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The AOB Brightens the Borough

by Cate Murway

The Artists of Bristol on the Delaware are renowned for displaying their creativity.

“The Power of Pavone”, an art exhibit featuring the works of the late great cultural pioneer Joseph Edward Pavone, the Artists of Bristol on the Delaware, and Bristol Borough and area schools’ selected student art will be on display at the 21st Century Learning Center at St. James Parish House on Wood and Walnut Streets, Bristol.

The Grundy Foundation is just one of 28 members, representing residents and stakeholders, of the Advisory and Oversight Committee of the 21st Century Community Learning Center that is behind the Pavone effort. The aims of the AOC are to raise awareness of after-school opportunities available at St. James Parish House to Borough residents in grades 6 – 12; generate funds for programs for grades 1- 5 whose grant funding ended in June 2011; and use of the Parish House to celebrate Borough history and pride.

The reception is Friday, Sept. 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. and a donation of $25.00 is requested for this event.

The opening for students and their parents will be on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

All area 7th through 12th grade students were invited to present their artwork to their art teachers and two students’ creations were selected from each grade level.

The AOB is dedicated to bringing artists, businesses and members of the communities of Bristol and its' neighboring towns together to raise an awareness of the arts, and the artists who live and work within our communities to find exhibition opportunities.

The group members work in a plethora of mediums, painting in watercolor, oil and acrylics; printmaking; photography [digital and traditional]; plus sculpture and furniture making.

Grundy Foundation Director Eugene Williams was instrumental in the conception of the idea of a group of artists and the original committee members were Mary Blackey, late book illustrator Bill Smith, Joe Sagolla and Selma R. Bortner.

The AOB President is Marty Shively.

The 35-40 members meet at the Grundy Library on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM.

Gail Bracegirdle, a graduate of Moore College of Art, creates textile design prints for fabrics and wallpaper, once working for Ametex Fabrics in NYC.

Her dad Joseph Bracegirdle Jr. was a Rohm & Haas Engineer and her mother was involved in drawing and ballet.

Gail’s grandfather Joseph Bracegirdle was in the textile industry and her Uncle Russell Bracegirdle Jr. did design work for fabrics. They would produce drawings in repeat to be printed and then paint it with dense “gouache” [pronounced "gwash"] watercolor, the ratio of pigment to water being much higher.

When the designing techniques shifted to computers, Gail began producing watercolor artwork.

“I think the most appropriate painting of mine to enter in the show is the one I did of the

'Jeannie Johnston' when it was here in Bristol a few years ago. I think Mr. Pavone would approve. Joe Pavone was just delightful!”

Selma R. Bortner, who earned a B.A. and a B. S. in art education from the Tyler School of Art, will be exhibiting her work. Her art series with themes uses symbols as well as people.

Her current project is a “Car Bombs” series, reflecting her “not liking wars in general” feelings, appropriately "a pipeline to feelings which cannot be expressed in any other way."

She prefers to work with surface techniques such as fine cut, wood cut and collographs but she is familiar with all printing techniques, combining them with non-traditional materials to express the message of her work as clearly as possible.

"For me, being an artist was always a question of survival. I could not survive in this world if I could not do something creative. The AOB is a new group with great talent. It’s been a long time in coming. We are showcasing the quality to raise the level!”

Selma has taught at BCCC and won numerous awards for her work, including the Pennell Memorial Medal and first prize from the American Color Print Society. Her work is featured in many collections such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts, and the James A. Michener Art Museum.

Photographer Kathy DiBlassio’s mixed digital medium will be on display.

“My work is an exercise in artistic tolerance; good composition and good angle, a manipulated picture put through a filter.”

The effect comes from “fractalius”, creating unusual, eccentric artwork based on the extraction of so-called hidden fractal textures of an image.

Thomas Philip Furey III features his craft through sculptures, ceramics, and oil paintings.

