor have been searching for a new home for the Vintage Theater. And now it looks like they've found it. But they'll need the help of people throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania to make that happen.

You can help by taking part in the Vintage Theater's IndieGoGo campaign! From now until August 18, you can donate to the Vintage Theater and get some really neat thank-you gifts, or "Perks"! How neat? Well, for example, $5 will get you a hug, $50 will get you a goodie bag of books, music, and art from local writers, musicians, and artists, $75 will get you enrolled in any of the classes the Vintage will be offering, $200 will get you two tickets to a dinner that will also feature a special guest character of your choice (living or dead), and $800...$800 will get you naming rights to one of the two bathrooms at the new Vintage Theater! Plus, each level also gets all the perks from the levels below! (There are many other levels I didn't mention!)

So this is it: your chance to help the Vintage Theater, support the future of the creative arts community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and get fabulous perks in return! But hurry! The Vintage Theater's IndieGoGo campaign only runs through August 18!

http://www.indiegogo.com/vintagetheater

Reminder: Arts on Fire Festival is next weekend!

The Arts on Fire Festival 2012 will be next weekend, kicking off Friday, June 1 in conjunction with Scranton's First Friday celebrations! See the Festival's blog for details!

Big thanks to Jill from Jilly beansTALK for letting us know about this great festival!

Nicole Polanichka's Studio

Here's another blogger from Northeastern Pennsylvania who is also an artist! From her "About Me:"

Nicole Polanichka was born in Dalton, Pennsylvania and formally trained in the visual arts at Princeton University. Her work has been shown in galleries throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania, Princeton New Jersey, and in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Polanichka is currently based out of Danville, PA where she has an artist’s studio.

Nicole Polanichka's Studio
http://nicolepolanichka.blogspot.com/

Welcome to my studio! Here you will find selections of previous art work, postings of new pieces as they are finished, announcements of upcoming shows, and random musings from the artist herself (me)! Feel free to look around, comment on what you see, and send friends and acquaintances my way. Most work is available for purchase (I will say when it is not) and all is available for viewing. Have fun!

aesthetic (rev)eveolutions

Alicia Grega is one of the fine folks taking part in the Scranton StorySlam this weekend - which will be officiated by, among others, NEPA Blogs' own Michelle Hryvnak Davies! Today I saw a link to her freestanding "About Me" page - something brilliant that I've never seen before.

Alicia Grega
http://about.me/AliciaGrega

From this page there are several links. Among them is one that points to a blog. This blog:

aesthetic (rev)evolutions
http://svaphro.wordpress.com/

From the "About" page:
This blog evolved into a more general exploration of aesthetic evolution via Alicia Grega’s SubVerse Aphrodesia initiative after first serving as ongoing commentary in the wake of her 2009 Individual Creative Artist Fellowship in Arts Commentary Award from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The project traced the resurgence of vaudevillian arts in contemporary performance or “neo-vaudeville.”  Her research grew to consider visual and fashion trends and styles such as steampunk in addition to performance including alternative circuses and sideshow, punk cabaret, gypsy punk, burlesque, ventriloquism and magic acts.

How can you pass up something like that? Check out Alicia Grega's blog! And then come out to the Vintage Theater, 119 Penn Avenue in Scranton this Saturday, March 31 to see her take part in Scranton StorySlam!

Press Release: Reading the Leaves: Tea, Text and Tarot

As received in the nepablogs@gmail.com inbox:

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion
Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion <contactjtaim@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:57 AM
Subject: Special Poetry event coming to Jim Thorpe--first in monthly series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion
434 Center Street Jim Thorpe, PA
www.jtartsinmotion.com
(570)483-8640

Reading the Leaves: Tea, Text and Tarot

Friday, March 23rd at Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion Doors open 7:30, Reading at 8:00 p.m.
A night of poetry readings by four featured area artists: Brooke Au Buchon, Jacqueline Hyde, Jennifer Hill and Rebecca York Moll. Tarot readings by AnneMarie Balog. Open Mic time following scheduled readings bring your work to share! Exotic handcrafted teas and light refreshments provided by Jacqueline Hyde Emporium. Admission includes scheduled readings, tarot, open mic, tea and light refreshments. Limited Seating. Purchase E-Tickets online for $10.00 at www.jtartsinmotion.com or $12.00 cash at the door. Ages 18 and older. First event in a reoccurring monthly series, looking for area artists to feature their poetry, storytelling, music, performance art, etc.

