Lifestyles

The St. Vincent College Gallery is joining in the celebration of 25 years of co-education at the Latrobe school by highlighting women artists from its collection. Inside the gallery from now until Oct. 5, you will find dozens of paintings, drawings and sculptures chosen by Brother Nathan Cochran, O.S.B., director of the St. Vincent Gallery and curator of the Archabbey and College Art Collections.

On Thursday, he pointed out an oil on panel titled "Early the First Day of Deer," painted by Mary Martha Himler in 1941. Himler was an art and drawing teacher in the Latrobe School District for more than 50 years.

Also getting a lot of attention from visitors were four watercolors painted by Anna Marie Hufnagel in the 1920s and 1930s. Cochran says details about her life have been hard to find, but it is presumed she was a professor at St. Vincent and Seton Hill University.

Junior classmates Alex Lynch, Alyssa Trunzo and Brittany Mowry say they love all the works depicting nature. One in particular is a watercolor on paper by Glenda Washburn called "Tangled Beauty," which is a scene from the wetlands behind the college gristmill.

Marianne Reid Anderson, chairwoman of the 25th Anniversary Celebration, says she had no idea how many female artists there were in the collection. She graduated in 1987 and was among the first class of women to enter the college in 1983. Today, she works as a technical writer and is spending much of her time planning a year full of events celebrating women. The gallery's next collection goes on display Oct. 26.

Duncan Stroik, head of the School of Architecture at Notre Dame, served as juror, and chose 40 works of religious art.

Seen at the event were: docents Ashley Adams, Jenifer Boehn and Zachary Lychatte; dean of studies Alice Kaylor; Dr. John Smetanka, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean; Dennis Grace, chief of staff, and his son, James.

-- Jennifer Miele, WTAE

Treasure in woods

For Harry Rinker, appraising antiques is as exciting as opening a present.

"They're inanimate objects to a lot of people," said Rinker, an antiques and collectibles expert and star of HGTV's "Collector Inspector." "We see all the stories around them."

At a Friday reception to kick off Antique and Appraisal Weekend at Center in the Woods in California Borough, Rinker used a jeweler's loupe to study a tarnished silver buttonhook.

Rinker painted a picture of a well-to-do early 20th-century lady, holding the ornate handle as she fastened her boots, and said the tool was part of a vanity set that likely was a wedding or anniversary gift.

Although he valued it at $15, Rinker said the stories behind the buttonhook made it precious.

"Before you know it, a little thing like this gets a life," he said.

Rinker owns Rinker Enterprises Inc., a firm specializing in the antiques and collectibles business in Emmaus, Lehigh County, and hosts "Whatcha Got?" a nationally syndicated call-in radio show that airs 8 to 10 a.m. Sundays. For details, visit www.harryrinker.com.

John Mickinak, with Ligonier Antique Gallery in Greensburg, and William "Tripp" Kline, of Three Rivers Auction in Washington, Washington County, lent their expertise to the weekend, which consisted of sales, workshops and appraisal clinics.

The Center in the Woods, with its verdant landscape, courtyard and gardens, was built about 14 years ago on 15 acres along Route 88, and serves as a multi-purpose community center for 3,000 older adults from five counties.

There's even office space for state Rep. Pete Daley, and an enclosed walkway joins the center to The Oaks, a 42-unit apartment complex for seniors, built five years ago. Resident Shirley Zahand uses the walkway to get to her part-time job at the center.

With Zahand at the reception were Patty Garnic, of California, Washington County, and Garnic's daughter, Paula Gatalica.

Also seen: Tami Sealy, service coordinator at The Oaks; program operations director Diane Kuppelwieser with Rich; CEO George Krcelich; board president Ken Laird; vice president the Rev. Norman Hunt; and other board members Karen Primm, Archie Aldridge, Ken Donahue with Sue, and Carol Keller with Chuck.

-- Dawn Law

Painting from heart

"Joan Coate Milsom: Breaking Free," a stunning exhibit of abstract expressionist paintings, was introduced during a Saturday evening reception at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley.

The gallery walls popped with the vibrant colors and strong textures of Milsom's 55 oil and watercolor works, on display through Nov. 23.

"I paint what I feel," said the artist, a resident of Fox Chapel. "I think you can take a photograph that shows the subject better than you can paint it, if you want realism."

Milsom's work has shown extensively in the Pittsburgh area and her native Ohio, along with places as far-flung as Portland, Ore., and Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Most of the works in the SAMA exhibit were painted in the past five years, she said, although a couple are about 10 years old.

Welcoming Milsom and a large contingent of family members and friends was SAMA-Ligonier Valley coordinator and exhibition curator Janet Bucciarelli, with Gary.

The artists' traveling companions included husband Bob; daughter Chris Kobus with Tom and Christy; son Rob Milsom with Toni, Samantha and Cody; and friends and extended family members Mary Ann Kobus, Karen and Jennifer Long, Bob and Marsha Oeler, Tom and Jenna Reilly, Tom and Irene Graham, Maureen O'Brien, Patsy Wagner, Sandy Farmer, Susanne Tuccerone and Bob Wilson.

Visiting from SAMA headquarters in Loretto were executive director Gary Boyer with Susan, and board president Shirley Lingenfelter with Wes.

About 80 guests partook of a sumptuous buffet catered by Vallozzi's Restaurant of Greensburg.

Included on the guest list: Peggy Shepler; Jim and Ellen Walton; Tom and Liz Sweeney; Helen Thorne; William Rogers; Anita Manoli; Carl and Lynn Rueter; Annie Urban; Jim and Susan Carlin; Kay Thompson; Barbara Childs; and Bob and Barb Todd.

-- Shirley McMarlin

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