Parrot Gallery

Parrot Gallery is a project of artists and musicians worshiping at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster. Art exhibits are open for downtown Lancaster First Fridays and by appointment with church office. Regular gallery talks are scheduled with each featured artist.

Two Community Mennonite potters, Carmalena Stoltzfus Iyengar and Sarah Shirk, are resurrecting their pottery skills at the Lancaster Creative Factory. And both express the joy of engaging with the clay as they explore and rediscover this medium. 

Stoltzfus Iyengar says, “It’s like riding a bike,” which is the title of her Parrot Gallery exhibit, opening on First Friday, 5-8 p.m. Shirk compares it to hiking: “I find a flow in making art in which I completely inhabit my body, lose track of time, and feel fully present.”  This joint exhibit offers their first attempts at reconnecting with their ceramic skills learned years ago in college.

Stoltzfus Iyengar admits she was an accidental art minor in college, which means she showed up in the pottery studio at school every day until the professor made room for her, a lowly freshman, in a beginner’s class. From then on she studied ceramics every semester until graduation, except for a jaunt in Barcelona where she took art history and studio drawing.

Stoltzfus Iyengar then had a 25-year hiatus from pottery until December of 2023, when she started taking classes again at the Lancaster Creative Factory. She quips, “and now they might be stuck with me, because I can’t see myself giving it up again! Am I an artist? I don’t know; what I do know is that creating brings me so much joy.”

Shirk notes, “My current work is very exploratory. I’m inspired by pattern, texture, and color and have been experimenting with various ways to incorporate them into my work. 

Stoltzfus Iyengar did not push herself too much to create a cohesive show; because, truthfully, the joy of throwing again was just too much to restrain herself to one look or expression. She is also including a few pieces made while in college.

Life with her husband, two children, one dog, and eight fish keeps life adventurous. She loves reading fantasy and sci-fi books, caring for animals, making things, gardening, learning languages and traveling. Stoltzfus Iyengar, along with her sister, co-owns Dutch Country Concessions, a mobile soft pretzel vendor; she also works in property management. In some alternate universe, she probably lives on a farmette in Spain, surrounded by multiple species of animals, reading or making things all day!

Above all, Stoltzfus Iyengar hope that you see the mark of her hand on what she has made–the imperfections, the joy of creation. She adds, “I hope that you, also, have a chance to connect with the inner artist or maker in you, no matter how long it has been!”

Sarah Shirk lives in the city and loves being able to step out her front door to go for a walk or a run to any number of neighborhood parks. She loves to travel, cook, go hiking, and kayaking—in general spend time outdoors.

 

“It’s like riding a bike” runs from March 1-April 28, 2024.

The Parrot Gallery is open on First Fridays, Sundays, and during the week by appointment.

Call 717-392-7567.