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Lana Heckendorn Carlisle, PA "I'm inspired by the mathematics in nature, the Oribe period in Japanese art, and Antiquities, especially from the Minoan culture. My soothing color palette includes a mix of earthy greens, browns and yellows partnered with twilight blue-violets and pale blue-greens borrowed from sky and water, all on a canvas of glowing white porcelain." |
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Krysta Robinson Kane, PA "I hand make and glaze functional and aesthetic pottery. Almost everything I make is either thrown on my wheel or hand build with slabs. I love learning different techniques and am making new things all the time. I am starting to introduce slip casting into my studio. I use earthenware clay and lead free, non-toxic glazes. It's important to me to use environmentally friendly mediums." |
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Amanda Wolf Pittsburgh, PA "I create functional pottery made of porcelain. Each piece is wheel thrown or hand built and decorated with nature inspired designs. The patterns are created by hand painting, carving, stamping and sprigging onto the surface of the clay. All pieces are microwave and dishwasher safe." "Through this work, I attempt to evoke feelings of joy, happiness and calm. These pieces are intended to be used and enjoyed daily to bring nature inside and inspire those who use them." |
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Francine Zajac Washington, PA "My pottery has changed over the 40 years as my life experiences have enhanced my style choices. Opening the kiln still excites me and my pottery studio is my happy place. I make wheel-thrown pottery with carving and slip trailing decoration. I use a wood ash glaze on the surfaces of my work." |
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Pam Bartl
Chambersburg, PA "Yarn has color, texture and when woven into cloth, movement. My passion is to create comfortable and practical clothing for women, men and children that excites and delights. I am still being surprised, after forty or so years of creating cloth, with new color combinations and new shapes. Cotton yarns are wound on the back of one of my fifty inch wide looms in a length of forty five yards, five hundred threads across. Then after the loom is threaded, it takes ten throws of the shuttle carrying the fill yarn for each in h of fabric, a total of three hundred and sixty times for each yard. Each piece is woven individually. The yardage, when complete, is cut off, washed, dried, pressed and cut into the initially imagined piece." |
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Connie Blair
West Newton, PA "I spent 33 years teaching art to students, grades K-8, outside of Pittsburgh. I have a lifelong love of flowers. During my teaching years, I had a side business preserving wedding bouquets. After retiring in 2008 I enrolled in felting classes at the Society for Contemporary Crafts in Pittsburgh. My first wet felting class focused on making hats. During that class I fell in love with the process and I was able to incorporate floral design. I then learned the nuno process of felting fibers on fabric. As my love of felting grew, I began participating in art centers and festivals selling my hats, scarves and 3D flowers. I am a member of the Craftsmen's Guild of Pittsburgh. My work is sold in museum and shops throughout western PA." |
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Debbie Penley Sugar Grove, PA "I like to explore the idea of "play" in my work, experimenting with color and shape in a way that brings a sense of wonder to the viewer. I often waiver between detailed realism and imaginative pieces, bringing a balance to my collection of animals, creatures, and organic forms. I love the tactile quality of my medium, and welcome visitors to pick up and experience my work in a way that connects them to myself as they hold the object in their hands just as my hands cradled the piece during the making process." |
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Jill Rouke
Erie, PA "Weaving is a tactile process. This collection of scarves uses a variety of fibers, including tencel (lyocell), silk, bamboo, cotton blends, modal, and even recycled pop bottles! For some scarves, I hand paint the warps with dye and weave them in patterns that allow the color to shine through. I have begun using Japanese Bengala mud dyes to dye the warp threads of some scarves. Every scarf is finished by hand with double hemstitching and hand-manipulated fringe. Although this is an extra step for me, it gives each scarf a finished look that is elegant and clean. Every scarf is a wearable piece of art. I weave with very fine threads, even though this makes the process longer, because they result in amazing drape and softness." |
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Amy Hahn
Cambridge Springs, PA "Art speaks to us because it's about us. It's about our collective and individual journeys in this wondrous universe. I want my art to tell a story. When you perceive an image, you become one of its many storytellers. The viewer brings their own unique experiences to the artwork. I try to bring together reality, imagination, medium, and technique to produce something that will make the person feel like they are a part of the story. I create award-winning, one-of-a-kind, hand-cut stained glass mosaics. Using my background in painting, I use the same philosophy and approach to my mosaics. Each brushstroke is done with glass instead of paint" |
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Michelle Hoff South Dayton, NY "I have been fortunate enough to make my hobby my career. What inspires me can be anything. I can be making one piece of art and get an idea for somthing else. I move to that and work on the new idea before my idea is lost in my brain. I like the freedom to change constantly. Working with two types of techniques also allows me more freedom to create." |
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Kalpana Lehman