-- Rachel DeMicco
Jim Thorpe Arts in Motion
434 Center St. Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
(570)483-8640
www.jtartsinmotion.com

Mailbag Submission: Hawley Silk Mill

This mailbag submission actually came to us back on February 3rd, but we've been sitting on it ever since. Bad, NEPA Blog Admins! Bad Bad, NEPA Blog Admins! No cookie for you!

Hi, I'm managing a small performance space in the Hawley Silk Mill
called Harmony Presents for music, theater, poetry, creative workshops and
similar. I was happy to stumble upon your blog and find out that you know Abby
Millon. She will be performing with us Feb 24th. I have a site/blog at http://www.silkmillharmony.com/.

I hope we can help each other/ work with each other.

~Jill

We actually now have a large number of blogs on our "Backlog" of blogs to add. We will be continuing to add them 1 per day (or maybe more) over the next 31 days. MARCH BLOG MADNESS. Get some!

~Michelle

Three art blogs from Nanticoke

A few years ago I had a vision of my home town of Nanticoke transformed into an art colony, as artists took advantage of readily available housing at very affordable prices. Whether or not something like this could even happen, I don't know. But it is interesting that three of the six active blogs I recently found from Nanticoke are explicitly about art! Check them out! Are we seeing the beginning of a Nanticoke Renaissance?


drawing a blank
http://joedillon.blogspot.com/

Drawing inspiration and appreciation from many manners of art, I continue my journey to become an artist like my forefathers.


Cool Blue Studio
http://coolbluestudio.blogspot.com/

A peek inside an artist's studio and all that happens during the creative process of a regular day. My primary focus is on equines, but I love keeping my hands busy with illustrations and clay too. Join me daily, won't you?


Erika Baez Art
http://www.erikabaezart.com/

I am originally from New York City and I am currently an art apprentice at The Ani Art Academies-Waichulis in Pennsylvania. My posts are about Art, Books, Travel, Food, Movies... To view and shop for my latest work, please visit My Art Store.

artsonfirefestival

Here's a blog we were notified of via email:

artsonfirefestival is the blog of the Arts on Fire Festival, which is being held June 1, 2, and 3 at the Scranton Iron Furnaces.

http://artsonfirefestival.wordpress.com/

So what's the Arts on Fire Festival? From the "About" page:

The Arts on Fire Festival idea emerged in September 2009 at the Wake Up with the Arts Breakfast sponsored by the Lackawanna County Arts and Culture Department. Artists and organizations convened to discuss what they wanted to see happening in Lackawanna County. Several people mentioned an arts festival. Bob Savakinus, Lackawanna County Arts, Culture and Education member and current Chair of the Arts on Fire Committee, desired to see more events at the underutilized Scranton Iron furnaces. It so happened that Keystone College had received that year a Lackawanna County ARTS Engage! grant for high school iron sculpture program with the culminating pour taking place at the iron furnaces in the summer. These three elements were the catalyst for the Arts on Fire Festival and instantaneously people began to talk to each other about creating an industrial arts festival at the furnaces that would showcase the area’s history, but celebrate its creative future in the arts.

Check out this blog, and keep your schedule clear for June 1, 2, and 3!

Pecha Kucha Night is TONIGHT!

Back in November, I told you about an upcoming event called "Pecha Kucha Night" which was to happen after the beginning of the new year. The time has come.....Pecha Kucha Night has finally arrived!

Pecha Kucha Night Scranton

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 7:30pm at The Vintage Theater

What is Pecha Kucha Night?

In a nutshell, Pecha Kucha Night Scranton is a quick-fire presentation format where local thinkers, dreamers, artists, and storytellers can come together to share in conversation with the community. You can read more about the format here.

Several of the NEPA Bloggers have stepped forward to present at the event, Harold and myself included. There will also be presentations by Gerard Hetman and Mandy Boyle as well as many others. If you are looking for something to do tonight, stop on by!

Here are additional details: http://www.facebook.com/events/138110756288979/
For Anti-Facebookers: http://www.navybook.com/PKNS/index.shtml

You can also follow them on Twitter: @PechaKuchaScran

Also, check out the articles about tonight's presentation in The Weekender and Scranton Times Tribune.

~Michelle

The Forwardian Arts Society

We've actually got a backlog of new blogs to be added to NEPA Blogs! I don't want to add them all at once, because that may be a bit overwhelming, and each blog might get lost in the crowd, and we might then go a while without adding any! So here's one that we found today (after a few clicks) from one of the most recent members to join the NEPA Bloggers group on Facebook, Paul Adam Smeltz:

The Forwardian Arts Society
We are a fellowship for people who love the arts.

http://www.forwardianartssociety.blogspot.com/

This is a fantastic look at the arts scene in Stroudsburg, near the southeastern corner of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Easily accessible from Route 80, the venues Paul describes are within striking distance of much of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Have a look at what's going on, and give some thought to heading down there!

