Two more sales are scheduled

Mother's Day Weekend at my studio - You've found this group at Peg Cherre's home in Friendship both in spring and winter but this spring we'll be at my house. Only Friday and Saturday (May 8 & 9), on the front lawn at 3180 Riverside Drive.

Notes from Peg Cherre: Margaret Cherre makes bracelets, necklaces, earrings, pins and ornaments. All her own designs, Cherre’s work features semi-precious gemstones, sterling silver, and 14K gold-filled components. Whenever possible she uses vintage beads, leading to part of her business name. Cherre also offers gorgeous hand-beaded ornaments and gemstone talismans that make great stocking stuffers. Look at some photos of her extensive design line at www.secondwindjewelry.com to see just how versatile her work is.

The group sometimes includes Margaret Shulock, a nationally syndicated cartoonist who helps to produce the comic strip, Six Chix. Each of six women submits a weekly cartoon (and another every 7th Sunday) for the daily feature. Shulock is also the solo creator of Sticks, printed in the Olean Times Herald and the basis for her note cards and calendars. You can’t escape without a chuckle from her calendar or cartoon cards, and her more serious drawings capture the essence of our beautiful county.

Kristen Vossler-Wigent and Meredith Chilson, partners in Green Circle Grove, will complete the group. Kristen is the key to their more than 2 dozen soap varieties, ranging from subtly colored and scented to bold and obvious, each with a story behind the name and creation. Choose any variety and you’ll get soap that is all-natural and easy on both your skin and the environment. Meredith makes fabric bags, from small clutches to totes large enough for both baby’s diapers and your knitting. Her bags are fully lined with a coordinating fabric and have many interior pockets and zippered closures. These Belmont natives are online at www.greencirclegrove.com.

This show generally takes place on the quad on Main Street in Alfred. The show is one part of activities for Alumni but it is open to the public. Please stop and see area Artisans as well as students.

Featured Artist at Silver Lake on Saturday, August 9 from 1 to 5 p.m. Demonstration/Show/Sale - Find Charley and Betsey Orlando in the same location 2 weeks later.

"The Silver Lake Institute sits on the east bank of Silver Lake, along the water's edge, extending back up the hill, almost to the screen of the Silver Lake Drive-In. Like its counterpart, Chautauqua, the Institute was founded in the late 1800's as a Methodist Assembly camp for Bible study and spiritual training.

Complete with an outdoor auditorium and Hall of Philosophy, the Institute was a hotbed of religious activity. Outdoor revivals and services were common. The auditorium burned early on, and the Hall of Philosophy is no more. Epworth Hall, however, is undergoing major renovations to restore it to its original splendor. Donations to this cause are being collected today.

The Silver Lake Depot (Train Station) was also located along the waterfront on the Institute grounds. Almost directly across from the Hoag Memorial Art Gallery (also known as the Library), which still stands today. Alas, the train station is no more. Summer art programs are still held throughout the summer in the Hoag, however.

Today the institute is a wealth of history and activity." Learn more at SilverLakeView.com.

Find the look of garlic without the smell in Allegany Artisans’ Artisan Alley at Empire State Farms, Route 305 South in Cuba, New York. There will be garlic roasters, garlic storage jars, garlic ornaments and dolls, silver garlic earrings and lots of other things made here in Allegany County, things that share your interest in garlic and support your local community.

Sarah Phillips will bring work from her studio, Auntie’s Place, to demonstrate the technique of scratchboard. She’ll have bottles etched with garlic bulbs as well as several paintings and greeting cards. Sarah's work brings gardens and animals onto canvas. She's a great teacher too.

Russ Allen will be back with his RLA Miniatures. Russ makes dollhouse miniatures. He turns the little legs of chairs and tables on a tiny lathe. It’s a noisy, rattley thing but it’s small and lightweight so Russ will have it at Artisans’ Alley to show you how he does his work. Russ makes all kinds of dollhouse items but he also makes wooden garlic ornaments for your Christmas tree or just to hang in the kitchen.