He studied at Bucks County Community College Fine Arts Department, and at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD. Although he did not study with Joe Pavone, he opened the cooperative Mill Street Studio in 1975 with two other painters who were Joe’s students, internationally recognized artist, John Samuel Ennis and Neil McIlvaine. The Studio was a meeting place and workspace for many local artists from 1975 to 1998.

His limited 950 edition lithographic print of the painting “Luncheon on the Delaware” will be displayed.

Mary Madlyn Blackey earned her Masters at Colombia University

and moved to Bristol from NYC twenty-five years ago.

“Joe Pavone was the first artist I met. Joe was fun”.

Her works include acrylics, watercolors, and prints that are etchings

and monotypes and her aim in her work is to visually express the premise

that forms under tension produce energy of its own.

Mary has worked with watercolors forever, no particular family influence,

“it started with me.”

Her exhibit will be a landscape of Gilmanton, NH, a favored vacation spot for her family.

Her late husband was Army WWII veteran Donald Blackey,

a lyric tenor who produced radio programs in Boston.

He worked in theaters and touring companies and they met in Cuba

on a cruise ship when he was performing with the “over 6’ tall” quartet “Skyliners”.

He also performed in the Latin Quarter Nightclub,

opened in 1942 by Lou Walters, the father of Barbara Walters.

We are fortunate that she veered off a road and wound up on Radcliffe Street

on her quest to be near Philadelphia.

The paintings and pictures will be hung and you are invited to meet and greet the celebrated artists.

The owner of Season’s Embroidery Works, Anne D. Casmirri, a sub-committee member is avidly working on coordinating the event, and putting people and pieces together.

It is a mere few brush strokes away from completion.

“We have amazing kids in the Borough and we want to keep the 21st Century Learning Center programs alive and viable for our youth.”

This “Power of Pavone” fundraiser will benefit the Learning Center.

Joe Pavone’s widow, Phyllis Rose shared, “This event will showcase the influence of his art gallery on the fellows and girls who were his young students and show some of Joe’s work.”

Joe Pavone’s complex understanding of anatomy and forms suffused with the human spirit and the solid principles of realism, celebrate the community’s past and fortifies its future. He was oblivious to convention and that resulted in the compelling testaments that the rest of us are privileged to witness.

His family, associates and students want to honor him and his legacy by exhibiting some of the collection of Joe Pavone, the 15th Bristol Lions’ “Citizen of the Year”.

This Modern Day Renaissance Man, a bastion of Bristol, also established the Borough cultural activities with the Radcliffe Cultural and Historical Association.

Celebrate his Passion, Progeny and Pride at the “Power of Pavone” Art Exhibit.

Recommend a "Spotlight". E-mail vjmrun@yahoo.com

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Capturing the invisible

By GWEN SHRIFT Staff Writer | Posted: Saturday, December 3, 2011 5:30 pm

Mary Blackey is no scientist, but she’s discovered a lot about energy.

It’s in her abstract, watercolor images, flowing, luminous, almost tangible forms — pillowy yet assertive objects with innate intelligence.

“Any form under tension creates an energy of its own,” says Blackey, quoting from her artist’s statement.

“My shapes are compressed. There’ll be lines going into it, tones going into it ... warm going into cool, something’s going to happen. People don’t necessarily put that into words.”

Blackey does, as precisely as she devises her imagery.

“I work on a premise. That’s my subject matter. Like the theory of relativity is a premise,” she says. “A landscape is a thing, a still life is a thing, a portrait is a thing.

“You have to use form, and you have to contrive to use interesting forms, and you have to use line, and you have to use color.

“I think of it in most simplest terms as a balloon. I try to give a visual manifestation of this premise ... the best paintings paint themselves. Something takes over. You go with it, you don’t fight it, because it’s the essence of what you’re trying to say.”

Blackey was born and lived half a century on Long Island, near but not on the wealthy Gold Coast. Like many children of hardworking parents influenced by the Great Depression, she was not encouraged to study art despite an early affinity for it.

Her mother “was completely non-understanding of this,” she recalls. “She didn’t see the end result of this as being a possible job ... she also was a product of her time.”

This meant resisting her mother’s comments when, after school, Blackey liked to sit at the table and work with a set of oil paints.“A weaker person would have faltered,” she says.

Blackey compromised only to the extent of earning a teaching degree, which kept her in the art world and also placated her mother.

It was less easy to break into a non-teaching branch of art, which Blackey discovered when she made the rounds of studios hoping to become a scenic artist for the stage.

“It was an impossible field for women,” she says. “I could see I was batting my head against a brick wall.”

Blackey continued her education with workshops, courses at the Art Students League, Columbia University and other institutions. She studied with leading practitioners of printmaking, etching and monotype.

The artist made the jump to Bucks County following what she calls “a big searching-out experience” necessitated by the rising cost of living on Long Island.

“I became a widow — it was in the late ’80s when everything became obscene in terms of real estate,” she says.

Blackey looked around the region, including upstate New York.

She liked the look of Bristol.

“It was ... a town that had things going for it, post office, train line, supermarket,” she says.

Blackey moved to an apartment on Radcliffe Street in 1988.

The artist threw herself into the local cultural scene, volunteering at the Bristol Riverside Theatre, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Fleischer Art Memorial and at Phillips’ Mill, where she indulged an earlier ambition by painting scenery.

When the Artists of Bristol on the Delaware formed a few years ago, she joined that, too. Blackey also became part of Artsbridge, an organization with a facility in Trenton where she continues her work in printmaking and etching.

Blackey’s paintings represent a drive to express the inherent energy of forms, work she says is “not necessarily (for) the Andrew Wyeth people.

“A friend of mine said, ‘Your works are tone poems.’ ... I’m on my own track, and always have been. I’ve moved along on it, expanding on what I see.”

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Surgeon Donates Outdoor Sculpture to Jordan Hospital - Archived05/05/2008

A dedication ceremony to celebrate the donation of an outdoor sculpture to Jordan Hospital by long-time surgeon and Plymouth resident, Dr. Dominic Zazzarino, and his wife Cheryl, took place Thursday, May 15, at the hospital’s main entrance. Following a brief speaking program, a reception with light refreshments and a display of the artist’s other works was available in the PIDC Pavilion.

The Circle of Life, an abstract welded sculpture done in stainless steel, mounted on a marble and cement base, a work completed over a period of forty years (1965-2005). The sculpture has been donated to Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, MA by the artist’s nephew and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. Dominic A. Zazzarino. The sculpture was installed by Mr. Matthew Squillante.

We are profoundly grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Zazzarino for their thoughtful, generous and very meaningful gift. It is an honor to have Mr. Pavone’s name and work of art associated with Jordan Hospital, and have placed it proudly to enhance and complete our Circle of Care and Walkway of Friends. {link CoF and WoF to Brick Page}

About the Artist: Joseph E. Pavone Born to Italian immigrant parents Angeline and Generoso Pavone in Bristol, PA in 1928, Joseph Pavone is a multi-talented artist schooled in the techniques of the Old Masters, working in oils, watercolors, graphics, mural and china painting, and a sculptor of many public monuments. He is also reknown for his frescoes, printmaking, and his welded sculpture, working with many mediums including stainless steel, clay, and plaster.

As a member of the United States Army Signal Corps during the Korean War years, he was trained as an army photographer while stationed in Karlsruhe, Germany, and studied painting privately with noted German artist Helmut Weingarten. He is also an art restorer, a nationally recognized specialist in oils, having begun his restorative studies while in Germany. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Conservators and the International Institute of Conservators.

