The collage exhibition “Celebration of Your Life,” set for June 27 to August 8, at Newtown Municipal, will begin with an opening reception Friday, June 27, at 5 pm.

Curated by HealingNewtown Director Valerie Culbertson, and assisted by Megan Foley, the exhibition will feature five artists and their collage work. The collection will feature pieces by Meegan Foley, Stefanie Palermo Lagana, Rebecca Mindenhall, Sheila Margaret Mullen and Virginia Zimmerman.

Meegan Foley teaches “The Art of Collage” at Fairfield Library. and saw her interest in writing extend to her art as she studied creative writing at Fairfield University. Her Esty shop is www.soulfullpieces.etsy.com.

Stefanie Palermo Lagana, a Sandy Hook resident, will be presenting a quilting collage, the result of her many years  as a professional quilter. She creates original designs of fairy tales, beach scenes, as well as T-shirt design quilts. Her inspiration comes from all around her and uses fabric to make it a reality.

A Senior Art director at top advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather Direct, and Sachi & Sachi Direct, Ms Lagana graduated from Georgian Court University with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. She studied fiber arts at SACI Studio Art Centers International, Florence, Italy in the summer of 1987.

The Art Director of Amoeba Music, Rebecca Mindenhall lives in Newtown and has her own design company, EquiposeDesign.com. A volunteer at HealingNewtown, Ms Mindenhall designed the exhibition’s announcement card.

Sheila Margaret Mullen’s compositions are part of a themed world with each assemblage collage using mainly early to mid 1900s ephemera such as drug prescriptions, tin boxes, labels, advertisements and tickets; and vintage materials such as watch parts, keys, View-Master slides, microfiche and 16 mm filmstrips. The materials are originals with all of their beautiful flaws and textures intact.

Ms Mullen currently has work on display in Art Essex Gallery and The Gallery at Firehouse Square in New London.

Virginia Zimmerman, a resident of Newtown, is on the art faculty at Ludlow High School in Fairfield. Ms Zimmerman, part of The Center for Contemporary Printing in Norwalk, recently presented the first of four monthly printing workshops at  HealingNewtown.

An artists’ talk is slated for the closing day of “Celebration of Your Life,” Friday, August 8.

Newtown Municipal Center is at 3 Primrose Street, within the Fairfield Hills campus. The exhibition can be viewed during general building hours: 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday.