Melody Vincent has held a variety of colorful occupations in her life. After moving to Washington state after high school, the Lebanon native worked on a mushroom farm, in a potpourri factory, and in retail. When she moved back to the Valley, Vincent worked at the Holiday Inn and also as an assistant instructor at Lebanon County Career & Technology Center (LCCTC). She eventually found herself working for a local frame shop in Lebanon. In January of 2000, she began working for Robert Heilman.
“I sort of fell into it,” explained Vincent, who has been doing custom framing since 1995-96. “For the most part I’m self-taught. There’s a nice network in the framing industry. No secrets.”
When Vincent’s grandmother passed away, her family wanted a framed print of a number of different photos to honor her memory. Vincent offered to make the mat with the various openings for the photos, utilizing the mat cutter at LCCTC. However, she then began to wonder what else she could do with the tool.
In April of 2008, Vincent purchased the Lebanon Picture Frame & Fine Art Gallery from Robert Heilman, who founded the business in the late 80s, early 90s. Her custom framing serves as her primary business, while the fine art gallery, which takes up a large portion of the studio space, serves as a secondary venture.
The fine art gallery, which was Lebanon’s first art gallery, focuses primarily on local artists, including individuals from Harrisburg, Lititz, and Lancaster. Showcasing primarily studio work (oils, collages, sculpture, pottery, woodwork, glass blowing, etc.), the gallery holds 11 shows a year, one per month except for January. The art gallery’s exhibits last a month long and focus on two to three artists. The artists can speak about their work at Lebanon’s First Friday Art Walks, allowing the public to come in for an informative meet-and-greet reception.
“We have a core group of artists that we tend to rotate,” Vincent stated. “We try to have the staples and then someone new to make things more diverse.”
Vincent also dabbles in creating art outside of her custom framing business, saying that she’s “always needed to do something with my hands.” Vincent has been working with clay for the past five years. Her most popular pieces are small, wood-fired clay sheep which she sells for $25 each. However, Vincent admitted that she likes to experiment with a variety of art mediums.
“I’m not aspiring to be an artist,” she confessed with a smirk.
Artists who sell work at the Lebanon Picture Frame & Fine Art Gallery receive 60% of the selling price that they originally set. The other 40% goes back to the gallery. Since moving from the third floor of the Lebanon Farmers Market a year ago to its current location at 45 S. 8th Street, Vincent said that she has seen an increase in traffic, especially on market days.
Besides taking part in the monthly First Friday Art Walks, the gallery also holds a small works group show in September. According to Vincent, this is the gallery’s biggest show. The show is not juried, and welcomes all types of media from artists of all ages, just as long as the work measures 12 inches or smaller. For the first time this year, the Lebanon Picture Frame & Fine Art Gallery will also hold a juried show in April titled “Paint the Town.” This show welcomes works of all media depicting scenes within the city limits of Lebanon to celebrate Lebanon’s charm.
When talking about the tree in front of the gallery that Vincent started covering with colorful zip ties, she stated, “We need positive, fun things in the city. I just wanted to make people smile. I’d also like to do more street art…legally.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the Lebanon Picture Frame & Fine Art Gallery and how Vincent is filling the streets of Lebanon with color can contact her by email at lebanonpictureframe@gmail.com or by phone at 717-279-7725. More information is also available on her website at lebanonpictureframe.com. The gallery is open Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
