The 5th Annual Artist Exhibition & Sale will be held Friday, Nov. 4, 2011, with a 5:30–9 p.m. Opening Night Reception. The show will continue on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

This regional, invitational art show features a rich and varied collection of original works by accomplished artists in diverse media, including photography, oil painting, jewelry, fashion, pottery, woodworking, quilting, ceramics, watercolor, sculpture, home décor and accessories.

Attend the Friday Opening Night Reception and meet the artists. This year’s show also will include a special exhibit area of artwork produced during the Civil War era

 

***New Location Due to September Flooding***
Muncy Creek Community Volunteer Fire Hall, 2355 State Rte. 442, Clarkstown/Muncy
$5 Donation … all indoor, free parking

 

NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED LOCAL ARTISTS SHOWING
A BROAD SPECTRUM OF ARTISTIC WORKS FOR SALE

• Michael Balzer – Jewelry/Music Boxes
• Barbara Barnes – Pit-fired Pottery, Mother-of-Pearl Porcelain
• Paul Barrett – Photography
• Michael Coppes – Photography
• Tammy Daneker – Textured Handbags & Clutches
• John Dewald – Horner & Scrimshander
• Linda Doucette – Fiber Art
• Selinda Kennedy – Redware
• Robert Olmstead – Watercolors
• Deb Parsons – Glass Jewelry
• Kris Robbins – Sculptural Metal Art
• Mark Robbins – Sculpturesque Wood Turnings
• David Seybold – Watercolors, Acrylics
• Roger Shipley – Oil, Watercolors
• Theresa Crowley Spitler – Pastels
• Bruce Storm – Acrylics & Reproductions of Original Artwork
• Nella Godbey Storm – Acrylic Paintings & Ceramic Whimsies
• Kathy Turner Sterngold – Pottery/Stoneware
• Victoria Thompson-Hess – Multi-Media
• Carol Wagner – Watercolors
• Judith Cole Youngman – Quilted Wall Hangings

 

 

 

Previously Featured Artists

Michael Balzer
Woodworker Michael Balzer specializes in crafting and sculpting a variety of art objects made from local Pennsylvania woods such as ash, cedar, cherry, maple, oak (red and white), poplar and walnut. Balzer, who has worked with wood all his life, creates jewelry and music boxes, as well as furniture, games and puzzles, wine racks, lighthouses, luminaries, toys and specialty gifts. Working with his father, a carpenter, Balzer built book cases, shelving, coffee tables, and other furniture. During the years, he has made a variety of items for gifts for family and friends. After an accident in 2006, Balzer retired from his construction company (Action Pools/Badman Builders Inc.), and decided to work on his woodcraft full time. He uses very little, if any, stains, preferring the natural colors of wood. He will spend a great deal of time studying a piece of wood’s grain, color and character, and let it tell him how it can be best presented, or preserved, in a piece of work.

Barbara Barnes
Barbara Barnes’ art vessels reflect a keen appreciation for nature in shapes and colors. She uses interactive glazes, often firing multiple times until she gets the results that mimic the hues of earth, flora, fire and water combined. She is an avid gardener and often wanders her gardens and woods for inspiration. Barnes operates Emerald Falls Pottery, nestled in the charming historic Farm Complex in Montoursville. There, she creates her stoneware vessels and teaches wheel-thrown pottery. She specializes in terra cotta garden vases, flower vases, unique art deco-style pottery and primitive pit-fired vessels. She also creates unique table-top water fountains. All are hand thrown and most are made of high-fire stoneware, which she fires in an electric kiln multiple times until she gets the effects that are unique to her wares. She has shown her work at many Pennsylvania and New York state gift shops and galleries. She has been juried for many major arts festivals in Pennsylvania and New York.

Roza Breneisen
Since moving to Muncy, following graduation from the National Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, Roza Breneisen finds herself particularly drawn to the atmosphere and wildlife of the area. The interaction between human structures and natural forms has always been an inspiration in her work and she finds its presence in the Muncy area remarkable. She uses watercolors, pencils and charcoal in her work, “… to convey the beauty of the mark on paper, placed with conscious human emotion.”

Marie Burkhart
Marie Burkhart began as a commercial artist, a career she held for a number of years but found to be too restrictive. She is interested in antiques, particularly American and German. She likes the unusual and distinctive and got tired of seeing cutesy-country, which started her making her own fabric dolls for herself and gifts. She then ventured into doing shows, and has created a Christmas ornament for the White House. She was chosen as one of the artists of the year for Early American Life / Home magazine, which also has featured her dolls on several occasions. She loves creating art, applying her own “spin” that makes her work uniquely different.

