Meet Sue Huff-Pleiman

Artist Statement
"I have always had a passion for pottery. It started with pottery close to my hometown, Dover, Ohio, with all the wonderful Zanesville and Cambridge pottery. After graduating from OSU, I moved to the Dayton area to be Moraine's first Aquatic Director and then taught in Kettering Schools for 35 years. I was a student in the last pottery class offered at The Dayton Art Institute. At DAI, I fell in love with pottery and have been making pottery ever since. I have taken a few breaks along the way but have always returned to the wonderful feel of the clay. I have taken classes at Wright State, UD and OSU, as well as workshops and classes throughout the United States. Currently, I am firing my pottery at the John Bryan Community Pottery Center in Yellow Springs, Rosewood Art Center and my new studio at our farm in Waynesville. Life is always good when I am working in clay!"

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Meet Pete Mitas

Handcrafted, Unconventional, Colorful, Bold art, jewelry, and crafts.

I’ve enjoyed creating many forms of art since I was young. Combining different materials and using color, line, and shape to create something new has always fascinated me.

For the past few years this passion has been expressed by creating enamel jewelry and art.

Enameling is a process that involves melting colored glass onto metal at 1500^o in a kiln. My art is made using glass, metal, wood, stone, and art panels.

Pete's Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/primalorigins

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Meet Holly Jordon

"I love the rich colors and fantastic sparkle textured glass offers and I enjoy making work which brings out that beauty."

Holly Jordan learned the skill of working with stained glass from her dad about 25 years ago. The first piece she ever made was a little bird of blue glass. She still mekes that particular design, because, as she says, "I still like it, and it is a nice reminder of that time spent with my dad." Working with her father on whatever projects he had going at the time required Holly to stretch and try different things than she would have if left on her own, and she discovered that she had learned more than she realized when she began working independently.

As is evidenced by her work, Holly is particularly drawn to abstract, geometric, Celtic, and mission-syle designs.

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Meet Mary Kleismit

Jewelry Artist

I started exploring lapidary with my husband in the 1960's when we lived in

Dayton, Ohio.

We collected unique specimens and rocks at every opportunity and took classes at

Riverbend Art Center in Dayton.

Things continued to evolve and in 1988, I purchased a business liscence. We then

began showing at Gem And Mineral shows. Over the years I began making

Semi-precious and Precious jewelry. We took classes at the William Holland

Lapidary School in Harris, Georgia, and shortly there after began to make wire

wrap jewelry. We are always looking into new and different medias!

Wherever I go, I marvel at the rare beauty inside mother Earth and my love of her

continues to inspire me. My purpose is to show God's glory in all I create.

I am a proud member of the Village Artisans Gallery as well as a member of the

Town and Country Fine Art Gallery in Dayton.

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Meet Scott Kissell

From 29th Annual Art On the Lawn

At the age of 12 my adventure into the world of photography began when my mother purchased my first 35 mm camera so I could take pictures of our family vacation out West to Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons in Wyoming. This experience changed the way I looked at everything. I was surrounded by beautiful landscapes. I felt compelled to capture these places with my new camera, which allowed me to remember what I felt and to show others what I had seen. As a beginning photographer, most of the pictures I took didn't turn out, but enough did to hold my interest. In fact, it has become a life-long interest. I have dedicated my professional life to photography as a photojournalist, university photographer and fine art photographer.

Years later, my wife and I returned to many of the same places out West. I hoped that this trip would revitalize my creative spirit. I found that what inspired me before to be a photographer did once again. I went to many of the same places I visited as a boy. Spiritual places, I believe, which once again filled my soul with the love for life, the land and photography.

Now photography to me is more than a visual language of communication. It is an extension of my soul, which can touch the viewer's deepest emotions or feelings without saying a word. My need to create images is not only for myself, but for you.

As the famous photographer Ansel Adams said, "The picture we make is never made for us alone, it is, and should be a communication to reach as many people as possible."
I have found that sharing my pictures is one of the greatest joys of being an artist. Thanks for letting me share.


Sincerely,

Scott Kissell

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Meet Kathy Verner Moulton

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kavooom.com

Kathy creates these whimsical and colorful illustrations by painting with digitizer pen on an Apple computer in Photoshop and printing using archival inks and archival matte paper.

Kathy has lived in Yellow Springs since 1972 quietly 
and only peeking a head out now and then. In her coloring book, children's-story-loving mind, she dreamed up the series MY TOWN; the diversity among her characters represents the diversity Yellow Springs longs for and the colors of her canvas represent the beauty that she sees.

Kathy considers herself a true Yellow Springer, sure as if she were born here. These pieces from town are all very dear to her. The puns are her weird sense of humor; the scenes stir up memories and feelings of home.

She wants to continue, as there are many more special shops and places to cover. There are also memories of places long gone like Gabby's or the Bakery on a winter night. "I wonder what characters would be up for a hot donut?"

Oh, and please note: no animals were injured in the making of this art.

