A chance meeting between a Ligonier resident and a former Kentucky poet laureate led to a new exhibition at the Main Exhibit Gallery in Ligonier.

Helen Sitler of Ligonier, retired from the English department of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, attended a book fair in Lexington, Ky., where she met poet George Ella Lyon and bought a copy of Lyons’ book, “Many-Storied House,” a collection of poems about her childhood home in the Kentucky coal-mining town of Harlan.

Sitler used the book as the basis for a writing workshop at the Graceful Aging Wellness Center at the Bethlen Communities in Ligonier Township and later told artist and writer Mary Ellen Raneri of Latrobe, another retired English teacher, about it.

Raneri used it as the inspiration for “Home Grown Memories,” opening with a reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday at the gallery, 301 W. Main St., and running through Sept. 30.

“I read the book and said, ‘She’s doing what I’m doing,’ and that kind of validated me,” Raneri said. “Almost every piece I do is tied back to my mom and dad and my grandparents, tied to nostalgia. My memories will always be there in my art.”

“While our experiences are very different, there is an archetypal energy that resides in the notion of home,” said Lyon, who was invited to the reception but is unable to attend. “For writers, it can be an important step in finding your voice, and for painters it could evoke deeply emotional images. Since we read or look at art to be moved, I think it’s possible for something to be freed in the reader and viewer as well.”

Recapture what’s lost

The show features 72 pieces by 34 local artists who “were encouraged to try to recapture what’s been lost and explore the stories that walk the rooms of their memories,” according to the gallery website.

Raneri also invited writers to create written works inspired by individual pieces in the show, which will be read during the reception. She previously combined visual art and writing during a reception for “The Art of Love,” a February show she organized at the Greensburg Garden and Civic Center.

Sitler will be among the contributing writers.

“Mary Ellen and I have a lot in common. We are both hometown girls and when she and I were discussing what the title of the show should be, we thought of what ‘home’ represents,” says artist Pamela Cooper of Greensburg, whose contribution includes a photo of her father and one of her family home. “It made me really look inside myself.”

“It’s a very lively exhibit,” says Mandy Sirofchuck, owner of the gallery with her husband and fellow artist, Paul Sirofchuck. “From the abstract to the literal, there’s just a wonderful variety of media.”

The reception, with live music and refreshments, will take place on the gallery’s lower-level patio. A limited number of guests will be allowed in the gallery at a time to view the exhibition. Masks will be required.

“We’re taking great pains to make sure this is a pandemic-safe exhibition,” Sirofchuck says. “I laid out the gallery in a very directional sort of serpentine way. You won’t miss anything if you follow the arrows.”

Adding to the fun, guests who create or decorate the masks they wear to the reception can participate in a contest to win a $50 gallery gift card.

Participants will be given numbered cards to hold up as they have they have their pictures taken and then will fill in their contact information on the back. The winner will be notified the next day.

Details: 724-238-2310 or mainexhibitgallery.com