Michael Coppes
Michael Coppes, a Muncy native, has been interested in photography since he was 12. It’s a medium that always made sense to him as a way to record and document the world nearby. Growing up in the area had a subliminal influence on him – being surrounded by great people, local characters, marvelous architecture and natural beauty sunk in beyond comprehension. A 13-year absence from Muncy made him more appreciative of what the area has to offer. Although the tools of his art have advanced dramatically, Coppes’ reason for photographing remains the same, to have and leave a record of our ever-changing surroundings.

Linda Doucette
Linda Doucette is a textile artist whose lifestyle of green living and existing in harmony with nature is the essence of her business, Shades of Nature. She uses flowers grown with organic methods at her home, Shady Grove Farm, to create earth-friendly, non-toxic dye methods that are non-polluting. She purchases cochineal and indigo, which she cannot produce herself, and the biodegradable leftover plant material is composted and returned to the garden. At her studio, mushrooms become sheets of paper, fiber is turned into cloth, and the beauty of the landscape is preserved in distinctive paintings. Her alpaca, angora rabbits, sheep and llama provide the luxurious fiber for dyeing and spinning. She also combines the natural fleece colors with shades from her dye pots to make unique variegated and semi-solid yarns. The entire process, from raising fiber animals and dye plants to dyeing and weaving, is tactile and satisfying and keeps her connected to earth, and to the people who first discovered the secret colors hidden in plants.

Dorothy Fisher
Dorothy Fisher’s studio is nestled high in the Endless Mountains range of Eagles Mere. An acclaimed artist, she has proven her natural talent in the art of goldsmithing from original concept, to sculpting in wax, to the finished product. Old-world training and experience, combined with state-of-the-art equipment and tools, make Fisher a designer and goldsmith of distinction. Her passion for beauty, her dedication to excellence and her unique vision ensure a collection filled with elegant, wearable art. Fisher has been intrigued with designing in gold and precious gemstones since her college years pursuing a graphic arts degree. In 1994, she advanced her education at the Gemological Institute of America in New York City studying precious metals and gemstones, earning degrees in both.

Ken Hunter
The inspiration for Ken Hunter’s oil paintings comes from his wonderful surroundings and from his experiences as a hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman. It is his hope that others will find inspiration, excitement, and a better understanding of wildlife and its habitat. Without doubt, most of his paintings have evolved from actual locations within minutes of his home in the Muncy Hills. His love of the outdoors sparked an early interest in painting. Most of his originals are done in oil but he has worked in acrylics, watercolor and pastels as well. Prior to beginning his paintings, he does a great deal of preliminary work in pencil. Several years ago he also began to work in the bronze medium. After teaching school for 10 years, in 1981 he dedicated himself to a full time career in the field of outdoor communications. He also is a writer, photographer and lecturer.

Selinda Kennedy
Selinda Kennedy has developed her own signature redware ceramic platters, bowls and decorative tiles. She reproduces motifs from the 17th, 18th and 19th century on a terra cotta clay body, using colored slips and engobes. These traditional designs are derived primarily from German folk art imagery: song and book plate vignettes, powder horn engravings, and fraktur patterns. Each piece is individually crafted and unique in its representation of traditional old and new world designs. The artist notes: “Through personal experimentation and research of period designs, I hope to continue to create a unique collection of symbolic images, combined with new color combinations and detail,” she said. “I use historic shapes and antique forms to mold my canvas, using a terra cotta clay body. Each color is formulated and applied with brushes and sponges, and then detail is applied with a fine brush. These pieces are fired in the bisque and then they are glazed and fired again.” Early American Life Magazine has recognized her work, and she has been accepted into the Directory of Traditional American Crafts.

David Moyer
David Moyer studied at the University of Delaware where he received his bachelor’s degree in fine art, and the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore graduating with the master’s in fine art. He teaches graphic design at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. He and his wife, Gretchen, established Red Howler Press in 1988 as both artists were interested in combining text and visual imagery. To date, Red Howler Press has published two broadsides and 15 books. Moyer is an accomplished artist, wood engraver and calligrapher. A feature of his books is the way he incorporates the text with the image: sometimes they are cut on the same block. His work has been included in many national and international exhibitions including: the Society of Wood Engravers, Oxford, England; International Artist Book Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania; Norwegian International Print Biennale, Fredrikstad, Norway; Minnesota Center for the Book Arts, New York Center for the Book Arts, and the Philadelphia Print Club. Moyer is interested in the quality of line, and his ideas are conceived as black lines on a white ground; therefore, his interest concerns the graphic quality of wood engraving rather than the tonal quality. All of the books from Red Howler Press carry a message, sometimes serious and other times playful, but it is mostly the visual imagery which is the primary mover of the works from the press.

