MARIETTA - The Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art will open a new exhibit Saturday that celebrates female artists from around Georgia.

The Atlanta branch of the National League of American Pen Women - the nation's oldest professional organization for women artists, composers and writers - is sponsoring the Virginia Avery Memorial Art Show titled, "Reflections," which runs through March 13.

The juried exhibition includes works from 50 professional women artists in various media, from paintings, sculptures and photography to drawings, jewelry and printmaking. Criteria for submission included original work completed within the past three years. A total of $5,000 will be awarded in prizes.

An opening reception featuring an awards presentation, light refreshments and a cash bar will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the museum, located at 30 Atlanta St. near Marietta Square. Admission is $8 per person.

"As this is a juried exhibition, only the finest works submitted will be on display, and we anticipate that people will love to view theses works by some of the most talented female artists," said museum director Sally Macaulay.

"The National League of American Pen Women has exhibited at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art in the past and have been well received each time. The women in this group are women of distinction in the arts and it is our pleasure to reach out to the artistic community in Georgia by offering the museum as the venue for this exhibition."

The National League of American Pen Women was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1897 by a group of professional women - who had been denied professional club memberships because of their gender - to promote and conduct literary, education and charitable activities in the fields of art, letters and music, according to the organization. It now has about 150 branches throughout the country. Virginia Avery of Atlanta served as past president of the national organization prior to her death in February 2006.

"Reflections" was chosen as the title of the exhibit because the word encompasses a lot of different things, similar to the works in the exhibit that includes 70 paintings, said Jane Carroll of Avondale Estates, chair of the National League of American Pen Women's Atlanta branch.

"Most of the artists are master level artists," Carroll said. Carroll is a photographer who has a portrait photograph of 2-year-old granddaughter, Madelyn Lane of Omaha, Neb., on display in the exhibit.

Mary Jane Warren Stone of Marietta is another artist whose work is featured in the exhibit. Her oil painting is titled, "Black Water," which was inspired by a hike near the Santa Fe River in northern Florida. She encourages everyone to support their fellow Georgians.

"Why does anyone want to look at any art? It makes you a better person," said Stone, 57. "It helps you to experience somebody else's reality."

"Reflections" runs from Jan. 9 through March 13 at the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art. Admission is $8 for adults, and $5 for students and seniors age 65 and older. Museum members and children under 6 are free. Call (770) 528-1444 for more information.