From the foreword to the catalog, The Souls, PA Chapter, Volume 2:
Souls Shot Portrait Project features artworks honoring and memorializing the lives of those taken by gun violence. The portraits have been created by fine artists working together with the family and friends of the lost loved ones. 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. Founded in Philadelphia, it has mounted over a dozen traveling shows. The project is expanding and has represented many states and communities as it travels to various host venues including universities, hospitals, community centers, government buildings, art galleries, art centers, museums, and houses of worship.
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 promote empathy; to move people to take action.
A word about the commentaries in this book: we invited participating family members, friends, and artists to share a written passage about their loved one or about the experience of creating the portrait - these are included in this catalog on the pages facing the portrait images. In order to retain the intensity and emphasis of the writers, these messages are presented exactly as written.
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 2024-2025 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
Meghan Ealanora
Meghan Ealanora is a Canadian-American artist who lives in Philadelphia. She graduated summa cum laude from the School of Art and Architecture with a BFA in painting. Her work has been shown in the greater Philadelphia area and Lehigh Valley in a number of group and solo shows, and she has written for Inliquid’s exhibition catalogue. Her primary artistic method involves the use of diluted acrylic, gouache, watercolor and ink to create mixed media work with layers of
transparency and distortions of perspective. Through the use of color, symbols and imagery, her work plays to the associations that are formed through individual and social perceptions. Meghan’s surroundings are a constant inspiration, furthered by an interest in regionalist, surrealist and expressionist ideas regarding location, personal experience, and color use. Experiences of living and traveling throughout large parts of the United States and Canada are shown in her focus upon architecture, geography and regional imagery in her paintings and drawings. Her interest in psychological ideas regarding cultural memetics and memory are reflected in framed perspectives, text and color use, which emphasize everyday subjects. She is also influenced by film, theater and literature, for how they capture moments and perspectives. These subjects and interests create intriguing and unique images that blend old and new in a dreamlike way that urges viewers to question how they see and interact with the world around them.
Tim Joyce
I’m a self-taught oil painter from Philadelphia who primarily works in portraiture. This is my first exhibition with Souls Shot.
Laura Madeleine
Laura volunteers as the Executive Director and Curator of Souls Shot Portrait Project. As a fine artist, she works in batik technique on stretched silk. Her work, formerly represented by Rosenfeld Gallery, has been featured in many group and solo shows throughout the years, winning awards from Woodmere Art Museum and other institutions. Her solo series with accompanying ekphrastic poems entitled Waxing Poetic inspired the original song cycle In This Blue Room, composed by Kile Smith and presented by Lyric Fest. She is a former designer and art director, receiving awards from Print, AIGA, and the Art Directors’ Club. She also worked as a map designer for the National Geographic Society.
Catherine Peluso
Catherine Peluso resides in Downingtown, the heart of Chester County, where she lives with her husband, one dog and two cats. She lived in Philadelphia for about 20 years and was a participating artist at the Rittenhouse Square fine arts show for about seven years. She attended the Havre de Grace art show among about 70 artists where she won a third place award. She was involved with the Project Children art show in West Chester for about five years. Catherine is a signature artist with the Philadelphia Watercolor Society. Catherine’s main mediums are watercolor and acrylic. Subject matter is city and beach scenes, with portraits of interesting-looking people sprinkled in.
Nancy Saladik
Nancy Saladik is an artist/educator who lives and maintains a painting studio near Philadelphia, PA. The subject matter
for her artwork comes from many of the people, places and things experienced throughout her life. Nancy’s background
includes several years as a graphic designer and an arts educator teaching in the Philadelphia school district and in
alternative education working with at-risk youth. She is most happy when sharing her passion for art with those who
recognize art as a healthy outlet for creative expression. Nancy received her Master’s degree from Arcadia University
and her BFA from Kutztown University and continues to take several art classes and workshops in the area.
Stacy Wyckoff
A graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art, Stacy has been a design professional in the Philadelphia area for forty years. From 1991 to the present Stacy has held the role of Principal of Kent Design, a small consultancy specializing in environmental graphic design serving institutional clients throughout the mid-Atlantic region. As a painter and with oils as medium, she gravitates towards portraiture and abstract landscapes. This project marries her love of painting with her concern for community and social justice. This is her fourth year working with the Souls Shot Portrait Project.