Mr. Pavone’s urge to create is irrepressible. His figurative sculptures, in particular, capture the dynamic shape and movement of the human form, modify the way we experience a particular space, and artistically address all the senses. He tells us “I was interested in art ever since I was a baby; used to draw and sketch ever since I can remember.” He sketched primarily in pencil until his 18th birthday, when he received an oil painting set as a birthday present. Following the completion of his military service in 1952, Mr. Pavone received his Master’s degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in Philadelphia, later joining the school as an art instructor, as well as serving as an art teacher for 27 years in Bristol Township Schools. In 1961, he purchased, remodeled and opened the Radcliffe Art Gallery in Bristol, where he worked with his wife and fellow artist/sculptress, Phyllis Bohme, over the years to organize many exhibitions featuring local, regional and nationally-known artists.

Mr. Pavone went on to found the Bristol Cultural and Historical Foundation in 1967, where he served for many years as its President, and which continues today with approximately 350 members. He has received the United States Congressional Special Recognition Award for Artistic Achievement, and the Veterans of Foreign Legions Commendation.

Living His Dream

by Cate Murway

The phrase “Welcome Friend” has served as a motto and the “unofficial logo” of Bristol Borough since 1824. The signage continues to beckon visitors into this century.

Renowned sculptor Joseph Edward Pavone, BHS ‘45/Tyler School of Fine Arts in Elkins Park was instrumental in getting the wooden “Welcome Friend” sign into the Borough Hall. It had once hung across Radcliffe Street near the bridge at Adams Hollow Creek to greet General Lafayette on his “Farewell American Tour”.

The uncomplicated labyrinth of biking/walking/jogging trails about the town is dotted with monuments rich in cultural history, verifying Joe Pavone’s ability to portray not just the likeness but the character and personality of the subject in a legacy that will outlive us all. His complex understanding of anatomy and forms suffused with the human spirit and the solid principles of realism celebrate the community’s past and fortifies its future.

Joe’s parents, Generoso and Angela [Barbetta] [Mr. and Mrs. Jerry] Pavone migrated from Italy. His father came through the main entry facility of Ellis Island and his mother came at the age of 18 years old to meet with her brother Nicholas who originally introduced them. Uncle Nick wrote to their parents explaining that Angela had “met a nice man here” and Joe’s grandfather walked 30 miles to meet Generoso’s parents. They were married in the basement of the not fully erected St. Ann Church and lived on Dorrance Street, raising their four children, the youngest Joe and his late brother and sisters, veteran Ernest Pavone, who suffered 9 major battle scars; Mary Cimino and Helen Zazzarino. Joe plays the accordian since he admits, “My father insisted that every child play an instrument. The most accomplished was Helen on the violin. Mary had to take lessons on the piano and Ernest on the guitar.”

No ordinary couple, Joe met his life match in full of imagination and originality, only child, Phyllis Rose [Bohme], Frenchtown H.S. ‘42/Trenton School of Industrial Arts. Phyllis illustrated her H.S. newsletter with fashions of the day. Her talents progressed, including dressmaking, tailoring and sculpture. Both artisans were employed in N.J. at Edward Marshall Boehm [EM Boehm, Inc.], one of the world's premier true porcelain manufacturers. They custom hand painted and decorated the pottery with artwork through the use of line, color, and form to express ideas and feelings. Pottery is the oldest of human crafts and for more than 100 years, Trenton was its capital!

Corporal Joe Pavone was drafted into the Korean War, U.S. Army Signal Corps, MOS- Army photographer in Germany, after being trained in the Fort Monmouth, N.J. photo school. Using his sturdy 4x5 speed graphics camera, he photographed installations that were moved behind the Rhine River. He had the opportunity to study art while stationed in Karlsruhe, Germany at the foot of the Black Forest, with the oil painter, Helmut Meyers and he learned much from him. Studying with a real professional artist provided a creative environment in which he could enjoy and learn and from which he took inspiration, accruing indescribable insight. He returned to his home in Bristol in 1952, unwilling to settle back into rendering details of shape and decorating porcelain.

Joe confided, “I was interested in art ever since I was a baby; used to draw ever since I can remember. I drew my way through school.” He primarily used pencil until his 18th birthday when he focused his sights on an oil painting set and requested that as his birthday present. And therein lies a fascinating phenomenon, he taught himself to paint, to make art, and he was always enamored with drawing airplanes.

