From February 11 to March 14, the Romano Gallery will host an “Emerging Artists Trio” exhibition. Artists Daniel Jenkins, Joseph Mandel ’16 and Jacklyn Scott will display their work for the Blair community and host an artist talk on February 23 to discuss their process, influences and inspiration. The up-and-coming trio hope to shine a light on their journeys into the art scene and share their experiences with other young artisans and craftsmen in the Blair community to inspire them to follow their passions.

Daniel Jenkins

Mr. Jenkins is a graphic designer who pulls inspiration for his work from everyday life and is fueled by the history of design. He currently attends Moravian University where he studies graphic and interactive design and is the president of Studio South, the school’s student-run design studio he works in as a graphic designer. He is a pottery studio instructor at The Art Establishment in Fountain Hill, Pennsylvania, and is the owner and designer of DHJdesign.

“At the end of the day, sharing is my biggest tool I utilize because my work will eventually be for other people,” Mr. Jenkins said. “I want to make sure that everyone can understand it and enjoy it.”

Joseph Mandel ’16

Mr. Mandel is an internationally award-winning artist and designer who works in various media, including painting, sculpture, print, photography and graphic design. A self-proclaimed “introverted extrovert,” he uses his artwork as a reflection of who people are through his eyes. While earning his fine arts degree at the University of Michigan, Mr. Mandel was honored with the David Davidson High Commendation award during his summer semester abroad at Studio Arts Colleges International (SACI) Florence in 2018.  

“To me, painting someone is the most intimate thing I can do for them,” Mr. Mandel explained. “By confronting their physical elements and literally generating someone’s form by my own means, my own body, I find that bond to the subject grows stronger. That is why I paint.” 

Mr. Mandel currently works as a junior art director for Bold Strategies and as a freelance artist. He has experience as a handbag designer for Steve Madden and brand designer for MUSH, a ready-to-eat health food company co-founded by Ashley Thompson ’08.

Jacklyn Scott

Jacklyn Scott has spent her life immersed in art. From growing up in her mother’s clay studio to earning her MA in ceramics from Hood College, she says “her exposure to the beauty of handmade objects and the interesting people who make them” has driven her passion as an artist. Ms. Scott’s work has been featured in exhibitions across the nation, and she currently works out of her Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania, studio where she also operates her business “Craft Into Art” to provide art education to the local community.

In this exhibition, Ms. Scott explained that she uses her wood-fired clay pieces to represent the female form and “explore the gestural and ephemeral beauty in the movement of the body and the clay.” 

All are welcome to attend the artists’ talk with Ms. Scott, Mr. Mandel and Mr. Jenkins on February 23 in the Romano Gallery.