Gretchen Moyer
Gretchen Moyer has a bachelor’s degree in drawing from James Madison University and a master’s degree in printmaking from the University of Delaware. She is a full-time artist who teaches part-time at Pennsylvania College of Technology. Moyer has a varied range of artistic interests reflecting her broad artistic training. She draws, works in pastels, watercolors, printing and creates mixed media pieces that seem to incorporate many of her wonderful range of techniques. Color, reminiscent of medieval illuminated manuscripts, imagery that touches an ancient, primitive, sub-conscious part of your heart and soul are some of the offerings of her work. She has a history of exhibitions and awards in that wide variety of mediums. She has earned awards in pastels, watercolors, drawing and printing. Moyer is also involved in a private printing company, Red Howler, with her husband, David Moyer.

Robert Olmstead
Since his retirement in 2003, watercolorist Robert Olmstead has had more time to focus on painting and, as a resident of Muncy, said he appreciates the many challenges and subjects found in this historic community. Through private showings and as a participant in the Muncy Historical Society’s annual Artist Exhibition, he has enjoyed presenting his work to the local area and completing commissioned work. The Cato, N.Y. native’s early focus was oil painting. Later he began working with textiles, pottery, hand-made paper and stained glass. It was during his college years that his interest in watercolor flourished. Holding bachelor and master degrees from James Madison University, Olmstead pursued his art teaching career in Harrisonburg, Va. After 20 years of secondary school teaching, he began an elementary school art program for the Harrisonburg schools where he taught for another 11 years. Olmstead continued his personal art expressions outside of school, still working in a variety of mediums while maintaining a major focus on watercolor painting. As an admirer of Rembrandt and other art masters, his work portrays various subjects but he concentrates on light, shadows, detail and textures. A member of the Shenandoah Valley Watercolor Society, Olmstead’s work can be found in many private homes and art collections in Virginia, Pennsylvania and surrounding states, as well as several European communities. He is particularly proud of his work hung in the Herzen Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Kris Robbins
Kris Robbins, auto body technician and metal artist, melds the two skills in his artwork. He is inspired by nature and creates sculptures into the diverse forms of flowers and insects, which are a study of artistry and welding workmanship. His sculptural shepherd’s hooks are not only unique in their design but also in their finish; he uses auto body paint for a colorful and durable finish. His wine bottle holders resemble the human body and are also popular items. Kris, his wife, Monica, and daughter, Lyla, live in the Muncy area.

Mark Robbins
At an early age, Mark Robbins was introduced to woodworking in his father’s workshop, where he watched him make furniture and grandfather clocks. At the age of 12 he would sneak into the workshop and use his father’s wood lathe to make baseball bats for neighborhood ball games. In eighth grade class he turned his first bowl, and he has been hooked on spinning wood ever since. After a career change in 1996 Mark was able to return to woodturning and started displaying his art at various craft shows and art galleries. Robbin’s woodshop is nestled amongst the pine trees on his organic farm outside of Muncy. He looks at firewood differently now, and much of his work is from wood that had insect damage, worm holes or just beautifully grained. He believes that nature has already made the perfect bowl, he just needs to “find it” with his lathe. His work has smooth, flowing lines contrasted with texture and carved elements. Harvesting the wood, roughing it out, drying and completing the piece may take a year or more.
Mark has served on the Board of Directors of the Williamsport Chapter of the PA Guild of Craftsmen, and is a juried member of the PA State Guild of Craftsmen. He is also a member of the American Association of Woodturners, which has exposed him to many highly skilled woodturners around the world.

Kay Stamm
Kay Stamm and her husband, Guy, own Stamm House Reproductions, and for the past 24 years have recreated German belshickles from antique originals and German goose feather trees, using hand-dyed goose feathers, made like the originals from the early 1900s. Many of their vintage-style holiday decorations are recreated using the authentic materials from the late 1800s. Their work has been featured in Early American Life magazine, Martha Stewart Living and Country Home magazine. Her background is in visual merchandise, studying art in school. Guy’s background is in woodcarving. The two blended their talents to work in this field. They also have been featured on Channel 16’s Home and Backyard several times.