Pecha Kucha Night

I received a Facebook message tonight from fellow NEPA Blogger Mandy Boyle about the upcoming Pecha Kucha night in Scranton. She offered me an opportunity to speak at the event. I'm always a bit leery of public speaking, however, so I didn't commit to anything yet.

What is Pecha Kucha Night?

In a nutshell, Pecha Kucha Night Scranton is a quick-fire presentation format where local thinkers, dreamers, artists, and storytellers can come together to share in conversation with the community. You can read more about the format here.

We're looking to host Pecha Kucha Night Scranton on Saturday, January 28, 2012 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at The Vintage Theater in Scranton.

Here are additional details: http://www.facebook.com/events/138110756288979/

You can also follow them on Twitter: @PechaKuchaScran

Pecha Kucha Night Scranton

Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 7:30pm at The Vintage Theater

If you are interested in presenting at the event, I suggest you connect with Mandy Boyle. This sounds like an amazing opportunity for artists and writers! Feel free to pass along the word about this event to anyone who may be interested.

~Michelle

REMINDER: Dale Wilsey Jr.'s benefit is TONIGHT!

Details from the Press Release:

WHO: The Scranton Cultural Center featuring artist Dale Wilsey Jr.

WHAT: First Friday Exhibit: to benefit the Wyoming County Cultural Center at the Dietrich Theater

WHEN: October 7th, 2011 5-8 p.m.

WHERE: The Scranton Cultural Center

420 North Washington Avenue

Scranton, PA 18503

4th Floor, Shopland Hall Lobby

TICKET PRICE: Free

FROM ONE CULTURAL CENTER TO ANOTHER: SUPPORTING ARTS IN NEPA

Scranton, PA -- Sept. 20th, 2011 -- The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple will host a benefit exhibit to raise money to help restore and rebuild the Dietrich Theatre in Tunkhannock. The Dietrich Theatre (the Wyoming County Cultural Center) was recently devastated by record flooding. Estimated costs to restore and repair are close to $100,000.

The exhibit will take place Oct. 7th, in conjunction with Scranton's First Friday, as well as, the kickoff of the SCC Electric City Listen Local series. The free exhibit will begin at 5pm on the 4th floor Shopland Hall and run through 8pm. Money will be raised through individual donations, sale of artwork and a bake sale. Donations will be accepted until 10pm.

Photographs in the exhibit were taken by writer/photographer and Tunkhannock native, Dale Wilsey Jr.

All proceeds will go directly to the Dietrich Theatre.

Visit the SCC's site, www.scrantonculturalcenter.org for more information.

--
Dale R. Wilsey Jr.

manic-frustration.blogspot.com

Three from Thursday

As a consequence of Thursday's Bloggers' Roundtable at the Vintage Theater in Scranton, I've picked up three blogs to add to the NEPA Blogs sidebar! Here's hoping there will be more to follow!

First off, the Vintage Theater itself has a news blog on its website, letting you know about everything that's going on at the Vintage and beyond!

Scranton's Vintage Theater - News

http://www.scrantonsvintagetheater.com/news/

One of the events coming up (tomorrow!) which is mentioned on the website (but not on the blog per se) is playwright Kait Burrier doing dramatic readings from her plays. (Doors open at 5:00, readings begin at 6:00.) In looking for more information on Kait, I came across this interview on the blog "The Write Life," which turns out to be a blog about Wilkes University's Creative Writing MA/MFA program:

The Write Life
http://wilkeswritelife.wordpress.com/

A little more digging (because, hey, I'm like that, that's what I do) revealed that Kait herself has a blog!

Kaitlyn Burrier's Live Blog
http://kaitburrier.com/

...on which, confusingly, the introductory post (which I can't appear to link to directly without hand-copying the URL, grrrr) appears to only have gone up 16 hours ago.


(Or, you know, doing a screen grab of the URL as it appears on my bottom bar. Because I'm like that, too.)

 
So there you have it. Three blogs for the sidebar, all as a consequence of the Bloggers' Roundtable! We'll see where things go from here...

UPDATE:  Uggggh, bad news. Of the three, only the Vintage Theater blog appears to have an RSS feed that Blogger likes - and it's not capturing it yet! Kait's is a Tumblr blog, and Tumblr blogs are often problematic. The Wilkes blog appears to have valid RSS - you can see it here - but Blogger hangs up when I try to add it. Maybe Blogger is just tired. Maybe tomorrow. In any case, all three of these will also be added to the list of static links on the sidebar, too!