Carlisle, PA "I always had an interest in the arts throughout my high school years. In 1980, I was awarded a Governor's School of Arts Scholarship (for a summer semester) at Bucknell University. My palette for the arts expanded to designing and creating jewelry in the vast and exciting realm of lampworking. This medium allows me to create amazing pendants, earrings and much much more! I create one-of-kind pendants, bracelets, and earrings. Each piece of fine jewelry starts in its rawest state, from long glass rods from Murano, Italy. The glass rods are transformed into a lively molten canvas of spectacular colors and textures as I create, sculpt, and skillfully form each pendant and each set of earrings." |
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Gerina Faison Liverpool, NY "Each item I design I consider a work of wearable art for the buyer. I make one-of-a-kind designs, therefore, no two items are ever alike, giving the buyer the satisfaction of knowing their item is unique. I get my inspiration from a beautiful sunset, raindrops on a windowsill, or a wave kissing the sand on the beach. Desigining Jewelry has become my passion, and I truly love seeing someone enjoy wearing my items, as much as I love making them." |
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Peggy Houser
Kane, PA "As an artist my love of detail has been the most important aspect of my work throughout my life. Working with seed beads has given me the opportunity to combine that love of detail with my innate drive to see and create patterns. Seed beads, which are tiny glass wonders can be used alone or in combination with gemstone beads, other natural materials, man-made objects, or any combination of these. As my work has evolved, I find myself exploring new bead stitches and how to use those stitches in new ways. While playing with new ways to use the stitches, I try to push the stitch by using different sizes and shapes of beads and by changing the shape I can create with that stitch." |
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Christina Krautz
Greensburg, PA "My mother was an art major and would tell you she is not much of an artist. Art was ingrained in us growing up. Moving to Wisconsin at the beginning of my junior year, I was lucky enough to be introduced to metalsmithing classes at my new high school. Eighteen years later and living in New York, metalsmithing returned to my life. In 2018, after my father got sick, I quit my job, moved home, and have continued metalsmithing, improving my skills ever since. I tend to have a modern old pawn ascetic due to my love of vintage and turquoise and I hope this gives my jewelry a chance to continue to build its story for lifetimes to come." |
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Donna Little Sharon, PA "Nature is the inspiration for my work. It is my intent to capture the wonder, and mystery I see in the graceful twist of a seashell, the opening of a seed pod ready to explode, or the playful repetition of the tentacles on a sea creature in the pieces I create. Some of the textures in my pieces are created by imprinting the actual plant fiber into the metal which is inspiring in itself." |
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LeAnne Marquis
Conesus, NY "Throughout my life I have always had the need to create. As a child I was happiest sketching, painting and creating characters for stories I imagined. It was something I just had to do. I also loved to explore through-out the woods surrounding our home and at the beach, scouring for interesting rocks, shells and sea glass. This later led to my love of unique and earthy semi-precious gemstones. I studied ne art at University of Hartford, Hartford Art School where I graduated with a BFA with concentrations in drawing, painting and sculpture. I was introduced to my favorite medium when I took a class where we created large works on craft paper using soft pastel and fell in love it's soft, vibrant color and immediacy." |
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Deborah Moyer
Warren, PA "I am a jewelry metalsmith based in northwestern PA. I utilize traditional jewelry metalsmithing techniques to produce rich textures and a sense of movement in metal. Doing every step of the process by hand gives me a sense of connection with the places and the people that have practiced this art and handed down their techniques through time. Natural elements and the subtle variations of a hand wrought design are a common occurrence in my handcrafted jewelry. Silhouettes from nature are often inherent to my designs as well various semi-precious gemstones." |
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Kaylee Taylor Olean, NY "My work explores the relationship and connection with ourselves and nature. My inspiration forever and always will be the earth - the animals, the water, the flowers, plants, insects, mountains, sky. Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by the beauty of nature. What starts out as something that seems so obvious as the earth, has such a deeper meaning and connection to ourselves as human being - just one type of being and inhabitant on this beautiful planet." |
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Diane Wright
Pittsburgh, PA "I love & am amazed by the natural world. Nature is my solace in an ever changing world from the birds, flowers, and leaves to the semi-precious stones with their origins millions of years ago. My sterling silver jewelry work centers around theses stones. I start my design process with the stone as I study it to see what needs to be done with silver work to enhance but not take the focus away from the stone. I keep it simple to give voice to the stone. No two are alike and each has a unique story to tell. I use fabrication as my technique due to the amount of hands on work it affords me. My training as a jeweler has been with various jewelry masters in worship style settings. I create jewelry pieces to pass on the story of the stones." |
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Elie Abdelahad
