judy Walter and Chris Stimeling of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg,
Local Artist’s Work
Reflects Spiritual Rebirth
By Paula Marinak
Capital Times Staff Writer
A lifelong painter and art
lover, Virginia Parkum once
avoided showing her work for
fear of criticism and rejection.
She remembered the moment,
one year ago, when her attitude
changed. She had gone to the
Hershey Library to hear a talk on
Buddhism.
“Something made me get out
of bed that morning; I don’t
know what,” Parkum said.
She recalled holding the door
for a man who entered the library
after her and being struck by his
serenity. His name was Tony
Stultz, and he was the man
whom Parkum had come to hear.
As one of his main points,
Stultz urged the audience to
remember that their emotions did
not control them.
“The minute he started talk
ing, lights lit up in my head,” she
said. “I thought, ‘this is the kind
of connection I need, and it’s
being made in a way I’ve been
looking all life for.’”
Looking back on the moment,
Parkum realized that it symbol
ized the opening of a new door in
her life
She now studies meditation
and Buddhist religion and philos
ophy with Stultz, a practicing
spiritual counselor and adviser in
Harrisburg. Parkum credited him
with helping her discover a new
approach to her work.
She said Stultz’s instruction
taught her that creativity would
flow when she learned to appre
ciate life’s experiences as they
happened.
“Meditation allows you to live
out of a free and open space,”
Parkum said. “Whatever is there
I just go with it. My paintings
often address the same topic
from different angles,” she
added. “It’s a way to wake up the
mind, to say ‘Look again. This is
here and it’s now.’”
Students and faculty can see
the results of Parkum’s artistic
reawakening through the end of
December. Twenty-six of her
paintings line the wall near the
Bursar’s Office in Olmsted’s
lobby.
The Art Association of
Harrisburg selected her work to
hang as part of a holiday exhibit.
Parkum described her work as
expressionistic. In other words,
Halman
Brings Out
His Best
Volume XL. No. 3 Wednesday, No\ember3. 1999
it is interpretive, and not identi
cal to a photograph of an image.
In fact, Parkum rarely works
from pictures or models while
she paints. “The images are
already inside me somehow, and
that’s what can come out when
you’re in that free space,” she
explained.
She uses acrylic paint because
it is perfect for the depth and
Continued on Page 11
Photo by Matthew McKeown
Virginia Parkum’s paintings are on display in the Olmsted Building.
Readers
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Domestic Violence
Awareness Month
Activities a Success
Clotheslines,
cutouts, burning
videos, poetry, hugs, tears and
legal discussions seem an
unlikely combination. But,
over the last two weeks, partici
pants observing Domestic
Violence Awareness Month
(DVAM) at PSH wove this list
into a powerful tapestry.
Angela Keen, one of the
coordinators of the activities, is
pleased. “I think the campus
responded well,” Keen said.
Events included displays
designed to raise awareness of
domestic violence, a candlelight
vigil in remembrance of victims
and educational activities to
promote advocacy and increase
understanding of the legal
process regarding domestic vio
lence.
The Clothesline Project took
place Oct. 21 and 22. T-shirts
created by people touched by
the specter of domestic violence
or sexual abuse hung on
clotheslines at angles across the
east end of the Oliver LaGrone
Cultural Arts Center.
Survivors of abuse create the
shirts as part of the recovery
process; victims’ family and
Ball Some
Pins For
Your Lions
page 12
By Cathie McCormick Musser
Capital Times Staff Writer
life-size
candles,
Phat
Fisticuffs
Fun
page 13
friends create shirts as a step in
the grieving process.
The display of brightly col
ored shirts seemed almost fes
tive before closer inspection.
Some shirts have holes and
tears representing the damage
inflicted by the abuser. Most
carry saddening messages
addressed to abusers or victims.
The Clothesline Project is a
grassroots effort begun by the
Cape Cod Women’s Agenda in
1990.
According to a paper written
by Clothesline Project
Coordinator, Carol A.
Chichetto, the effort is now
active in 41 states and five
countries. The idea of using
shirts on a clothesline seemed
natural to the project organizers.
“Doing the laundry has always
been considered women's
work...and women often
exchanged information . over
backyard fences while hanging
their clothes out to dry. The
concept was simple: let each
woman tell her own story...and
hang it out for all to see,”
Chichetto wrote.
The local project is coordi
nated by the YWCA of
Lancaster. Shirts on display at
PSH were created by Lancaster
County victims, survivors and
their families and friends.
The Silent Witness Project
display continued the awareness
process for the PSH community
on Oct. 25. This traveling
exhibit consists of red, life
sized cutouts representing
Greater Harrisburg area women
killed by batterers. Attached to
each cutout is a document out
lining the victim’s story.
The memorial, sponsored by
the Junior League of Harrisburg
and the Domestic Violence
Services of Cumberland and
Perry Counties, is coordinated
by the YWCA of Greater
Continued on Page 6
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