From the foreword to the catalog, The Souls, PA Chapter, Volume 1.
Souls Shot: Portraits of Victims of Gun Violence features works honoring and memorializing the lives of victims of gun violence. They have been created by artists working together with the loved ones of the victims. By hearing stories, seeing photographs, videos, and mementos, the artists are able to get to know who the person was in life. The portraits are as diverse and unique as the souls they represent.
Souls Shot Portrait Project arranges exhibitions of these portraits. The Project was founded in Philadelphia in 2017 and has mounted over eight shows in that time. Aside from the Philadelphia exhibition, the Project now represents victims of gun violence in New Jersey and neighboring states as well as this exhibition, which focuses on the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All of our exhibitions travel to various host venues over the course of one year.
This catalog represents the commitment of all those who are involved in Souls Shot Portrait Project. We are dedicated to bringing to the public these intimate glimpses into the lives cut short by gun violence as a way to raise awareness of the terrible cost to our communities; to touch hearts and minds; to move people to take action.
On behalf of all those who participated in creating this exhibition, we hope you will be moved by the images, and that you will get to know the depth of these unique human beings; our kindred souls.
Laura Madeleine, Executive Director and Curator
SCHEDULE OF HOST VENUES
For information on location, times & dates for our in-person exhibitions, please see our Events page by CLICKING HERE.
You can also view more details on our prospective calendar for this exhibition by clicking HERE
THE PORTRAITS
These full color catalogs contain images of the portraits from the 2022-2023 exhibition along with commentary from the artists and the families and friends of the victims. They represent a small fraction of the souls lost every day to the epidemic of gun violence. We are grateful to be able to tell their stories and to move people to take action.
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THE ARTISTS
Donna Berk Barlup
Art has been an important part of my life since I can remember. I went to Kutztown University to earn my BS in Art Education because I couldn’t focus on any one medium and I would be able to try them all. I realized that I really enjoyed teaching so I became a Visual Arts teacher in the Harrisburg School District and then in Northern York School District, teaching all grade levels. My 36 years teaching Art were some of my most rewarding. Since retiring I have continued to teach privately and in workshops. I worked hard to develop my skills in watercolor. I have shown locally, nationally and internationally. I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and a member of many other watercolor societies and the Susquehanna Valley Plein Air Painters.
Website: www.DonnaBerkBarlupFineArt.com
Mary Begnardi
Mary Begnardi is a mixed media artist and she draws, paints and makes things inspired by the people and places around her. She reverse draws and paints using permanent marker, acrylic, and spray paint on clear acrylic surfaces. Sometimes these pieces also incorporate collage elements. She explores themes of destruction, abandonment, survival, growth, belief, hope, and renewal. Her work has a narrative quality, but she welcomes the viewer's interpretation.
Website: www.marybegnardi.com | IG @marybegnardiartist
Sally Benton
Sally Benton was born outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1953. She was drawn to art at a very young age, and after high school, attended Moore College of Art. For the past 10 years, she has been studying oil painting at the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia with Paul DuSold, Academy of Fine Arts alumnus and teacher at the Fleisher Art Memorial and formerly, the Wayne Art Center. From 2016 through 2022, Sally has exhibited her paintings at the Philadelphia Sketch Club’s “Small Paintings” and “Art of the Flower” shows, the New Hope Art League’s 7 th Annual Juried Show, The Cheltenham Art league’s 2018 and 2022 Juried Shows, and again, in 2018, as part of a 2-person show at The Hill at Whitemarsh, in Lafayette Hill, PA. In March of 2020, Sally won best still-life at the First Annual Juried Show at The Gallery on the Hill, in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. Sally resides in Flourtown, Pennsylvania with her supportive husband, Andy.
Website: http://sallybentonart.com/
Theresa BrownGold
Theresa BrownGold is the painter/writer/performance artist/lyricist behind her art project, Art As Social Inquiry. She uses art to start dialog around social issues. The artist has painted over 200 portraits. Her work has been written about in many publications including the Journal of the American Medical Association, and featured on ZDF German television, WHYY public television, and other outlets. She has given many talks about Art As Social Inquiry at conferences, college classrooms, churches, senior centers, and other venues.
Website: https://www.artassocialinquiry.org/ | IG @art.as.social.inquiry | FB @ArtAsSocialInquiry
Carey Davis
I began creating portraits a few years ago as a means of honoring community heroes working in southwest Philadelphia. While I have used a variety of media, I find collage most satisfying -- layer upon layer, bits of texture and color drawn from a variety of places, much like the multi-faceted dynamics and experiences of the lives I try to capture. I was honored to be invited by Kairae's mom to create this piece -- such a beautiful young man who held her heart. Ms. Ada described her son as a gentle soul, one who had good friends, but was just as content to stay at home by himself. He loved basketball, playing on several teams and winning numerous awards, and spent hours playing video games in the family living room. He was the uncle always ready to play with the little guys, and would allow his mom to take his hand to cross the street, even at 17.
Lene Dronen
Lene is an artist/photographer born in Norway, presently living in the United States. Lene is determined to capture the profound beauty of all the things around her, bringing a unique creative twist into the process. Her pieces have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions around the world. The heart project, led by Lene, has been making a continuous effort to work with people of all ranges of disability, as a pathway to changing the longstanding social and cultural perceptions often held in society. Art made by Lene strives to celebrate and reflect the full spectrum of the human experience, highlighting the beauty of each person.
