by justin strawser
SHAMOKIN - Sally Wiener Grotta said she loves to be an instigator.
In fact, the award-winning photographer hopes her exhibit, "Pennsylvania Hands," opening Saturday at the Shamokin-Coal Township Public Library, 210 E. Independence St., will inspire other artists to display their work at the library.
"I think it's unusual for this library, and it might be fun for the patrons," Grotta said.
Head Librarian Thais Gardy said Grotta's work will be the start of "more types of cultural exhibits" available for the public.
"Pennsylvania Hands," a regional focus of Grotta's "American Hands" project, has been described by the woman, a resident of the Poconos, as a narrative, visual celebration of those who keep alive traditional crafts such as blacksmith, weaver, bookbinder, spinner others that have been replaced by machines.
Gardy said she heard about the exhibit, which will be held at the library until Sept. 29, when she attended a library workshop and talked to the library director of the Ross Library, Lock Haven. She contacted Grotta and invited her to the city library.
"A lot of our patrons are interested in crafts and handiwork, and this will appeal to them," Gardy said. "We have a local knitting club that meets here on Wednesday, and a lot of people in the community have these talents."
'Intense installation'
Grotta said the Shamokin library is a challenging space for her exhibit with the size and amount of reading material, but she admitted she "loves the creative challenge."
"I'm focusing the exhibit in the front area. The beautiful windows are shaded by the porticos outside. I'm bringing movable walls. It's going to be an intense installation," she said.
While she often has her work displayed in galleries and museums, Grotta said she likes libraries and community centers the most.
"I get to connect to more people. I find the connections you can make so enriching," she said. "I'd much rather connect with real people, and communicate with them through pictures and stories, and hear their stories, too," she said.
Grotta, a nationally known photographer and storyteller originally from Philadelphia, has had her photographs featured in numerous exhibits, magazines, books and advertisements, and has published eight non-fiction books.
"American Hands" has been adopted into the New York Foundation of the Arts program, conferring 501(c)3 nonprofit status to the project. The exhibit has also been displayed in the East Wing Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg and at the Thomas Beaver Free Library, Danville, in May.
Exhibits of "Pennsylvania Hands" have been traveling around the state and various venues throughout the East Coast and, eventually, as "American Hands," around the country.
Grotta has also been giving lectures associated with the exhibits, visiting schools, senior citizen centers and community organizations.
This exhibit of "Pennsylvania Hands" and the related lecture are supported by a Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts Grant from Community Partnerships RC&D Council and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. The project is also sponsored by Hewlett-Packard Workstations, HP Designjet Printers, Pentax, Lexar Media, HP Designjet Printers and smugmug.