Holiday Marketplace – this weekend!

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen will be holding their 26th Annual Holiday Marketplace this weekend (Nov. 5-6) at the Swain School in Allentown, PA. This show has gained a well deserved reputation among discerning shoppers.

This Juried Fine Art and Craft Show features handmade one of kind items by local artisans. You’ll find: jewelry, photography, art, furniture, hand-woven clothing, holiday ornaments and much more. All items are handmade and the artists are onsite to answer your questions and help you select the perfect holiday gift for a loved one.

The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 5 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 6. Admission is $3. A coupon for $1 off admissions is available at: lvcraftsmen.wordpress.com/craft-shows. A café will offer soups, salads and sandwiches, including vegetarian cuisine, plus beverages and desserts for purchase.

 

LV Chapter Member in Invitational Show

At the 2010 fall show of the Lehigh Art Alliance, four exhibitors were awarded participation in an Invitational Artists Show. Included in the show was LV Chapter member Wilhelm Schmidt. The show is held at the St John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 733 Ferry Street, Easton, PA, from September 11 thru October 30. Gallery hours are noon to 3 PM, Sundays only. On September 25, each of the four participants gave an artist’s talk, explaining his/her background and work. The talks were well received by several dozen attendees.

Wilhelm submitted both sculpted and turned pieces that had artistic merit to the show. The latter sold at the opening of the show, and he was allowed to replace them with others.

Calling All Crafters

There is still time to get in on one of the best craft shows in the Lehigh Valley! We have spots available for artisans at our Holiday Marketplace Fine Art and Craft Show on November 5-6, 2011. Download a PDF of the application and return the form along with payment to show chairperson Denise Wilz no later than October 20, 2011.

The show costs $125, and applicants are required to provide images of their work and their booth with the application for jurying.

Setup for the show is Friday, November 4 and the Holiday Marketplace runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 5 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 6. Food is available for purchase on-site and the proceeds benefit Relay for Life.

The first weekend in November marks the kickoff to the holiday buying season for consumers. LVPGC provides local artists and craftsmen the opportunity to sell their high-quality handcrafted items to a discerning public.

“Mass produced items are not allowed at our show and we require artists to attend the show to answer questions about the items they create,” says Show Chairperson Denise Wilz of Wilz Pottery in Macungie, PA. Booths are 8 feet by 10 feet and although walls are encouraged, they are not required.

“We choose artists who have high-quality items in both the traditional and modern art and craft movements,” says Wilz. “We’re looking for artists to fill the niches not already represented by our members so we have a well-rounded show that draws a variety of buyers.” LVPGC’s members usually fill the areas of photography, wood and jewelry.

The Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen is a nonprofit organization founded in 1944 to encourage the practice of and nurture excellence in heritage and contemporary crafts. The Lehigh Valley Chapter supports artisans in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas through monthly meetings in Bethlehem, PA, and the annual Holiday Marketplace. For more information see LVPGC’s blog, LVPGC’s website, and the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen website.

First Fall Meeting – Sept 20th!

At our September 20 meeting, the Lehigh Valley Chapter will be discussing, and preparing mailings for, our Holiday Marketplace Show held at the Swain School in Allentown on Nov. 5 and 6, 2011.

Meetings are open to anyone interested and begin at 7:30 pm (third Tues of a regular meeting month) at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA. . This would be a great meeting to attend to see what our show is all about and what we will be doing in way of PR to make it our best show yet.

See our website for further information – Click Here

Lehigh Valley Shows Well at Peddler’s Village

When the award winners were announced at this year’s Peddler’s Village Fine Art and Contemporary Craft Show (held last weekend), the Lehigh Valley Chapter was well represented. Both Joan Dunham (Theorem Painting) and Paul Grecian (Nature/Travel Photography) took Third Places in their respective categories of Fine Art, and Photography. In addition, Del Morgan (Fine Art Photography) was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Photography Category.