Easton, PA "All my designs are original but I will sometimes get ideas from here and there and then put my own creation together. I also like experimenting with many different colors and leathers. Sometimes I will go above and beyond and put together multiple colors/leathers. I specialize in doing two tone bags and adding accents to decorate certain styles. I also specialize in custom work and I have done many custom bags for my customers over the years. Usually the process is done by a customer either giving me their bag to make the exact one for them or they will draw up bag and describe to me about it how they want it. I enjoy the challenge of customization and being able to bring to life what is in imagination of someone's mind." |
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Victor and Megan Huston-Field
Bedford, PA "All artwork is our own originals. We hand draw each design, sketch it on clay then hand carve it. We then combine our artwork with our own poetry. All poetry we individually hand press. Pressing each letter in by hand. New this year are our original full poems on clay. Our goal is to create artwork that is simple & elegant that others can connect to in the different stages of life. Our artwork has been derived from our own personal life experiences. We're a husband and wife team. The husband is the poet (studying Philosophy, History & Literature). The wife is the illustrator (studying studio arts). Each piece we hand made together from start to finish. Some artwork we finish with found wood and other artwork we finish in solid oak frames." |
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Dawn Johnson
Monroeville, PA "My creative process is about expressing my soul, my emotions, and my interaction with the world around me. My paintings are created intuitively, responding to the work as it develops. What emerges is highly personal, yet recognizable to others. My works are spontaneous, impassioned, vibrant paintings that reach out and hug your soul. Much of my inspiration comes from nature and my life experiences. Using an innate sense of color and design, I create paintings to impart color, life and joy to the surrounding space they occupy. When you engage with my art, it is my hope that you will be overcome with feelings of joy and well-being, be reminded that beauty and joy can be found everywhere no matter the circumstance." |
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Chandler Beatty Conneaut Lake, PA "I am a professional wildlife artist who has been painting for over 30 years. I enjoy all aspects of nature and try to capture the realistic glimpses of rare moments. My paintings are made using acrylic paint, many deferent painting styles, and techniques. I am proud to have won numerous awards and been featured artist in many shows." |
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Al Dornisch
Presented by Carol Dornisch Ridgway, PA "My interest and love of nature started over 80 years ago. Nurtured throughout childhood by an amateur naturalist father. This interest has sent me on excursions from the Sub-Arctic through Africa, Europe, and virtually all of North America to experience, study, photograph, and sketch the flora and fauna of the world. Study is the first step of my process. I must do whatever it takes to learn all there is to know about the mammal, bird, fish, insect, reptile, or other critters along with their habitat and the season into which I shall paint it. I then gather all of the references that will aid in the painting’s composition. I draw every line and detail prior to any painting. Applying acrylic paints is the final touch." |
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Denise Drummond
Bradford, PA "I celebrate nature each and every day. I'm completely obsessed with trees. My drawings and paintings are just an attempt to capture and hold the love I have for them and for our forests, our national parks and wilderness areas both near and far. This year I have started a new series of watercolor paintings of marine birds and ocean scenes on palm tree bark. I so enjoy searching for the bark pieces. After they are painted, they are matted and framed in shadow box frames. These are an addition to my popular paintings on white birch but with a different look and feel." |
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Laura Gardner Angelica, NY "I am a representational oil painter that paints from life and in the studio. Subject matter includes still life, landscape and street scenes. All of the paintings and framing are done by me. I also print and mat my own prints." |
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Jack Paluh
Waterford, PA "The medium I use is oils on canvas. The oil paints provide me with rich colors and a longer drying period to make changes on the canvas. I carry my canvases & oil paints out into all types of weather in search of an ideal scene. This capture of natural light and color enables me to carry these small studies back to the studio and bring larger paintings to life. With my artwork, my hope is to transport my viewers into an image which promotes the true essence of nature. My goal is to have the viewer's eyes flow comfortably through a piece and to draw them into the canvas. I want you to feel as if you have visited the place I am painting. Even though over forty years as an oil painter have passed, creating paintings continues to be my passion." |
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Ellen Paquette
Warren, PA "I combine my love for animals and fascination with Renaissance art by painting detailed portraits of creatures inspired by 15th and 16th century portraiture. My goal is to highlight the natural dignity and intelligence of wild creatures, primarily endangered and threatened species. The imagery in my work is fueled by some of my favorite topics -- wildlife, art history, folklore, the natural world, textiles, historic costume, trompe l'oeil techniques, and subtle visual humor. I aim to create portraits that convey not only the unique personalities of the subjects, but also plant visual seedlings that empower the viewer to build their own entertaining biographies for these creatures." |
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Alexis Rodefer
