NEWS RELEASE

JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA

September 18, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PAMELA SKEHAN TO DISCUSS HER ARTWORK ON DISPLAY AT THE EAST BANK REGIONAL LIBRARY

JEFFERSON, LA – Pamela Skehan, an artist whose paintings are on display at the East Bank Regional Library, will discuss her work at 1 p.m. on Sunday, October 1, 2023 at the branch (4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie).

This presentation is free of charge and open to the public; registration is not required. 

Through the Belly of the Fish is a series of paintings by Skehan that tell the story of one woman’s epic battle in response to a series of personal losses and seismic global changes. After a summer fishing trip, she began incorporating the metaphors of fish and water, drawing inspiration from Pieter Lastman’s 1621 painting Jonah and the Whale.

The series explores the many facets of the grieving process: facing fears head on, plunging to new depths, and conquering the beast, or at least learning to swim with it rather than against it. Conflicts and resolutions surfaced in her environments: lush abundance that exists before loss and emptiness that follows, makeshift memorials buried in the backyard, forged rifts in relationships and frantic attempts to reconnect, interpersonal connections spawned through collective loss, the epic victory of surviving and emerging reborn.

Skehan says she has found the creative process to be profoundly healing, much like a cool, cleansing, shocking dip in the water.

Pamela Skehan is a New Orleans-based artist and educator. A strong advocate of art as a form of education, social change, and personal growth, much of her work focuses on these themes. She earned a BFA with concentrations in painting, drawing, and ceramics from Ohio Wesleyan University and an MAT from University of New Orleans. She taught English and art for two years in Japan. She moved to New Orleans in 2011 to continue her work as an artist and educator and currently teaches at Metairie Park Country Day School. She recently established a home studio in Metairie, Louisiana where she continues to practice painting, drawing, and sculpting.

For more information regarding this event, contact Chris Smith, Manager of Adult Programming for the library, at 504-889-8143 or wcsmith@jefferson.lib.la.us.

The Jefferson Parish Library system consists of 16 locations that stretch from the Lakeshore Branch on the edge of Lake Pontchartrain to the Grand Isle Branch just steps away from the Gulf of Mexico. The library system consists of two large regional libraries and seven branches on each side of the Mississippi River. The East Bank Regional Library (4747 West Napoleon Avenue, Metairie) serves as library headquarters. The Jefferson Parish Library is the second largest system in the state of Louisiana. More than 200 employees work for the Jefferson Parish Library including librarians, administration and support staff. For more information, contact the library at (504) 838-1100 or www.jefferson.lib.la.us.

For more information about Jefferson Parish, visit www.JeffParish.net. Residents can also receive regular updates by following the Parish on social media (@JeffParishGov) or by texting JPALERT or JPNOTICIAS to 888-777.

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Jefferson Parish Public Information Office 1221 Elmwood Park Boulevard, Suite 1002 Jefferson, LA 70123

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Gretchen Hirt Gendron, PIO