Winner announcement can be seen HERE

Denise Wilz Leads Sgraffito Workshop

     Denise Wilz is leading a Pennsylvania German Sgraffito workshop on June 4, 2011 from 9am to 3pm held at the Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, PA.  
     Beginners and experienced are welcome!  Adult, teens age 14+, children 10-13 with accompanying adult student.  Offered as an ACT 48 course for educators.  In this class  you will learn about Pennsylvania German Redware and you will have the opportunity to sgraffito a 7 or 10 inch plate.  Books and tools will be available or bring your own. Class size is limited to 12, in addition to the class cost there is a materials cost of $20.00 per 7″plate, $28.00 per 10″ plate with a maximum of 3 plates per student, as time permits. Pick up finished week in 4 weeks at the studio outside of Emmaus, PA or shipped to you for an additional fee. To sign up begin here: http://www.mc3.edu/workforceDevelopment/register.aspx/

     Denise is a state juried member with the PA Guild of Craftsmen and has been creating Redware pottery since 2003.  
     Her inspiration for using red earthenware clay came when she took an adult evening class taught by Loretta and Ivan Belac, where Denise used her great-grandmother’s tin cookie cutters to make ornaments.  At that time she began collecting books on Pennsylvania German folk art as she looked for ideas to decorate a wooden door in her kitchen.    She graduated from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1982 with a degree in Studio Art, but used her creative talents in the programming world until 2002.  She loves the deep rich color of the red clay and is self-taught.  Her designs are inspired by Pennsylvania German folk art of all kinds, including pottery, fraktur and painted furniture.  She uses traditional techniques and tools to create her work – rolling pins , disc cutter, slip cups, a coggle wheel to decorate the edges of the plates, molds for shaping the plates, and handcrafted tin cookie cutters.  Her work is fired in an electric kiln rather than the traditional wood-fired kiln at this time.  To learn more about Denise visit her website – http://www.wilzpottery.com/

A Night Out with Your Favorite Crafters

Lehigh Pizza, located at 13 W. 3rd St., just down the block from the Banana Factory

We know how you love to spend a night out with all our creative friends. Don’t think we haven’t notice that you get the wood shavings out of your hair and the clay from under your fingernails, sprucing up every third Tuesday so you can talk craft, art and creativity with LVPGC members at our monthly meetings.

We want to extend the fun to a whole night out!

May 17, Paul and Sue will be meeting at Lehigh Pizza for dinner at 5 p.m. Come join us! Come at whatever time you can. Paul and Sue have to mosey down to the Banana Factory for the board meeting at 6:15 p.m., but the rest of you can stay and talk craft until our meeting at 7:30 p.m.

We’re trying out this new endeavor and hoping to head to a different restaurant in Bethlehem each month before our meeting to explore the area and find another avenue for learning about each others’ crafts and experiences in the crafting world.

Plus, it means you don’t have to cook OR do the dishes!

Hope to see you at Lehigh Pizza on Tuesday, May 17.

April 2011 Meeting — Opportunities with ArtsQuest

The LVPGC will hold its next meeting on
April 19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.
at the Banana Factory, 25 W. Third St., Bethlehem, PA

The meeting is free and open to the public.

Our April meeting will highlight upcoming opportunities for artists and craftsmen to sell and show their art and fine crafts at the Banana Factory and ArtsQuest venues throughout Bethlehem. The meeting will be on April 19, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. in the Crayola Gallery at the Banana Factory Cultural Arts and Education Center.

Hannah Burke, Banana Factory studio assistant, will be the guest speaker at the meeting. She will talk about how individual artists and craftsmen can display and sell their art and craft through the Banana Factory’s store and at the festivals and Arts and Antiques Market of ArtsQuest.

LVPCG recently moved its monthly meetings from an Emmaus location to the Banana Factory.

The Lehigh Valley Guild of Craftsmen meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month January through June and September through December with no meetings in July and August. Meetings give members of the guild and the general public a chance to share their love of art and craft and discuss current happenings within our parent organization, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen.

Lehigh Valley Chapter – New Meeting Place

Starting with our April 19th meeting, the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen is now meeting at the Banana Factory in Bethlehem, PA. Our April meeting will be held in the Crayola Gallery, a wonderful space which is also used as an exhibition area.

The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the PGC has a long history of supporting craftmen and artists in the Lehigh Valley and promoting work in both traditional and contemporary mediums. Meeting at the Banana Factory puts our chapter in the center of whats happening in arts and crafts in the Lehigh Valley.

As always, our meetings are open to the public. We welcome anyone actively engaged in art and craft or just interested in what work is being done by our talented members.

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Artistic Independence

The path to creative independence, that is making your art or craft work a full-time endeavor, is often different for each individual. There are overlapping elements to each artist’s story and something to be learned from each as well. Paul Grecian (current Lehigh Valley Chapter President) writes on that theme in the March issue of Professional Artist magazine. This debut issue reflects a name change for the publication which was previously known as Art Calendar magazine.