He had the courage, talent, and motivation to express himself visually. The “very enterprising at an early age”, intuitive H.S. youth sold his poster work signs for businesses for $1.00 and while working part time in a hardware store in the Borough, he painted “Welcome Home” signs for the returning veterans and sold them for $2.00. The driving force behind his success always lays in his tremendous energy and dedication.

The G.I. Bill (officially titled Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944) provided for college or vocational education, giving government grants to any veteran who wished to return to school and acquire new skills. The monies were allocated for his 4 years in college and Joe earned a scholarship for his Masters in Fine Arts from the Tyler School of Art. He purchased what was formerly Dr. William C. Le Compte’s stone carriage house, and opened his Radcliffe Art Gallery at 117 Franklin Street. He needed to restore the second floor of this dream after an October 1978 fire.

Recognized internationally, John Samuel Ennis’ training as an artist began in grade school when he was given the opportunity to study with Joe Pavone. The portrait artist’s work has been published in over 26 foreign countries and has won national awards from the prestigious Portrait Society of America.

John Ennis willingly shared, "We can all look back on a moment in our past that put us on the right path. That moment for me was in seventh grade when I was accepted into Joe Pavone's Saturday morning art class at the Radcliffe Art Gallery. That experience opened up a new world to me, and I will always be grateful to Joe for giving me that opportunity." http://www.john-ennis.com

Joe’s works go far beyond the immediate aesthetic appeal and his knowledge is not restricted to one subject area. With their bountiful visual testimonials and eloquent depictions, his art offers us a chance to walk in the shoes of our neighbors in the connections we all share.

His unique and original traditional figurative sculptures, some with indigenous influences show a bent for a dramatic, narrative, almost journalistic realism with their sculpted dynamic movement and energy of human form. His sculptural materials modify the way we experience a particular space and artistically address all the senses.

His 6’5” Pennsylvania War Dog Memorial, dedicated September 16, 2006 is located in front of the Bristol Township Municipal Building on 2501 Bath Road.

Joe’s meticulous attention to detail and careful craftsmanship are his forte, unabashed in his visceral love of the Borough and its colorful and diverse history.

Presented to the Grundy Foundation by the Bristol Lions Club on behalf of the grateful citizens of Bristol in 1991, the bust of the wealthy industrialist and politician Sen. Joseph Ridgway Grundy (1863 –1961) crafted by Joe Pavone, graces the grounds of the Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library. Grundy, named the 1st Bristol Lions “Citizen of the Year”, was a strong believer in the strength of local involvement.

“If a man does not take pride in his own town, he isn’t likely to give a rap for his country.” Joseph R. Grundy

Joe was also commissioned by the Columbus 500 Foundation to sculpt the first monument highlighting the cultural differences within Bristol. In 1992, celebrating the 500th anniverary of his famous voyage, the bronze and granite monument honoring Christopher Columbus is a lasting tribute, a gem for posterity, for future generations of Italian ancestry and every American from all the continents of the world.

Joe was part of the committee for the Memorial Fountain located at Pond and Beaver Streets, dedicated on July 12, 1987 “to our forefathers whose creative minds, working hands and energetic spirits built this community. To our children we bequeath this legacy.”

He also designed the front [Borough Hall] and back cover [Town Hall 1831-1938] artwork for the Bristol Borough 325th Anniversary booklet, “Celebrating History and Heritage of Bristol, Pennsylvania”. His paintings of Judge Michael J. Manto and Judge John P. [Jack] Walker command walls in the Borough Court House.

