met art

NORMAL -- After nearly three decades of struggling to figure out where he fit into the art world, Mike Connelly has finally found his place. And he doesn't think it was an accident. Connelly, an artist since the age of 12, also is a Christian who believes the events of his life are carefully orchestrated by God."It's been hard because I've never felt part of the mainstream community, and the church never really embraced my art either," he said. "It was like being in two worlds and I've had to bite my tongue in each of them."But then Connelly heard about the Van Leer Arts Society, and something resonated within him.The group was formed this summer when Natalie Wetzel, a stay-at-home mother of four, and Bekah McLean, a senior sculpture major at Illinois State University, met with Immanuel Bible Foundation's executive director, Marc Boon.Their goal going into that meeting was to host an art show at the facility this fall.

An early look at Cunard's Queen Victoria

ABOARD THE QUEEN VICTORIA -- Okay, so you've seen my rant on the new Queen Victoria's cabin decor. What's my take on the rest of the ship? In short: It's charming.

The 2,014-passenger Victoria, to be christened later today by the Duchess of Cornwall, also is elegant. Cunard president Carol Marlow tells us the line looked to the great Cunard liners of the past to set the tone, with classical motifs mixed with art deco and nouveau touches that evoke the golden age of ship travel.

Union Township artist struts his stuff

Morton Wendt Tucker Jr. was about 4 years old when he'd tag along with Dad to his grandfather's Hammond home, where the elder Tucker was doing remodeling work.While his father worked, the young boy would pull out his grandpa's scrapbook and admire the photos in it, until he became bored and looked to do something else. Tucker Sr., hoping to keep his son occupied and out of trouble, pulled out a pad of paper."Here," he told his son. "Just draw something."Tucker Jr. retrieved the scrapbook, took out a photo of an old steam engine, and drew it. Then he found other photos -- a truck, a car, scenery -- and drew those."I decided I really liked doing it," Tucker said. "I branched out."Tucker eventually segued from drawing to painting while a student at Griffith High School. He put his artist brush down when he was 21 and didn't retrieve it until several years later after support from his wife, Kathy."She encouraged me to get back into it," he said.Tucker is now a realist painter and the proprietor of The Gallery & Studio of Morton Wendt Tucker Jr., located at his home in Union Township.

Cities unite for annual 'Big Read'

Sponsored through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Shelton has again partnered with Bridgeport for the event, which begins next April.

The 2008 program will focus on Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club," chosen by an online and paper ballot vote. The other choices were Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms," "Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett, Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima," and Zora Neale Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

"Bridgeport will host the opening event and Shelton will host the closing ceremony," Shelton Big Read Co-chairwoman Fran Scarpa said. "We're very excited about the programs we're planning. There's truly something for everyone."

Plumb Memorial Library Director Elspeth Lydon, Scarpa's co-chairwoman, said the library is already planning a children's event to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Art exhibits: Dec.9, 2007

ONGOING

ALLENTOWN ART MUSEUM, 31 N. Fifth St., Allentown. 610-432-4333. Arts Community of Easton Members Group Juried Art Show: Through Dec. 30. Tiffany by Design: Forty objects including lamps, a stained glass window, metalwork and related materials made by Tiffany Studios and Tiffany Furnaces, under the direcion of Louis Comfort Tiffany, between 1900 and 1925. Saturday guided tours. Through Jan. 6. Alphonse Mucha: Art Nouveau Extraordinaire: Posters and textile designs on loan and including works from the museum collection, of female and floral forms created by the Moravia-born artist. Accompanies the ''Tiffany by Design'' exhibit (included with special exhibit admission). Saturday guided tours. Through Jan. 6. Picasso and Delaunay: The Book as Inspiration: A rare portfolio of 13 prints by Pablo Picasso, which were the result of a collaboration with Parisian fine art publisher Ambroise Vollard to produce an illustrated edition of Honore de Balzac's novel ''Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu,'' accompanied by an unusual and compelling work, a ''simultaneous book'' created by modernist designer Sonia Delaunay-Terk and poet Blaise Cendrars.