This weekend brought the return of seasonal temperatures and also the return of a creative event: the fall art show featuring members of the Hamburg Art Alliance and hosted in the “Deer Country” gallery at Cabela’s in Hamburg Nov. 7 and 8.
The show highlighted photography, paintings, books and hand-crafted items from eleven artists. Several new contributors joined this year.
The Almosta Ranch display featured spinning demonstrations by Kathy Kenworthy and Tammy Orischak.
“I actually wanted to learn to spin,” Kenworthy said of the farm’s origin, “and I had empty acreage to use. I started with two alpacas and it grew from there.”
She currently has 22 alpacas, four llamas, three sheep and 20 angora rabbits.
Tilden Township resident Jay Ressler, another first timer to the show, layers photographs in his art.
“They’re composites,” he confirmed, “I take two or more images and combine them together.”
His new series combines nature images with love letters in multiple languages, including “the Sunflower King” featuring a bird on a sunflower and a letter penned by Henry the Eighth.
Kathleen Price of Fleetwood was also new to the event. She displayed animal portraits and hex signs in a range of mediums including tempera and pen-and-ink. Price studied art in school and, while she did not pursue it as a profession, she has been making art her entire life.
“Whatever picks my fancy, that’s what I do,” she explained.
Susan Boyer of Bethel brought brightly-colored ceramic creatures like frogs, fish and elephants. Boyer has been painting and casting ceramics for years and opened a ceramics shop three years ago.
“I find it relaxing,” Boyer said. “I could sit for hours and just paint.” It was Boyer’s first time at the fall show.
Kathy Miller of New Ringold not only participated as a returning artist but also organized the biannual art show.
“It opens artists up to a wider area of customers, people come from out of state,” Miller explained from her booth, featuring her “Chippy the Chipmunk” book series. “The people who come to Cabala’s are nature lovers, so they really enjoy the art that features nature.”
Returning artist Wayne Levan of Oley has created stone pieces in conjunction with his work in the quarry for over two decades.
“New ideas come every day,” he said of the pieces he carves, including animals, fantastical creatures and – his current favorite – stone and metal flower “patches.”
Children were drawn to the shiny wooden tops made by Roger Anderson of Fleetwood, who also carves plates, vases and ornamental items from single pieces of wood. Anderson carved as a hobby for about 20 years, and participates in shows to “pay for his sandpaper.” He is always on the lookout for more wood, “If a tree comes down in your yard, and I drive by, I’ll probably stop and ask you for it,” he said.
Local teacher Lorrie Santilli Wolfinger was there with her mother, Shirley Santilli, to promote their tale of a mama bird who comes home to find an extra egg in her nest.
“My mother wrote the book when we were small children,” Wolfinger explained, “and then I illustrated it starting in 2012. It took me two summers to do all the illustrations.”
The result was “Trouble in Treeville,” available as a children’s book or in an expanded teacher’s edition.
Pat Christ represented her husband, Kempton artist Dan Christ. The display of limited edition prints and some original pieces, including wooden carvings and oil images on turkey feathers, all featured beautiful wildlife. The Christs are regulars at the Cabela’s show, a great fit for his nature-themed work.
Nearby was a stand of handmade ceramics from Pirjo L’Esperance of Leesport.
“They are all one-of-a-kind,” L’Esperance said. “There is no casting.”
She throws some items, like mugs, on a potter’s wheel before sculpting artistic touches like the face of a fox. She first learned pottery in high school and has been creating handmade pottery, jewelry and decor from her studio in Oley for seven years.
The HAAA Art Show will return to Cabela’s in the spring. In the meantime, work of these and dozens more artists are always on display at the Art and Craft Gallery of Hamburg, 335 State Street, Hamburg. The public is welcome to browse the gallery and support local art. For hours and details, call the gallery at 610-562-3106.