Yorke’s memorial to “Brotherhood in Action” [in a world where differences have all too often created conflict, brotherhood has nothing to do with the similarities between men!] is his 288 6” tiled rendition of the aftermath of confusion, terror and chaos with the four chaplains clinging to each other: Rabbi Alexander D. Goode; John P. Washington, a Roman Catholic priest; George L. Fox, a Methodist minister; and Clark P. Poling, a minister of the Reformed Church of America on the slanting deck of the sinking aging, luxury coastal liner U.S.A.T. Dorchester. The mural was baked 7x to temperatures of 1400 F for the proper color depth. http://www.neatorama.com/2014/02/10/An-Uncommon-Brotherhood/

This Modern Day Renaissance Man, Uomo Universale [universal person in Italian] established the Borough cultural activities with the Radcliffe Cultural and Historical Association. The renamed Bristol Cultural and Historic Foundation was formed in 1967 and is housed in the former one- room Quaker schoolhouse built in 1874. He has been acknowledged many times for his tremendously compelling works with their sincere power and raw charm, one of which was the Stella Elkins Tyler Award at the “Best of All” ’60 Tyler Alumni Art Show, for his “non-objective composition in welded metals with touches of color”, titled “Intimacy”. Joe possesses the enviable capacity to express himself without fear of reproach, courage to bare his soul through his art; obliviousness to convention that results in the compelling testaments that the rest of us are privileged to witness. He has repaired and restored many paintings in the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown and is named an AIC fellow [American Institute of Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works]. He is most proud of being named the 15th Bristol Lions’ “Citizen of the Year” in 1969!

His urge to create is irrepressible. “Just as everyone needs to breathe, I need to do art.”

He feels that one of his best pieces is the “Sea and the Albatross”, although the patina has yet to satiate his discriminating taste.

They will have been living in their Manor Circle home for a half-century this summer. The Pavones are truly proud of their children and grandchildren, Marc Joseph, Wilson H.S. ’78/BCCC, a Roosevelt Street resident who cooks a wide range of healthful meal choices at the Frankford Hospital- Bucks County [children Stacey & Nicholas] and Burlington, N.J. resident, Michele Joline Stricker, Wilson H.S. ‘76/Tyler School of Art/Syracuse, MFA/U. of PA, MA/Rutgers, MLIS [children, Sara & Kate Camille]. Joe emotionally stated, ”I’m so lucky that my kids live close and I’m so grateful!”

They both belong to the Bristol Cultural & Historical Foundation and Joe is a member of the American Legion, Columbus 500 and the Sons of Italy. Phyllis willingly helps to deliver the Bristol Borough calendars, “Anything to help Bristol!”

They mutually enjoy the Turner Classic “old movies”, such as the post-WWII 1949 film, “The Third Man” and the award-winning 1962 epic film, “Lawrence of Arabia”, considered one of the greatest and most influential films in the history of filmmaking.

Their music tastes jointly include one of the most-performed operas in North America, La bohème, and the classical composition repertoires of Mozart and Beethoven.

They enjoy “the good lobster and good steaks” at Charlie Karp's Pub, and the veal Marsala and the pizza at “Cesare’s Italian Specialties Ristorante” [the closest thing to home cooking!]. [Joe created the bronze bust of the late owner, John Petolillo] For dessert, Joe enjoys both the hazelnut and the peach gelato and Phyllis opts for the sugarfree chocolate at Cannoli Coffee bar & gelateria.

They both radiate a kind of down-to-earth determination to "hang in there".

Joe’s mastery of technique and his unmatched reputation and unparalleled list of prestigious accomplishments are woven throughout the Borough tapestry.

To recommend a Bristol Borough Character to be spotlighted:

email vjmrun@yahoo.com

American Heritage Dictionary

char·ac·ter n.

Moral or ethical strength.

2. A description of a person's attributes, traits, or abilities.

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Joseph E. Pavone

Bucks County Courier Times

April 14, 2010

Joseph E. Pavone of Bristol, artist, conservator, cultural leader, and proud Italian American, has died at age 82.

Endowed with artistic talent, his name became synonymous with art in Bristol.

