‘Embracing Our Differences’ Exhibit Opens

BY ELLEN BARCEL, northshoreoflongisland.com

Eileen Palmer

Eileen Palmer of St. James, a retiree from the Long Island Rail Road legal department, who is working toward a master’s degree in museum studies at Harvard (yes, she commutes twice a week), was fascinated by the idea that “a piece of art could produce social change.”

When she started thinking about what she herself could submit she thought of the Marcello Lucero tragedy. “Why don’t I just look in my own back yard and use that as the inspiration for my art.” Her piece, selected for the exhibit is a mosaic entitled “Garden for Marcello,” and is a memorial to him. She added, “It’s nice to be recognized as an artist but if this piece speaks to even one person, then something positive has been done.”

She chose a mosaic as the medium since all the separate pieces “symbolized that something was broken” in society. She noted, “Shards of glass can cut and wound or magnify a vision. The mosaic is dedicated to the memory of Marcello Lucero and to all of us, in hope that we may learn the beauty of being brought together.”

This is not the first time that Palmer’s work has been in the exhibit. Last year, she was part of a collaborative effort from a group in Bayport, Women Sharing Art.

As seen on northshoreoflongisland.com / October 13, 2011