We slipped into Artworks just as the artists were putting the finishing touches on the 10th annual Holiday Gift Sale. One of them was adding a few more shiny red balls to the shelves where one-of-a-kind hats, necklaces, and hand-turned wooden bowls sat invitingly under the glow of Christmas lights. Another commented, “Well, it looks good—not too crowded, even though there’s so much here.”
Nordstrom’s and Macy’s, eat your heart out. Here’s an opportunity to find gifts no chain store can offer and to support our local artists. It’s an idea shared by several organizations around the shore, including Queen Anne’s County Arts Council in Centreville and Easton’s Evergreen Cove Holistic Learning Center.
At Artworks, painters, potters, weavers, knitters, photographers, jewelry makers and a profusion of other creative folks have turned all three rooms of this non-profit community arts center into a treasure trove of goodies ready to address your holiday shopping list. Pick up a spunky teapot, standing firmly on its own four feet, by Chestertown potter Marilee Schumann, or handsome guest towels woven in a classic diamond pattern by Nancy Holland, of Rock Hall.
It’s a festive mélange from a tabletop Christmas tree hung with labyrinthine ornaments (taking origami to new heights) by Rock Hall’s herb lady, Antoinette Smith, to quantities of earrings with
silver wire spiraling through many-hued beads by Holly Boyle, of Church Hill.
Elegance abounds. Known for making hats with personality, Eileen Kremer stitched a vivacious hat from recycled wool topped with a panel rescued from a floral sweater and festooned with a blue rosette. It poses demurely beside a scarf hand-woven by Katherine Taylor Trout in gentle purple touched with pale blue. Accessorize your heart out with this duet by two Chestertown fiber artists.
The prices are reasonable, given that all the work is handmade and unique. You can spend anywhere from $3.50 for Chestertown artist Angela Ranzoni’s hand-painted bookmarks to $300 for a chic “tunic topper” knitted in shifting shades of blue by Ronnie Edelman, of Galena.
The show continues at Artworks through Dec. 23 (including extended hours on Black Friday, Nov. 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and First Friday, Dec. 2, 5 to 8 p.m.), but the holiday sales in Centreville and Easton will only be around briefly.
With more than 20 artists, Evergreen Cove is presenting its 11th Annual “Handmade from the Heart” show of fine crafts at the Historical Society of Talbot County Auditorium in Easton. Sales benefit this center dedicated to personal growth and wellness.
Here you’ll find another chance to pick up creative gifts, including Easton’s silversmith Sue Stockman’s inventive jewelry, baskets by Heidi Wetzel, of St. Michael’s, who casually weaves antlers, driftwood and shells into her creations, and robust ceramic vessels by Paul Aspell, of Ridgely. Open Dec. 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and featuring a table of homemade baked goods, this show also includes an opening night reception with refreshments from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2.
Billed as “an unfrantic shopping experience,” Centreville’s 16th annual “Heck with the Malls” event, Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes a town-wide open house with local merchants joining in with refreshments and discounts. With 35 artists and artisans participating, it’s too big for all the artists to fit in the Queen Anne’s County Arts Council’s Centre for the Arts, so half can be found there, while the rest will set up their booths under the soaring gable of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church’s Tudor-style Donaldson Hall down the street. Lunch can be purchased at either location.
As with Evergreen Cove’s show, this is a great chance to meet the artists and talk with them about the wide variety of fine art and crafts on view. Centreville woodcarver Jack O’Brien will tell you about his fanciful shore birds, fish, mermaids and sunbursts, while Dennis Dellies, of Barclay, will play one of his handmade Native American style flutes for you. Well-known landscape and wildlife painter, Kurt Plinke, of Greensboro, will explain his masterful painting techniques. And for those interested in recycling, Lisa Ford, the mother of the mother/daughter “Fresca & Frankie” “green crafting” project will be on hand with their zesty jewelry made with bottle caps and slivers of colorful soda cans.
All of these holiday shows offer a triple way to give. You get to give the gift itself, give support a talented local artist, and give yourself the pleasure of experiencing a cornucopia of fine arts and crafts right here in our own communities.
Find out more at:
Queen Anne’s County Arts Council
Evergreen Cove Holistic Learning Center
Cover photo: Ann Krestensen tea pot 2011
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