A loving husband, devoted father and a proud grandfather, he is survived by his wife of 56 years, Phyllis (Bohme); daughter Michele Stricker (Michael); son Marc (Colleen); four grandchildren: Sara, Stacy, Kate and Nicholas; four nieces/nephews: Dominic and James Zazzarino, Joseph Cimino and Angela Zenzel; and many grand-nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Angelina and Generoso Pavone; his sisters, Helen Zazzarino (Vincent) and Mary Cimino (Steve); and his brother, Ernest.

A lifelong member of the American Legion, Joe served as a corporal in the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Germany during the Korean War as a photographer.

Joseph received a Master's of Education from Tyler School of Art of Temple University, eventually becoming Supervisor of Art for the Bristol Township School District.

A bastion of Bristol, Joseph helped foster community support for art and history and he and a small group of friends founded the Bristol Cultural & Historical Foundation. He established the Radcliffe Art Gallery and authored an illustrated book on native Bristol artists.

Proud of his Italian American heritage, Joe was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Sons of Italy, and the Columbus 500 Foundation. To preserve cherished memories of the prior generation he conceived a video program of oral history remembrances of parents and grandparents, titled, "The Generations Remember: The History of the Italian Americans of Bristol."

Recipient of many awards throughout his career, he leaves an impressive collection of public sculpture. He turned his most prominent commissions into moving, contemplative tributes to humanity and the love that binds us all, finding expression for these universal values in surprisingly different subjects.

Some of his sculpture commissions include the Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars Monument, Conshohocken, Pa.; a bronze portrait bust of industrialist, Joseph Grundy; and the Pennsylvania War Dog Memorial.

Pavone's Monument to Christopher Columbus at Bristol's Waterfront Park pays homage to immigrants of all races and nationalities who came from all points of the world, as represented by the compass on the granite base.

His final masterpiece was the soaring, stainless steel sculpture, "The Circle of Life," a permanent installation at Jordan Hospital, Plymouth, Mass. It embodies the dynamic rhythms, the ebb and flow of experiences that make up a life well-lived.

In 2008, The Grundy Library hosted a retrospective exhibit of many of his works, enabling one last look at the public works of this very private and talented man.

Friends and relatives are invited to call from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Galzerano Funeral Home, 430 Radcliffe Street, Bristol. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Ann Church, Bristol Borough. Interment will follow.

Those wishing to express their appreciation of Joe's life may, in lieu of flowers, send donations to Columbus 500 Foundation, P.O. Box 533, Bristol, PA 19007, to aid in the preservation of his Columbus Monument and to promote Italian American heritage in Bristol, especially to the young.

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Artwork of Joe Pavone to be featured at 21st Century Community Learning Center

Published: Wednesday, September 07, 2011

An art exhibit featuring the works of the late Joe Pavone, the Artists of Bristol on the Delaware and Bristol Borough Schools will be on display at the 21st Century Learning Center at St. James Parish House on Wood and Walnut streets, Bristol.

The exhibit, sponsored by the Grundy Foundation, will have its opening reception on Friday, Sept. 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. An opening for students and their parents will be on Thursday, Sept. 29 from 4 to 7 p.m. A donation of $25 is requested for the Sept. 30 opening.

This is a fundraiser to benefit the 21st Century Community Learning Center. Joe Pavone’s family, associates and students wanted to honor him by exhibiting a collection of his paintings.

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Joseph Edward Pavone

Power of Joe Pavone

MORE ABOUT MARY....

Beth Israel Deaconess - Plymouth

275 Sandwich Street

Plymouth, MA 02360

By GEMA MARIA DUARTE Staff writer

6.15.15

Rose Marie Strippoli will have another place to showcase her nonobjective or abstract art work.

Come Thursday, the Bristol Township resident will be able to display her work at the new Centre for the Arts on Mill Street in Bristol.

“It’s like a dream come true to have (an art center) in the area,” said Strippoli, who shows her work at other places, too. “It’s a cultural jump.”

Strippoli’s display will include a few pieces on acrylic paper and some with alcohol ink on yupo paper.

The art center is the brainchild of Raising the Bar, Bristol’s local economic development group.

