Thursday, November 15, 2012

Art & Soul - Saturday

This year marks the launch of a brand new juried art fair in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The fair, Art & Soul: A YS Art Fair, is replacing the longstanding Nature Arts and Crafts Show that was at Glen Helen for 30 years.  It will be an intimate show with 29 artists from the region displaying and selling their hand made fine art and fine craft.  The show will have a mixture of artists new to the area along with some past participants in Nature Arts and Crafts and the Yellow Springs Artist Studio Tour.  The show’s promoter, Lisa Goldberg, also produces the Yellow Springs Artist Studio Tour and Sale.

“This seems like a natural follow-on to the Studio Tour”, says Goldberg who is honored to have assembled such quality arts and fine crafts professionals in one place. “Thanks to a start-up grant form the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, the show is expected to start out with a bang” says Goldberg.

The name Art & Soul was chosen because “artists put their souls into the making of their work.” Says Goldberg. She and her sidekick Pam Geisel (former producer of Nature Arts and Crafts) are excited about the lineup of artists for this, the inaugural show.  They worked with a jury of three arts professionals to make the initial selection of artists and then additional artists were invited to participate to provide a well-balanced show. The show includes works of ceramic artists, glass blowers, jewelers, bead makers, photographers, and mixed media art of all price ranges.

This seems like a natural follow-on to the Studio Tour, says Goldberg who is honored to have assembled such quality arts and fine crafts professionals in one place.

Lisa Vetter and Paul Siefert create clocks, jewelry, lamps, candleholders and other art made from found objects. They say that “By creatively “upcycling” these objects with other media we not only offer a new story to an old item, we also challenge the viewer to observe these everyday items in a completely different way.” A wide variety of found objects are assembled with textiles and mixed metals.

Julie Kay Karlson, a well know painter and pastel artist, has recently begun making decorative paper mache bowls using recycled paper of every variety and color, even some of her old paintings. Julie creates a paper pulp, forms the bowls and then, after they have dried, draws and paints on them. Each bowl tells a unique story.

Jim Delange, a Cedarville Glassblower is well know in the area for his artful use of color, shape and design.

Two-dimensional artists Cecelia Nance, Sara Gray, Edith Wadkins, Talitha Greene, Debbie Loffing and Claudia Retter will be showing a variety of photographs, watercolors and encaustics. Nance’s designs are often painted on distressed planks of wood, metal surfaces and colorful canvases. In her work she intertwines vintage papers with her mixed media approach to painting.

Deborah Yorde is a weaver working with a variety of high quality fibers. Barbara Jones hand spins, weaves, knits and dyes fiber. The handmade yarns are then woven into fabric which Jones designs and tailors into garments and accessories. Award winning Pam Geisel and Kim Gillie Krier specialize in making modern art quilts. Both have a large repertoire of items ranging from bags, journal covers and wine glass coasters. Other fiber artists, including Hajar Davis and Michelle Ishida, will exhibit beautiful bags, clothing, and dolls and decorated boxed.

Rose Lawson, Alice Young Basora, Theresa Mayer, Lynda Fisher, and Jill Huelskamp all create jewelry with hand made and purchased beads. Jewelers Jay Teilhet and Ben Jordan create their work with metals. Karen Gaski is a silversmith making pieces accented by etching the surface and enameling the pieces.

Ceramic artists Bruce Grimes, Dianne Collinson, Lisa Wolters, Jancy Jaslow, Kristy Jo Beber and Geno Lucketic all have unique styles and work that stands alone or complements the other potters’ work. Several of the ceramic artists are hand builders, while others create their pots on a pottery wheel. Most of Kristy Jo Beber’s work starts out on the potter’s wheel and often gets altered, carved or assembled from multiple parts. All of the potters spend an equal amount of time decorating their pieces as they do making them.

Art & Soul marks a kick off to “Holiday in the Springs” in Yellow Springs. Look for decorated storefronts, wonderful and unique shops and restaurants and an opportunity to take a hike in the Glen while you are in Yellow Springs.

The show, on November 17th, opens its doors at 10am and runs until 5pm at Mills Lawn Elementary School at 200 S Walnut Street, located adjacent to the downtown shopping district. There is an entry fee of $3, a portion of which will be donated to the Yellow Springs School District and the Yellow Springs Police Coat Fund. The schools will be selling refreshments and some jewelry and snowman pins made by special education and art students.  The halls will be filled with artwork created by students in the arts programs. The show will provide an excellent opportunity to do some holiday shopping for gifts large and small.

For more information on the Art & Soul:
For more information on other happenings in Yellow Springs:

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