Trina Allen developed her own method of pouring clay slip to make all kinds of jewelry including earrings, pins and barrettes. She can pour tomatoes, carrots or garlic so your ears can practically wear a salad. This year she will have silver garlic earrings and pins too. She plans to demonstrate her pouring technique. She’ll be between her Dad, Russ, and her sewing sister, Laurie Johnson.

Laurie has garlic people – Mr. & Mrs. Garlic Head – ready to hug. She’ll also have bears, zebras, snakes, mice and Santa toys as well as all kinds of animals known now as Wear Bears. Laurie will be stitching and telling how she created her patterns and how she gets new ideas for other things to make.

Sometimes it seems that half of the members of Allegany Artisans are potters but they all have different styles and they are all proud to be part of the history and tradition of pottery. Potters say that they “throw” on the wheel. A couple hundred years ago when potters kicked their wheels to make them spin, the word “throw” meant something closer to spin or turn. The phrase stayed with potters though the meaning of the word “throw” changed in general use.

Elaine Hardman is stuck in history with that terminology so she will bring her potter’s wheel to Artisans’ Alley to “throw” pots. The demonstration will involve throwing a closed form, a sphere that will then be changed into one of her animal banks. She’ll also have handmade garlic storage jars, garlic decorated mugs and tiles, garlic roasters and lots of standard pottery.

Also find Bill Banker with garlic themed hooks and other hand-forged items from his Sundance Forge in Almond. Bill will be demonstrating his special technique for turning common mental into uncommon art.

Look for a pile of wood shavings on the grass and you’ll find Bob Gotta-Go-Carve Chaffee standing in them. Bob carves all kinds of things but he specializes in characters, Native Americans, Wood Spirits, and plates. He has Garlic Guys, Garlic Plates, Garlic Boxes and Garlic wall plaques just for the garlic lovers in Cuba. Bob will be carving all weekend. It’s actually hard to make him stop.

Watch these artisans work, talk about their crafts and maybe take home a treasure. These Allegany Artisans will be demonstrating throughout the weekend in Cuba but they’ll also have brochures on hand for the 21^st annual Allegany Artisans Studio Tour which will be held in each of 30 home studios on October 18 & 19, 2008. During the Studio Tour you’ll be able to visit lots of artisans in their home studios scattered throughout Allegany County.

- 3180 Riverside Drive, Wellsville - 585 593 6345 - Hot Cider and homemade cookies and brownies inside and pottery demonstrations in the garage - visit, look, learn, and maybe decide that one of my pieces of pottery was made just for you - personalized plates, bowls, mugs and banks made to order.

I "sign" my stoneware pottery with a flower stamp, actually an antique button. I've used this button for 30 years and can't remember where I found it but my husband, Rick, suggested it would be a neat and tidy signature.

Of course, it's small and it would be in danger of being lost or reprocessed into clay so it has to be embedded into something larger - like a chair spindle, painted green to stand out in the gooey clay.

My work is high fired, functional, stoneware pottery, glazed in whites blues, greens, raspberry and a deep blue-green called Geeze Louise. It's all safe for your dishwasher and microwave. I make bowls (square and round), cookie jars, piggy banks, nightlights, Mommy vases, mugs, platters and a variety of kitchen items. Most of what I make has a sprig attached - a clay version of a bit of lace.

	Some of my favorite pieces were purchased during the studio tour in 2006. The gray cat bank now has a new mistress.
	This is a reproduction of a Spanish wine jug. It's a chicken! Pour into the tail, drink from the beak or just take it home and think it looks interesting.
	The purple chicken - wild hair and all - will now be living on a mantle in Cuba, NY.

Summer Clay Class for students: This program has run for three years - filling our garage with students and our porch with pottery. In 2007 there were 38 polite, industrious, young people working in the studio/garage. The program has been sponsored by the Allegany Arts Association and the Allegany County Youth Bureau.

The Allegany Arts Association is not part of Allegany Artisans nor is it related to the Wellsville Art Association or the Wellsville Creative Arts Center. It is a not-for-profit agency existing solely to spread art experiences to people in Allegany County.