Margaret Almon’s Glass Mosaic workshop is a must for those of you hoping to learn to mosaic.  In this two day beginner workshop, you will be taking a piece from start to finish, working with the design and placement as well as gluing, grouting and finishing a piece. 

This workshop will be held at the Goggleworks in Reading.  Sign up today!

Looking for something fun and interesting to do with a friend?  Try monoprinting!  This two day workshop will teach you make prints by applying colored clay slips to wet slabs of stoneware clay.  After rolling out wet clay, apply colored clay slips to the “leather hard” surface, one color on top of another, until the design is finished. Canvas/paper is placed over the slab, pressure is applied with a rolling pin to remove (print) a thin layer of the colored clay on to the substrate. 

Sign up now on PAcrafts.org for Mitch Lyons monoprinting workshop.

Bev Zimmerman, of Lancaster, is an incredibly talented potter.  Her work is inspired by nature, often involving impressions from leaves, seeds or twigs and sometimes incorporating words or phrases.  I like her work for many reasons, one of which is that it reminds me to notice my world.  To look a little closer, to take a breath, to try to notice the beauty that Beverly does. 

On her website, Bev says:

“I hope to convey an honest simplicity in my work”

From her choice of inspiration to her organic forms and soft color palette, her work evokes a peaceful simplicity the is both comforting and beautiful. 

If you like her work as much as I do, come see it in person at our Guild Store!  252 N. Prince St.  Lancaster, PA 17603

Have you ever wanted to try something completely out of the ordinary? If so, the upcoming glassblowing workshop might be just the thing.  Joel Bless, from Glasslight Studio will be teaching a 1 day workshop on the basics of glassblowing on March 27th.  You will be learning how to gather, marver, blow, shape, color, and finish a punteed piece.By the end of the day, you will have completed three pieces!  Interested yet?  Sign up right now on the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsman website.

Eric Weit, of Akron, is an award-winning rag rug weaver.  He’s recently set up a shop online on Etsy and its worth checking out.  Plus he just passed along a few rugs to show in our gallery shop until April.

Eric’s approach to weaving is “it is like a puzzle using recycled materials and trying to put them together using the colors of the material that I find and coming up with a new pattern for the warp.”

His Grandmother said something to him a long time ago which he uses as his inspiration and motto, “The secret to a happy life is to keep your hands busy”.

Paul Grecian, of Quakertown, is a photographer and happens to have a great blog. I enjoy reading it often. He opens his process to everyone which makes his photography all the more accessible.

Obviously he’s not a blogger first, he’s a photographer. But I got to know Paul as an artist more through his blog than simply through his photography. Yes, his photography is expressive, but his thoughts on creativity, or why he chooses certain subject matter, tells his story. It removes the barrier between his photography and his photography’s viewer. Its no longer just a picture on a wall.

I think many craft-makers could learn a bit from reading through some of his blog posts and thinking about how they could blog about their own work. The key to selling artwork is not always in the end product but in the story in which it was created.

Rona Fisher, of Philadelphia, works in a wide variety of premium jewelry including rings, bracelets, necklaces, pendants, and earrings.  Her work is crafted in sterling silver and 14 karat gold combinations, and in all gold. Many pieces feature precious or semi-precious gemstones.  Her pieces are made to be worn for a lifetime.

Wanna see her work in person?  She does a variety of craft shows including many of the Guild’s and also many other fine promoters.  On December 19 she’s having an open studio at her shop at 104 S. 8th Street, 3rd Floor in Philadelphia.

And if you join her birthday club, you get 10% off any order placed during your birthday month (plus there’s no obligation).

Our gallery in Lancaster is open until 9 pm today for First Friday.  Stop by and check out the great selection of handmade crafts in our popular Handmade Holiday store.  I’d like to give you some suggestions of what you can do tonight while you’re in town.

• Catch the James Ransome exhibition at PCAD (Pennsylvania College of Art & Design)
• Open Studio at Kevin Lehman Pottery
• A must stop is Veleska Jewelry on Orange St.
• Warm up at  Square ONE Coffee on Duke St
• Gingerbread houses at Lancaster Convention Center by Hempfield High School students
• Catch Annie at the Fulton Theatre at 8
• Or dinner at the Belvedere Inn or Annie Bailey’s

Hope to see you this evening in Lancaster.  Come out and support the arts by giving handmade this holiday season.

If I were to admit I had an obsession with pottery, the top of my list would be Pam Cummings.  My wife and I have nearly 10 mugs, a pie pan, countless platters, several teapots and a full set of dinner plates, which I’m pleased to know she doesn’t regularly make.  Not to mention a pile of tiny bowls that creep into every day’s cooking.

This upcoming weekend, she’ll be showing at the Craft Reunion at Fort Hunter outside of Harrisburg.  The Guild also has a wide selection of her work at Handmade Holiday, which is open in Lancaster until January 2.

There’s Open House held at Bradford Woodworking in Worcester, Montgomery county, features three Guild members:

• Royce Yoder
• Brad Smith
• Carol Lee Heisler

The generous hours are:

• Fri: 10 am to 5 pm (from 5 to 7 there will be wine and hors d’oeuvres)
• Sat: 10 am to 5 pm
• Sun: 12 pm to 5 pm

If you’re in the area, stop in to see some top-notch craftsmanship.