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Meet Nancy Mellon

Multi-media artist

Nancy works in intense spurts intermingled with tense art cramps, when everything stops, until she meets up with another artist or some fabulous piece of art or a nice day or... and gets juiced again. She works with clay, pencils, acrylic paint, fabric, and junk. Nancy also loves her tree house studio (not a real tree house but she sees leaves and branches out each window) and art mischief with the Jafa Girls.

You can see her work at the Chamber Pot Gallery and here at the Village Artisans, a funky gallery/gift store in Yellow Springs (naturally). Village Artisans is an exciting, cool co-op of 20+ artists. Everything in the store is handmade by a local artist. One of her favorite things to do is to shop sit in Village Artisans. She get to talk with customers from all over the world, visit with her art friends that drop by, and tell people about all the wonderful things that they can do in Yellow Springs.

"I love people, nudes, conversations about big ideas, the color green, intense colors especially next to black, intricate patterns, and Greene County (It's GREEN!)."

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Meet Cynthia McDonald

From neighboring Cedarville, Cynthia has been working with gourds for a number of years and calls it a passion. It takes a year for the canvas of a gourd to be ready to decorate: 6 months to plant and harvest and another 6 months to dry. Cleaning the outside and then the inside is the hardest part. To give the inside a wonderful finish, the gourds are paper lined before they are carved, painted, and/or stained. Some gourds might also get a coil weaving at the rim or more simply a leather stitched rim. Many have feathers, beads, or stones added for adornment.

As a member of the Ohio Gourd Society, Indiana Gourd Society, and Ohio Designers Craftsmen, Cynthia has competed for ribbons and brought home many from the State shows. Village Artisans is one of many places Cynthia's work can be found. If you travel to fine art shows throughout Ohio you may see Cynthia and her gourds. To learn more just check out her website:wildgourdstudio.com

"No two gourds are exactly the same, each has its own hand drawn design. This makes each piece unique and collectable."

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Meet Rob Liptak

Twiggies and odd-shaped wood carvings are the primary focus of Rob Liptak's work and has been since he began carving
twenty-three years ago.
Intarsia is another area of interest where shape, form, color, and line quality are used to create stylized images.

Liptak has won a number of awards throughout his carving career. He is proud of his Best of Show Honors in Maysville, KY, Best Sculpture at the Springfield Museum of Art in Springfield, OH, and Best Fantasy Sculpture at Dragon Con, Atlanta, GA.

His individual gallery shows include: The Garden Gallery in Carlisle, PA, The Viking Vineyard in Mogadore, OH, and AFL in Florence, KY. He has participated in a number of group exhibits: the War and Peace Show and the Global Arts Project in Yellow Springs, OH as well as juried shows in Seattle,
San Francisco, Columbus, and Detroit.

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Meet Crystal Heis

Crystal Heis is originally from Xenia.She was first introduced to silk painting in college while she was studying photography. She holds a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kentucky. She has been a member of Village Artisans since 1999 but currently lives in Lexington, KY where she has worked as a photographer for over eight years and is now digital

imaging specialist working for UK Libraries.

She employs a variety of silk painting/dying

techniques. Most pieces are hand-painted with dyes with the fabric stretched on a frame. Many pieces involve a technique in which salt is sprinkled on freshly painted silk. While the silk is still damp, the salt pulls the dyes toward it, andcauses the grains of salt to move across the surface of the fabric. The migration of the salt creates the unique patterning and color effects. The magical part is that no two pieces are alike. In addition, Crystal also uses techniques such as stamping, direct application, resists, and immersion dying.

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Meet Leah Mendenhall

Leah Mendenhall currently works from home, concentrating on her family life and art. Her passion is painting in oils or acrylic, her favorite subject matter being landscapes; figure, still life and abstract paintings are a close second. She also enjoys knitting scarves of all colors, textures, and sizes.

Leah achieved her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Wright State University in 2002. She has since become a member of the Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, and has exhibited work there as well as the Dayton Convention Center, the Rosewood Arts Center, and the Chamber Pot Gallery of Yellow Springs. She has also used her talents to paint sets for school plays at Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton.

Leah is always up for a new challenge and does free-lance work on the side. She has tackled projects such as painting store signs and logos, murals and motorcycle tanks. Do you have a special project that could use a special touch paint? Leah can be contacted through the Village Aritsans at (937) 767-1209.

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Meet John Garrett

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Meet Jennifer Float

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Inspired by moments, people and events...

Jennifer Float has been creating art in one form or another for her entire life. Harnessing the excitement of being exposed to new artists and the creative talents around her she is constantly experimenting with new techniques and color variations. The way colors blend and how a brush or palette knife can add texture and depth is always amazing. She is never focused on the end product, only the process that takes her there.


She finds working with mixed media and recycling an excellent inspiration. Drawing out the "what could be" in material around her, she works fast and is at her best when she lets the media speak to her.
Often, she will write the music she was listening to (mostly jazz) on the back of her works, believing that art in any form influences the outcome and ultimately a part of the finished products.


Her work can be found at NOLAA Gallery as well as in private collections throughout the United States and Europe.