Bruce Storm
Bruce Storm works in acrylic, watercolor and ceramics. His prints and painting have been exhibited across America and is found in numerous international collections, as well. Humor, romance, pathos, and observation combine with refreshing vision of the unseen and much needed world. Employing eight or 10 layers, the colors float across Storm’s work. This year Storm will include an original piece that represents months of work – a triptych of a playful dragon ringing bellflowers in an enchanted landscape. This piece is an experiment. Also in color and line, a new limited edition series of prints will be available.

Nella Godbey Storm
Nella Godbey Storm’s work includes ceramic bas relief masks and sculptures, mosaics, tiles, oil and acrylic paintings, jewelry, pottery, and batiks. Storm’s tiles and mosaics present opportunities. Tiles are like poems or snapshots – compact, immediate, a brief interpretation and her ceramics are one of the media with amazingly long durability. Opus sectile mosaics are the most ancient form of mosaics, predating the Roman style by centuries. This time-consuming medium produces a rich combination of patterns, cutlines and uniquely shaped tiles using numerous textures and layers. Each mosaic becomes like a series of interconnected ideas and interdependent images. Godbey Storm’s plein-air art is always done on location and harkens back to her love of color. Her art has been exhibited in numerous galleries, museums and juried exhibitions and she won awards at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Her art is in permanent collections in the Frost Museum on the Penn State University State College campus and at Lock Haven University, as well as in many private collections in the United States and abroad.

Katherine Turner Sterngold
Katherine Sterngold has been making pottery and ceramic art since 1974. She has a master’s degree from Alfred University and was an original member of The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, one of the nation’s leading clay art cooperatives. She uses strong natural shapes colored by warm earthy glazes. Her style is to work with the clay so each piece has its own character and appeal. Kathy prefers subtle designs whose beauty and value will grow over time. Sterngold makes functional pottery that is pleasing to touch, contemplate and use, such as bowls, plates, trays and gift items. She also makes larger contemporary pieces for display, including ceramic sculptures, face vases and abstract clay forms. Each work is a one-of-a-kind-original handmade and signed by the artist.

Trish Strausbaugh
Trish Strausbaugh’s Glass has been a work in progress since 2000. Since her first class in 1997, Strausbaugh has developed her own sense of style, resulting in the fine pendants, beads and sculptures you see today. Using a propane and oxygen torch, she transforms the colored rods of glass into a “taffy-like” state in order to bend, twist, pull or flatten them into the desired shape and size. Each piece is then annealed at 1050 degrees for durability and to bond the glass structurally. Her choice to use predominately borosilicate glass makes each piece a unique surprise in color and keeps her work exciting and fresh. Her inspirations are all around her in nature and life experiences, but mostly driven by her three sons.

Carol Wagner
Carol Wagner uses traditional English glazing technique, the layering of pure, transparent colors, to create her realistic watercolors. The subject matter of her paintings has changed from large, complex still lifes to landscapes. Trips to Italy, France and the English Lake District have afforded her the opportunity to do plein air painting. Her art has been accepted consistently in prestigious national exhibitions including the following: the National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic; Knickerbocker Artists; C.L. Wolfe Art Club, National Arts Club; National Arts Club Open Watercolor Exhibition; American Artists’ Professional League Grand National Exhibition; Boston University, Cincinnati Museum of Natural History; “Wings and Wildlife,” The National Aviary Show—First Prize in Painting; Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors; and “Symposium of Emerging Women Artists, 1986” at the U.S. Embassy, Moscow, U.S.S.R. Her education includes bachelor’s degrees from Bucknell University, with distinction in English literature, and from Lycoming College with honors in art.

Teresa Wentzler
In 1998, Teresa Wentzler launched her company, TW Designworks, to promote and sell her pen-and-ink drawings and her cross stitch and needlework pattern designs. Her favorite medium is pen and ink (in particular black-and-white) because she is able to depict detail. The artist notes: “With pen and ink, building from light to shadow is key. Since I add color afterward, I visualize in black and white and many shades of gray while doing the actual drawing. Accomplishing that with lines only is a unique challenge.” Her inspiration comes from many sources: art and art history, books (fantasy and otherwise), Celtic, new age and classical music, and places she’s visited.

Judith Cole Youngman
Since 2000, Judith Youngman’s study has focused on the wonders of the 19th century American quilts and the challenges of replicating them. Her primary interest lies in the process of design and the actual making of quilts in various sensibilities. Youngman notes: “The historical context of my work is key to its power to communicate to the viewer. I am constantly inspired by authentic 19th century quilts and the unknown but revered women who created them. Paying attention to this ‘sisterhood over the years’ offers great promise for tomorrow, I believe, as well as a creative catalyst for today.”