Dan Merlo makes bowl, pepper mills and tables from “Rescued Wood.” He often accents his pieces with colored resin, enhancing the natural beauty of the wood. Contact Dan to visit his studio in Eastford, CT!
Dan Merlo
Category: Showcase
Xiaohong Song
Xiaohong Song enjoys working in various mediums including painting, stitching and crayon. Her cheerful, romantic pieces celebrate flowers and nature. Follow her on Facebook.
Gretchen Geromin and Lauren Merlo
Gretchen Geromin and Lauren Merlo work as a team, collaborating on unique, handmade boards and signs with original wood burned art. Working with local downed trees, Lauren makes the boards. Gretchen then wood burns them birds, mice, horses, flowers, cats, dragons and more. They welcome commissions and can be found at our shows.
Jay Bartholomew
Jay’s art captures the beauty of nature in bold colors and dynamic textures, created using acrylics on canvas or wood. He invites viewers to experience the joy and serenity of the great outdoors, transforming everyday scenes into lively expressions of color and emotion. If you’re looking to add a splash of inspiration to your space, come and see for yourself! JaNoBaStudios.com
Art has proven to be the most potent means for me to reconnect with my true self. Whether I’m immersed in painting, drawing, or any other creative pursuit, I lose myself in the process, and the external world fades away. In this state, I forge a connection with reality that defies easy explanation. It’s a profoundly soothing experience that enables me to rediscover myself and my surroundings.
While you will find that most of my work is in brightly colored landscapes, I do like to experiment with different styles and subjects as I make my artist journey. My subjects are a mix of being loosely based on actual places along with views straight out of my imagination.
Lori Smolin
Lori is a watercolor artist who is inspired by sights she sees while traveling, often on her bicycle. At the Holiday Artist Market she will have large framed paintings as well as affordable mini paintings, both framed and on wood blocks, as well as cards and unframed works. Lori will be at our Holiday Artist Market.
Valerie Oliver
Early American Decoration
Valerie B. Oliver – Ashford author’s recently published book, The Historical Society of Early American Decoration, its historical record describes the efforts since 1946 to preserve and continue the decorative techniques popular in the late 18 th – mid-19 th century: country painting, stenciling, gold leaf and free hand bronze work. Pontypool, pen and ink, theorem and reverse glass painting well as Victorian flower painting, clockdial painting and the schoolgirl art of watercolor painting on boxes and furniture popular during 1790-1830.
This is a fascinating history of an organization of members, mostly women, from the northeastern U.S. especially New York, Pennsylvania and New England.
Valerie Oliver will be giving a talk about her publication The Historical Society of Early American Decoration, its historical record at the Babcock Library at 10:00 a.m. on May 11th, a Saturday. There will also be a tea, and she will display a few objects decorated using the historical techniques. She will speak about how she came to write the history and what it revealed about a mostly female led group since its founding in 1946, etc. Valerie was a Society Trustee from 2002-2012 and Pres. 2011 and 2012 and is currently their Historian and asst. editor of their journal The Decorator. **Pre-registration is requested for this event. Please call Babcock Library # 860-487-4420 to register**
See more – By the author of Fashion and Costume in American Popular Culture, a reference guide, Greenwood Press, 1996, this publication shows the same attention to detail, 236 pages plus index complemented by over 120 colored photographs. The author a former trustee and president of the Society continues to carry out decorative painting projects.
Valerie’s book is $35 local pickup or $45 with shipping; contact Valerie to order.
Valerie B. Oliver was born in Nashua, NH; she graduated from Classical H.S., Springfield, MA, received her BS in Mathematics from St. Lawrence Univ. in 1960 and MLS from McGill Univ. in 1961. Her professional career as a librarian began at the Research Labs Library at United Aircraft. Her many years as a Reference Ln. at UCONN’s Homer Babbidge Library, culminated with the publication of her book,Fashion and Costume in American Popular Culture, a reference guideby Greenwood Press in 1996.
Her interests in early American decoration began in the early 1970s with teacher Florence Rainville of Uncasville, CT. She became an Historical Society of Early American Decoration (HSEAD) member in 1997, eventually serving as Connecticut Charter Oak Chapter Chairman, then as an HSEAD Trustee and finally as HSEAD President 2011-2012. She currently serves as their Historian and as assistant editor of their journal The Decorator. Her decorative painting work consists of country painting on metal and wood, stenciling, freehand bronze work, gold leaf work and reverse glass painting (all using historically documented patterns). Reproducing old designs such as those seen on the 18th-19th c. Pennsylvania German decorated documents called frakturs involves work with a pen and with watercolor paints, a process both easily and enjoyably performed. The designs have many uses i.e. cards, bookplates, letter heads or simply framed for display.
Michael W. Hughey
Michael Hughey, a Craftsman and Artist in letterforms and the book arts has had a love affair with beautiful letters and beautiful books since childhood. Originally from Asheville, he lived for many years in NC but now resides in Northeast CT. His calligraphic works are published both nationally and internationally and collected in public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum, NYC, and the Bahá’í World Centre, Haifa, Israel. He feels that even in an age of increasing technology, “…there is, indeed, an important place in human society for the warmth, beauty, and grace that calligraphy can bring to our lives.”
He exhibits note cards, limited-edition prints, and original calligraphy at the Ashford Farmer’s Market. He also teaches both calligraphy & handwriting privately.
John Boiano – Oakes Hollow Pottery
John is a potter who creates usable art inspired by nature. He is continually delving into new color schemes and design styles that borrow from the past while expanding creative boundaries. Find his work on Facebook or text 860-798-5692.
AAAC Artists at the Ashford Farmers Market
The following artists will be vendors at the new INDOOR Ashford Farmers Market. This will be in the Knowlton Hall, Sunday mornings.
Michael W. Hughey, Craftsman and Artist in letterforms and the book arts has had a love affair with beautiful letters and beautiful books since childhood. Originally from Asheville, he lived for many years in NC but now resides in Northeast CT. His calligraphic works are published both nationally and internationally and collected in public and private collections, including the Metropolitan Museum, NYC, and the Bahá’í World Centre, Haifa, Israel. He feels that even in an age of increasing technology, “…there is, indeed, an important place in human society for the warmth, beauty, and grace that calligraphy can bring to our lives.”
He will exhibit note cards, limited-edition prints, and original calligraphy at the Ashford Farmer’s Market, Dec. 3rd & 17th, 10AM to 12:30 PM. He also teaches both calligraphy & handwriting privately.
John Boiano – Oakes Hollow Mud Werks
John is a potter who creates usable art inspired by nature. He is continually delving into new color schemes and design styles that borrow from the past while expanding creative boundaries.
Song baskets
Steve Gerling
Steve Gerling has been doing relief woodcarving since the mid-1970’s. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UConn, with a major in sculpture. After school, he was drawn to the additional challenges of relief carving. Not only did an object have to be sculpted but it had to be skillfully distorted
in scale, perspective, and space to create an image convincing to the viewer.
Traditionally, most relief work was intended as decoration or embellishment to works of architecture or fine cabinetry. Steve chooses to make the carving the primary object. While much of the work were objects of fine woodworking, using them as a utilitarian frame, the main focus of attention has always been the carving.