For the past six months, volunteers have transformed the former Ballow’s Shoe store in the heart of the business district into an art gallery building, which will also have studio space for artists, as well as a reception area.

The grand opening is at 7 p.m. Thursday at 308 Mill St. One of the evening’s highlights will be the posthumous induction of well-known Bristol artist Joseph E. Pavone into the Centre for the Arts Hall of Fame, said Bill Pezza, president of Raising the Bar.

“Pavone will be the first recipient of what RTB envisions as an annual award,” he said. “The ribbon will be cut by Pavone’s wife, Phyllis, and will mark the beginning of a monthlong exhibit of Pavone’s work in the visiting artist section of the gallery.”

Pavone is best known in town for his sculpture of former Sen. Joseph Grundy that rests on the grounds of the Grundy Library and the bust of Christopher Columbus adjacent to the wharf at Bristol’s Riverfront Park.

“Bristol Borough has and has had a wealth of highly talented artists from which to draw for this award,” Pezza said. “But we’ve started with Joe because for years he was a singular voice and effective advocate for the arts. Many of us remember the original gallery he opened on Franklin Street. As his wife, Phyllis, said recently, ‘Joe would be so pleased, not just with the award, but with the fact that we have opened a first-class center to celebrate the arts in the borough.’”

Twelve artists have placed deposits on space and will occupy the bulk of the building — some from the Artists of Bristol on the Delaware, others from the Artists of Yardley and some independents.

Along with Strippoli, Jennifer Renshaw will rent space at the new center to exhibit her oil paintings and drawings.

“It’s a really exciting time for the Bristol community to have an art center,” said Renshaw, who works on figurative art, adding that she’s overwhelmed with the support the community is giving to the arts and bringing culture into the area.

Raising the Bar acquired the building with private financing, which also was used for renovations. The building cost $103,000.

“We’re completing the final touches over the next few days, and we’re pleased to say that we’ve rented virtually all of the available space, which is encouraging, because we secured private financing and we have a mortgage to pay,” JoAnna Schneyder, vice president of Raising the Bar, said. “We decided to take a risk and make an investment, and the response has been tremendous.”

Raising the Bar encourages investment in the borough, so the group thought it was time to lead by example and make an investment of its own.

“It wasn’t hard to market the space,” Schneyder said. “I think we’re learning that there is a real and growing interest in the arts in Bristol Borough.”

The art center will be staffed with help from volunteers who will gallery sit. An artist will also be on hand.

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Elizabeth Ennis

May 06, 1927 - January 04, 2018

Elizabeth Ennis of Morrisville, PA died January 4, 2018. Known to all as Betty, she was born on May 6, 1927 to Harry and Jane Lynn of Bristol, PA. A resident of Bristol for much of her life, Betty was a member of St. Mark Catholic Church. She attended St. Mark School and Bristol High School. She married her husband Sam, also of Bristol, shortly after World War II. Betty was the loving mother of John Ennis and the late William Ennis. As a young woman she was an active member of the Bucks County Rescue Squad and remained a life member. She was a graduate of the Bucks County School of Practical Nursing and worked for Lower Bucks Hospital. Betty also worked in the private practice of several area doctors. After her retirement, she volunteered for Lower Bucks Hospital at the information desk. She was an active member of the Golden Mark Seniors in Bristol for many years. Betty was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Samuel J. Ennis, her sisters Kathryn Lynn and Jane Burke, her brother Harry Lynn Jr, her son William Ennis and daughter-in-law Patricia. She is survived by her brother William Lynn, her son John and daughter-in-law Jo-Ann. She is also survived by three grandchildren Kyle, Logan, and Jennifer and two great grandchildren, Tabitha and Jacob. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a graveside service for Elizabeth on Thursday, January 11, 2018 11:00 am at St Mark Cemetery in Bristol Township. Also condolences may be made at www.galzeranofuneralhome.com.

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June 2015

posthumous induction of well-known Bristol artist Joseph E. Pavone

into the Centre for the Arts Hall of Fame,