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Meet Bill Felker

I've kept a journal since April of 1957, and my shed outside is full of all those words. My journal making and bookbinding is a spinoff from the practice of journaling. I enjoy making things that I would like to use myself, but I also project and fantasize uses and people onto the things I make. So if you buy something of mine that you like, I somehow had you in mind when I made it. And so I made it especially for you.

On all my book fliers, I have the statement: “Each book has a mission for its binder, its author and its reader. Words conform to the shape of their place in the same way that place is shaped by words and vision. The book reader completes and joins the regimen of both the book maker and the book writer, each having a private purpose to define and pursue a separate discipline.”

This “artist’s statement” comes from the whole process of binding/writing/reading. It tells something of my experience with keeping notes, saving notes, and sharing notes. The practice of book binding exemplifies the rhythm that can also exist in the practice of writing or the practice of reading. It is in the action of the practice itself that the real stuff of mind and matter come together. The practice is the walk and the talk.

 

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Meet Lowell Converse

Lowell is an award-winning woodturner from Beavercreek, Ohio. He spent 23 years in the U.S. Air Force and 14 years in the aerospace industry before turning to turning full time in 2001. Self-taught, he has been turning seriously since 1998. Most of the larger pieces are turned from green wood and then dried, turned again, and finished. The segmented pieces are meticulously constructed from many small pieces glued together and then turned. Motivated by the desire to exhibit the natural beauty and warmth inherent in the wood, he pays special attention to form, feel, and finish to enhance the color and patterns within each piece.

Classified a "Master Turner" by the Ohio Woodturners Guild, Lowell won Best in Show for woodworking in 2002 at the Dayton Carvers Guild Artistry in Wood show. He teaches at the Woodcraft stores in the region and from his home. He was featured in The American Woodturner and The American Woodworker and his work has appeared in The Woodworkers Journal. In August 2005, Lowell appeared as a featured guest on Tips and Techniques on the Do-It-Yourself TV channel.

"I mostly make use of 'found' wood which would otherwise be useful only for firewood.

Any day in the shop is a good day. Original Serious Lathe in Lowell's garage shop.

Click here to visit Lowell's website.

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Meet Kate Burch

Kate has always enjoyed harmonious relationships of color and design, working with her hands, and making things that people can enjoy. In December 2005, she retired after thirty years as a mental health professional. Since retirement, Kate has devoted her time to fiber arts.

Quilting is a particular delight, and she also enjoys making apparel, fashion accessories, and home decor. Kate has been amazed at the way her mind is more and more filled with images of beautiful things, and the strength of her drive to execute those images.

"I have sewn since childhood."

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Meet Sue Brezine

Sue Brezine has studied with many a gentle artist: Frederick Franck, Betty Edwards, Homer Hacker, Arne Westerman, Judi Betts, Alex Powers, Don Andrews, and others. Each time Sue has returned to her studio and her walks with a more seeing eye.

Sue's seeing and drawing take in whatever appears: a llama with a hairdo, a boy by a curb in Ireland, a cabbage up close, a pig looking from a barn... Sue's art brings what she sees, for you to experience as freshly as she does. Sue has been recognized with awards throughout
the Miami Valley.

She is also a favored teacher of beginners and experienced artists. Sue is a member of Fairborn Art Association, past president of the Western Ohio Watercolor Society, a member of Dayton Society of Painters and Sculptors, and Dayton Visual Arts Center. Sue is a returning member of the Village Artisans. She offers a great variety of works, from note cards to framed award-winning art.

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Meet Ann Bain

Ann Bain - Art History

I've always been involved in art, from when I could draw on the underside of my mother's dining room table! Majored in art, involved myself in everything from graphics, illustration, painting, puppetry, writing. But when I began exploring calligraphy in the early 80's, I found that I could combine the arts of painting, drawing, poetry, drama, color, composition, ideas and words under the encompassing category of "lettering arts". And I am still discovering and learning.

Words are important, and must be carefully used. Unwritten, they have no value, but when written down they become real; legible, exact and allowing remembrance, imagination and wonder. Otherwise, whether sung, whispered, shouted or even thought, words are ephemeral, lost as soon as spoken.

In my work, I like to tune in to images, shapes, colors, or textures that amplify an author's meaning; engage the viewer's imagination in the process of understanding. In turning content into form, my intention for my art is to call attention, to clarify, to aspire, to inspire. Edith Wharton wrote:"There are two ways to spreading the light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."

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Meet Kristy Arenburg

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Meet Amy Achor

Amy is a long-time Yellow Springs resident whose unique photographic imagery embraces many levels of seeing. She is most recognized for her symmetrical photo-compositions, in which she combines a single photograph with itself to create an entirely unique image. Look closely and you may notice tiny creatures or faces peering from behind leaves or through clouds.

Amy likes to think of these "nature spirits" as intentionally inhabiting her work. In addition to her nature series, Amy has created several other series utilizing images of fire, light trails, and fireworks. Recently, she has begun experimenting with digitally modifying photos to create more abstract images. She isn't known as the "Wild Woman" for nothing!

"My photographic art is as much about 'inner' vision as outer vision."

A wider selection of Amy's work is available on her website,www.WildWomanPhotos.com

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