Opening Reception: “Story of the Blissfield General Store and the Pure Bliss Advertising Campaign” work by Ron Copeland

In the Story of the Blissfield General Store and the Pure Bliss Advertising Campaign, Ron Copeland explores his great-grandfather W.W. Moore’s history of owning the local general store in a small farming town named Blissfield. The town sprung up in the 1890s when the Pennsylvania Railroad extended a commuter and freight line through the sleepy Ohio Valley. As America shifted away from the rails and into the driver’s seat of the automobile, Blissfield was cut off from its lifeline.

Copeland imagines being hired by W.W. in the mid-1950s to create an advertising campaign to promote his spin-off product line, Pure Bliss. Together, they would develop color concepts, branding inspiration, and multiple logos for packaging designs and signage to promote products for those happy to be behind the wheel. The exhibition is a multimedia experience featuring a general store installation, hand-painted signs, sculpture, photography, antiqued elements, and created artifacts of the team’s ideations to promote the enjoyment of travel by Driving with Bliss