Homegrown Happy Valley

Throughout the week, Homegrown Happy Valley will be profiling some of the local artists from the festivals. The artists below can be seen at The Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts in downtown State College.  We’ll be including artists from the People’s Choice Festival of Pennsylvania Arts and Crafts later in the week.

Painting

Jennifer Kane’s paintings are as beautiful as the Centre County landscapes that inspire them. In a recent story in Town & Gown magazine, Kane spoke to writer and Homegrown co-founder Michele Marchetti about her work and her preference for using a painting knife. “Using a brush, I can overdo a painting, striving for perfection,” she explained in the article. “But with a knife in hand, I put an intention out there, and some kind of magic happens. The process leaves space for the viewer to imagine what is there.” You can also find Kane’s work on display at ClearWater Conservancy’s annual “For the Love of Art and Chocolate” event.  Each year Kane donates an original oil painting, which is raffled off at the event to benefit area conservation efforts.

Check her out at booth number A-35 (Allen Street, near Say Sushi).

Jewelry

Inspired by nature, Staci Egan’s jewelry is playful and elegant (think cherry earrings that don’t look ridiculous on a 30-something). Egan has been making jewelry for nearly 10 years and is participating in Arts Fest for the second time.  This is the first year that she’s been working as an artist full-time, allowing her to create more detailed designs and a bigger following. She’s online, at local boutiques and at yearly festivals. She’s also a member of the Art Alliance of Central PA, the Central Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and a board member for the Gallery Shopin Lemont. But this hardworking artisan keeps the stress in check. “Wire wrapping is very relaxing for me,” she says, “it’s my meditation.”

Check her out at booth A-53 (Allen Street between Nittany and Fairmount Avenues).

Pottery

Lee Anne Jefferies of Lovely Mud Pottery clearly enjoys her work. Anyone who has purchased her pottery, known for its vivid colors and bold designs, likely feels the same. (Mornings would definitely be better eating cereal from one of her Zebra-print bowls.) A State College artist with a Bachelors Degree in Art from Penn State University, Jefferies refined her craft while studying at a school for creative arts in Annapolis, Maryland. Her work features found objects: “I enjoy the process of choosing an object with history or age and pairing it with a new form to create a piece that inspires one to ask questions.”  This is her second appearance in Arts Fest and soon after she’ll be moving her studio from her home to an artists’ cooperative in State College. “I enjoy having all the local artists together on Allen Street,” says Jefferies, “it gives me a real sense of community.”

Visit her at booth A-54 (Allen Street between Nittany and Fairmount Avenues).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 5:12 pm and is filed under 2009 Arts Festivals, Art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.