When artist Jen Haefeli looks at a piece of arts and crafts material, or really a scrap of just about anything, she sees a world of possibility.
It might end up as part of a mixed-media collage. Then again, it might end up as part of a piece of clothing, or become a repeating pattern that shows up on another one of her projects.
Haefeli, who has lived in Robinson for the past 16 years, has a degree from George Mason University in “inter-art.”
“It’s kind of a rare degree,” she said. “I’ve described it as a cross-pollination of studio arts. It allowed me to sort of dip into different categories of art, whereas most places you have to declare a major and then choose a minor.”
Haefeli is one of 25 local and regional artists whose work is part of the sixth annual “Women in Art” exhibition at the You Are Here gallery in Jeannette.
“Some inter-art practitioners use up-cycled objects, some work with fiber art or metals, or they might work in stage production,” Haefeli said. “Something I find up-cycled might be used for part of a museum gallery exhibition, or it might find its way onto the stage or into something wearable.”
This year’s “Women in Art” exhibition is titled “No Kings, Just Queens,” and was chosen by Greensburg Central Catholic’s visual arts department chair Erin Riggi.
Similar to Haefeli, Greensburg artist Pamela Cooper enjoys working with a variety of media in her pieces.
“When I get a conceptual idea, I don’t usually stay with just one medium,” said Cooper, 62. “The piece I submitted, ‘Transcendental Bellissima,’ was done with acrylic paint, paper, marker and colored pencil.”
The piece earned Cooper the Juror’s Choice Award from Riggi.
Cooper is a lifelong Greensburg resident and a graduate of Hempfield Area High School. She has a degree in fashion illustration from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and a bachelor of arts degree in graphic design from Seton Hill University.
Cooper said her roots as a Black woman have played an outsized role in her art journey the past few years.
“I didn’t see many people like me doing art when I was younger,” she said. “But as I began reading more, I found those people and wanted to learn more about them.”
One of those people was renowned Pittsburgh sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, who died March 6.
“I was blessed to have a great relationship with Thaddeus,” Cooper said. “He’d always take a few minutes to talk with me and I had an incredible opportunity to go visit with him at his studio on the North Side. He was a very instrumental part of my artistic journey.”
Haefeli’s contribution is a piece from a series she created called “Mother in Exile.” It is a print that began life as a drawing of Emma Lazarus who wrote, “The New Colossus,” the poem emblazoned on a plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The poem is famous for its lines inviting the world to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” In the drawing itself, Lazarus’ face takes on the bluish-green hue of the statue.
“We know the statue and most people think of her poem,” Haefeli said. “I brought it into Adobe Illustrator and placed some lines from the poem over top.”
Haefeli said You Are Here is the type of gallery where she enjoys displaying her work.
“I’m really drawn to smaller, community galleries,” she said. “I like when they can be impactful and serve as teaching spaces.”
“Women in Art: No Kings, Just Queens” will be up through April 18 at You Are Here, 406 Clay Avenue in Jeannette.
For more, see yah406clay.org.