Featured Craftsmen 2009/2010

AUGUST 2009
Elaine Longenecker, Chambersburg
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, August 9 1:00-3:00pm
Basketry
Elaine graduated with a degree in art Education from Kutztown State Teachers College. She taught art in the public schools for 31 years. A member of the Central Pennsylvania Basket Weavers Guild, she has studied under professional teachers in the areas of ribbed baskets, twills, gourds, Nantuckets, flat reed, white oak, willow and more. She attends weaves in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. She has taught many basket classes including Scouts, school groups, church groups and teacher groups. She has done many demonstrations, displays and exhibitions and also has won awards on the local and state level.

SEPTEMBER 2009
Joyce Inderbitzin, Yardley
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, September 6 1:00-3:00pm
Ceramics
Joyce Inderbitzin has been creating art for over thirty years, progressing through successive stages of development in the clay medium. Joyce feels that clay is an essential element of nature. Her artwork, therefore, is influenced by and reflects natural forms. A one on one relationship with the clay can be seen in her stoneware.

OCTOBER
Gary Guydosh, Pittsburgh
Open house: Sunday, April 18 1:00-3:00pm
Glass                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Born west of Steubenville, Ohio, Gary Guydosh currently resides and works from his studio in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He received his formal glassblowing training starting in 1998 at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Gary now takes time each year to study with Italian glass masters in Murano, Italy. This accounts for the Venetian flair of his work. Before becoming a glassblower, Gary was a journalism / public relations photographer for fourteen years.

NOVEMBER 2009
Judith VanZant, Media
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, November 8 1:00-3:00pm
Textiles
Judith Van Zant believes her interest and love of textiles is in the genes!  She never knew where her interest sprang from until she spoke with her grandmother years after she had began weaving as a student at West Chester University.  She told Judith that in Finland (her homeland), families not only wove their own household linens, but grew the flax that they turned into linen yarns.  Judith has been weaving since college where she took weaving courses and has participated in shows in the tri-state area since then.  She joined the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen in the 80's and has remained an active member.

DECEMBER 2009
Bill Yoder, Souderton
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, December 6 1:00-3:00pm
Wood
Bill strives to create unique, handcrafted writing instruments and desk accessories from local hardwoods as well as exotic American hardwoods. These quality handcrafted wood pens and pencils are designed for beauty, elegance, and comfort. Hand made in the Old World tradition, no two are exactly alike. Each piece is hand polished to bring out the natural beauty of the wood. Bill, a graduate of Millersville University, retired after 36 years of teaching wood working and technology education for the North Penn schools.
As his teaching career came to a close he returned to his love of turning, but he wanted to create practical products that were especially unique.

JANUARY 2010
Lisa Gallagher, Ephrata
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, August 9 1:00-3:00pm
Jewelry/Metals
Lisa takes pride in hand crafting every part of her jewelry. For example, she enjoys the work of creating chains and clasps herself, as well as most of the settings and other findings. Even some of the beads and cabochons are handmade. Lisa particularly enjoys working in filigree. She likes small, detailed work, which filigree definitely is. The fact that it’s not often made by artists in the US is also appealing.

FEBRUARY 2010
Peter Cunicelli, Philadelphia
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, February 7 1:00-3:00pm
Ceramics
Peter’s work is an extension of his interest in contrast.  Most evident is the contrast of smooth, fluid forms with the sharpness of the lines that join each side of a piece.  Like many things in life his work is multi-faceted.  While in one position a piece is in motion, dramatic and bold.  Turn it to view it from another angle and it becomes somewhat stifled and almost awkward.  Nothing is ever perfect or always beautiful.  While creating a piece, he often has lights fixed on one side of the piece.  The shadows and negative space produced by a piece are just as important as the glaze, clay body or form.

MARCH 2010
Genevieve Williamson, New Freedom
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, March 7 1:00-3:00pm
Jewelry/Polymer Clay
Genevieve is an artist and homeschooling mom of three. Bio: Born, 1968 Baltimore, MD. Currently work and reside, PA. 1986 - 1991 Craft Major/metals concentration, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA. Artist Statement: I see my work as a visual conversation between relationship, perception and the natural world. A natural cross- pollination occurs and my creative process is rarely a straight line from concept to completion. My current work includes polymer clay, sterling silver, brass, steel, glass, paper and found objects.

MAY 2010
Pam TIlly, Lemoyne
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, May 2 1:00-3:00pm
Jewelry/Glass
Pam Tilly creates jewelry with dichroic glass; the word dichroic actually means two-color. Pam finds working with warm glass both and fun and challenging, especially since the glass is so beautiful and brings such amazing results. Only when the kiln is opened after cooling does she know what the newly formed pieces look like. Pam applies micro-thin layers of metal to the glass using a vacuum chamber. The types of metal and the order in which they are deposited determine the color. Dichroic glass fuses the technology of the space industry with age-old craftsmanship.

JUNE 2010
Elizabeth McCue, Landisburg
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, June 6 1:00-3:00pm
Basketry
In 2001 Elizabeth McCue purchased a small glass-fusing kiln and began to experiment with the way the different colors of glass lay upon each other, changing the hue. Her past experience as a painter of light served her well in this area. Watercolor and glass fusing utilize both spectrum and transparency. The developments of her glass designs are similar to both mosaic art and collage montage. Elizabeth conceptually approaches warm glass design as abstract painting and refers to it as glass confetti.

JULY 2010
Sephi Itzhaki, Harrisburg
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, July 11 1:00-3:00pm
Metals
With experiences in photography, graphic arts, silkscreen and wearables I am now creating sculptures and home furnishing in metal. I incorporate into my work elements of textile design and photography. I use carbon steel, which I cut, bend, grind, heat and weld to produce whimsical creations, which are all based on my original designs and patterns. I like the organic feel of the steel and it's natural aging, which compliments and adds to the work over time.

AUGUST 2010
Amedeo Salamoni, Quarryville
Open house and demonstration: Sunday, August 8 1:00-3:00pm
Ceramics
I work in clay because it enables me to be expressive in ways I cannot in other mediums. I work on several different levels. On one level I use the process of wood firing to create a chance element in my finished work. The nuances of the flame, the drips of ash, happy mistakes -- all this excites me. On another level, I like people to use my work. As a functional potter, this is important to me. For one to pick up a pot and feel it, to use it, to enjoy both the visual beauty and the functional aspect -- only then is my work complete.