Rector, PA "Utilizing watercolor, my work celebrates the bounty of North America's eastern ecosystems, highlighting unique species found within, and telling visual stories showcasing their individual characteristics. Especially fascinated with birds with their complex relationships, and roles in local ecology. I endeavor to create lifelike compositions as biologically accurate as possible by researching and including aspects of: lifecycle, habitat, and the larger food web though use of companion species such as plants, insects and prey. This enables the subject to be properly exemplified into a 2D medium. My paintings work to capture stories as well as function as learning aids to help others identify the species with which we share our world." |
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Jane Axman
Johnstown, PA "I've backpacked thousands of miles to some of the most remote areas in the country in order to document the wildlife and natural beauty that still remains in our great country. During the past two years of extremely limited travel, I have continued to capture unique images right from home. These are often fleeting moments with common natural subjects that many people can relate to such as the brilliant male cardinal taking off from the snow just outside of my bedroom. I use high resolution full frame sensor digital SLR cameras with a wide range of lenses from 18 mm landscapes to 500 mm intimate wildlife portraits. I always shoot totally manually in order to maintain complete artistic control of my images." |
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Larry Downey
Waterford, PA "My process begins with an idea or vision for the piece, and this is by far the most important part. Secondly is a raw capture and this is primarily a technical aspect in which I get the camera\ lens combination to capture what I want and the way I want it. Then comes editing, which may take a long time, even if only subtly changing the raw image. I have an original idea for the piece and am not satisfied until I achieve it. Lastly, is the physical presentation, which is quite important. Some pieces are best on more traditional media, including metal, and others are greatly enhanced by the surface features of Stone." |
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Rocky Holland Kane, PA "My goal is to provide the general public a view of nature that they will probably never get to see. The woods and even in your own backyard is full of nature. From a simple birdfeeder to a walk in the woods, nature is all around us. When people come to my show booth, I want them to be in awe of the scenic beauty that is right out their front door." |
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Gene Pembroke Philadelphia, PA "I travel 6 months each year. I shoot film and digital in color and B&W. Themes vary widely, but I try to offer extraordinary glimpses of ordinary life. all my photos are printed on archival light sensitive photographic paper. There is no ink involved." |
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Curt Weinhold
Coudersport, PA "My photos are primarily made within the Pa Wilds area where I live. Waterfalls, wildflowers & the starry sky are my favored subjects. But also any deer, bear, turkey, etc which come into view are fair game for a telephoto lens. Curt has been a Pa Wilds Juried Artisan since 2008 & does what he can to promote the Wilds area. When Cherry Springs became an International Dark Sky Park he was asked to teach night sky photography...NIGHTSCAPES. It's thrilling to have the people from light-polluted metro area get excited over seeing the MilkyWay for the first time. Even more thrilling when they see the images appear on their camera monitor. Curt has photographed Alaska's big bears& backpacked rim to rim in Grand Canyon NP. Photos all the way." |
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Anthony Arkus
Galeton, PA "My original designs are inspired by nature and expressed in metal by hand forging using both ancient and modern tools and techniques, creating a harmony of design and function. After visual conception my original designs are sketched and or sculpted from clay to make a model. Then the hand forging and fabrication process begins, raw materials such as steel, copper, and brass, in bar stock, sheets, and plates are heated with a coal or propane forge. Then hammered by hand using anvil, swage blocks, punches, jigs and dies to shape and form my designs." |
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Gregg Kristophel
Harmony, PA "I've worked with wood for most of my life, became a self-employed carpenter in my early years, and also got involved in canoe and paddle building in the 1980's. I was asked to participate in our hometown heritage festival and that is where I began demonstrating the old-time craft of spoon carving. My "so-called hobby" blossomed and in 2010 I became a full-time SPOONER. My son has apprenticed with me and is keeping the art of spoon-carving alive. I enjoy creating functional wooden utensils like those that have been in use for thousands of years. I especially like cherry wood for it's beautiful color and grain patterns, but also enjoy working with other woods anticipating the finished product." |
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Jack Northrop
Kane, PA "I've been turning wood for many years. It all started with a bedroom set I built 30 years ago. I wanted to turn the bedposts. That experience got me hooked. Over the years I developed my skills and artistry in turning by making unique gifts for family and friends. My daughter suggested I consider selling my work. Since retiring and moving to Kane in 1999, I've enjoyed success in selling my creations. I am known for my bowls, platters and vessels from local wood like black cherry, walnut, maple, butternut, locust, sumac and others." |
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Robert Vrboncic
Marienville, PA "I create my artwork employing the same techniques as early artisans to create beautiful long-lasting custom furniture for prestigious customers who appreciate unique designs and quality products. I specialize in 3-D cutting boards, exotic wood jewelry boxes, and sculptors. I utilize the woods natural grain to create unique one-of-a kind products." |
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