Website: https://www.lenedronen.com/
Terry Freemark
Before I retired, I worked for almost 25 years as a nurse anesthetist at Einstein Medical Center. In the operating room, we took care of more gunshot victims than I care to think about. Most of the victims came to our hands identified only as John or Jane Doe, until family members came to the hospital. Many patients did not make it; those who were fortunate enough to survive suffered horrible injuries and multiple surgeries. I didn’t start painting til the fall of 2010. My watercolors are inspired by ordinary and everyday moments. In life’s subtleties I see a landscape of gesture and emotion. And a painting. I strive to capture a fresh glimpse into a scene or a person’s character, and allow a story or feeling to emerge. Art is language, and it is most satisfying to me when someone tells me that my painting has spoken to them.
Website: http://terryfreemarkwatercolors.com | IG @terryfreemark
Dale Goldberg
Although not formally trained as an artist, I have worked with fabric and thread for more than 55 years. I began embroidering as a young teen and proceeded throughout my life to learn quilting, appliqué, crewel work, bead crochet and bead weaving, and most recently, art quilts and fabric portraits. I am a musician (piano and voice) and have been a psychotherapist for 45 years. I am honored to participate in the Souls Shot Portrait Project, and hope that my fabric portraits of loved ones lost will provide healing for their families.
Rebecca Jane Hoenig
I am drawn to the spiritual aspects of art and the essential mystery inherent in all natural and artistic creation. I have worked in a wide array of media including drawing, painting, photography, printmaking and mixed media sculpture. I have participated in many juried group shows as well as several solo exhibitions over the past few decades.
Website: http://www.rebeccajanehoenig.com/ | http://www.rebeccahoenig.com/
Tyler Kline
Tyler Kline is an artist, educator, and curator living and working in Philadelphia. Kline grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, studied architecture and painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design and received his BA in anthropology and sculpture from Portland State University and a MFA in installation and sculpture from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Kline currently teaches sculpture, art history, and design at Rowan University and sculpture at Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, as well as being a collective member of Pink Noise Projects in the 319 building in Philadelphia.
Website: https://inliquid.org/artist/kline-tyler/
Janine Lieberman
Janine draws and sculpts figures and faces, plants, bugs and daily objects. She enjoys working with local theater companies making and acquiring props, and also landscaping her yard. At present she is mostly reading, writing, trail hiking with her dog, and caring for her young granddaughter. Before retiring, she worked in museum collections and program administration for older people.
Anni Matsick
Anni Matsick’s watercolor paintings focus on the portrait and figure. She has over 30 years’ experience as an illustrator for major publishers of educational, periodical and trade materials for children. Two of her paintings are included in Splash 19: The Illusion of Light from North Light Books. Her paintings have been juried into many regional and international shows and have won numerous awards. Anni is a lifelong Pennsylvanian and holds a BFA in Painting from Carnegie Mellon University.
Website www.annimatsick.com/news
Robert Papp
Robert Papp’s paintings have been featured on countless book covers, advertising campaigns, children’s books and each month viewed by million on the cover of Cooks Illustrated magazine. His art was recently featured in a series of stamps for the United States Postal Service.
After many years of painting commercially, Robert now spends his easel time at a more leisurely pace, painting expressive figurative works and still lifes.
Kari Roslund
Kari Roslund discovered her love for fiber arts while raising a small herd of sheep in rural Pennsylvania. Although she received her BA in studio art from Lycoming College, she credits her education in fiber to other wool growers and fiber enthusiasts she met as she moved throughout Pennsylvania and New York. In 2020 and 2021, she was awarded the Individual Artist Decentralization Grant from New York State Council of the Arts and New York Foundation for the Arts for two projects that focused on examining regions and communities through sourcing her materials from specific areas. Over the past few years, she has exhibited in shows throughout the United States, including the Gold Standard of Textile and Fiber Art at the Westbeth Gallery in New York, New York.
Website: http://kariroslund.com/ | IG @kariroslundstudios
Cassandra Sassaman
Cassandra Sassaman describes herself as a sporadic artist who refuses to stick to any one medium. She strongly believes in the power of portrait art to strengthen understanding of the human experience and hopes that her art will move you to love people more deeply.
Website: https://cassandrasassaman.wixsite.com/portfolio/visual-art
Celeste Schor
Celeste Schor is an artist living in Philadelphia. She studied under Roger Anliker and Charles Schmidt at the Tyler School of Art, graduating with a BFA. She currently does commissioned portraits and has shown at Woodmere Art Museum. This is her third year exhibiting with the Souls Shot Portrait Project.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/CelesteSchorFineArt/
Gary Sieling
Gary Sieling is a software engineer and printmaker in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He is involved in faith-based social justice efforts in his community and interested in making art that shows the beauty in all people.
Website: https://www.garysieling.com/blog/prints/
B Douglas Smith
B Douglas Smith (AKA Painter Bry) is a Philadelphia based modern artist working in mixed media who has participated in the Souls Shot Portrait project since its inception. He believes that art is love in action and is truly honored to lend his craft to families who have lost their loved ones too soon due to gun violence. He invites art lovers and collectors to visit his South Philly studio by appointment.
WEBSITE: https://bryansmithphilly.wixsite.com/painterbry
FB: @PAINTERBRY
IG: @THEREALBIGBADBRY