Pictures from An Artful Affair 2011

A special thank you to all the artists, family, friends, and visitors who made the second annual Artful Affair a huge success. We couldn't have been more pleased with the turnout (especially considering the rainy weather!), and hope you all enjoyed the day of tea, cookies, conversation and art as much as we did. Here are some photos of the day for those who couldn't make it:

Introducing Our New Gallery: Spoonwood

The artists of the Greater Westmoreland Creative Collective (GWCC) are pleased to announce the grand opening of their online gallery, Spoonwood. Spoonwood is a juried marketplace (named after Mountain Laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower) that provides a new venue for GWCC members and guest artists to showcase their work. It also serves as an adjunct to their annual Fall trunk show, An Artful Affair.

The GWCC is a Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, group of artists, craftsmen, designers, jewelers, and growers working cooperatively to promote quality and excellence in products crafted for the public. Our members, and their areas of specialty, include: Merriann Grant, fine jewelry; Nan Loncharich, fabric arts; Cia Williford, mixed media arts; Katie Resch, painted woodwork; Helen Stetina, needlecrafts; and Lisa Hertzog, country decor.

The Gallery is located at www.spoonwoodgallery.com. Interested visitors are encouraged to register (no financial information is required) in order to receive the GWCC newsletter, sales notices, etc.

Keep us in mind for your holiday shopping!

Sun Shines on Artful Affair

Sunflowers are everyone's favorite flower at this time of year, and Nan has some of her fancy wool versions ready for this Saturday's Artful Affair. 

She has a few handwoven wool capelets and scarves which showcase a wool flower so prettily: in charcoal, beige, black and rust.  Some have a bamboo/rayon fringe, but most are slightly altered shapes created for the confident female.

She has some very special oversized extraordinary flowers in hand-dyed wool for that same confident female, so perhaps that is you!

Stop in!  Enjoy some cookies with us!

Saturday Sneak Peek!

An Artful Affair (Saturday, October 1st) is shaping up to be a really awesome day. Our talented artists have outdone themselves this year. If you enjoy seeing quality handcrafted work and unique designs, do yourself a favor and stop in for a visit. You won't be sorry!

A sampling of our artists' work:

Nan Loncharich, Fancy Wool Flowers



Merriann Grant, Zippity Doodads




Cia Williford, Briarwood Studio



Katie Resch



Helen Stetina




Lisa Hertzog



Also joining us again this year are two Associate GWCC Members:

Marlene Melego




Sue McLaughlin

And for the first time ever, we are welcoming a Student GWCC Member to the show, Ms. Alex Grant. Alex is a talented photographer and will be exhibiting a collection of her prints, including several, like this one, taken on a recent trip to Italy.

Wine, Anyone?

GWCC member Katie Resch is bringing these new colorful wine-bottle stoppers to this year's An Artful Affair. These amazing pieces are handpainted and crafted. Katie and her father also make wonderful cabinets from reclaimed wood that are decorated with Katie's wood burning/painting technique. We hope you'll come by to see them, and the many other wonderful items by local artists and artisans, at our show.

Angel Box

This lovely angel box will be available for purchase at our annual show, An Artful Affair, on October 1st.

Painted by Cia Williford, our mixed media artist (and a founding member of the Greater Westmoreland Creative Collective), the box measures 8 3/8" W x  8 1/8 L x 1 3/4" D. It has been distressed and crackled, and features a beautiful folk art angel on the lid.

Perfect for jewelry, trinkets, love letters...the uses for this delightful box are limited only by your imagination. It would make a wonderful Christmas present for someone special!

Flowers Everywhere!

If you come to this year's An Artful Affair, GWCC's annual trunk show extraordinaire, this is some of what you'll see: beautiful wool flowers handcrafted by our own Nan Loncharich, author of Making Flowers from Wool, and mixed media art by Cia Williford. Both ladies are founding members of GWCC.

Come by and visit the show on Saturday, October 1st. We'd love to meet you (and we'll have the best cookies in town, too -- promise!).

An Artful Affair 2011 - Save the date!

The Greater Westmoreland Creative Collective is pleased to announce its second annual trunk show, "An Artful Affair 2011", on Saturday, October 1st, from 10 to 4 p.m., in Greensburg, PA.

"An Artful Affair" is intended to celebrate local artistry and to honor Pennsylvania's long heritage of fine handcrafted goods. In a world filled with "fast, cheap and disposable", the GWCC and "An Artful Affair" are dedicated to providing only quality, high value, and unique creativity to those who can truly appreciate them.

Our artists also have a strong commitment to the three R's (Reuse, Repurpose, or Recycle) and you will find that many of their works reflect this important environmental sensibility.

Please join us for a day of tantalizing tea, delightful delectables, and amazing art as we showcase local artists, craftsmen, designers, and jewelers. It's a day to celebrate creativity!

Artist members who will be spotlighted:

Merriann Grant - fine jewelry
Nan Loncharich - fabric arts
Cia Williford - miniatures and mixed media arts
Katie Resch - painted woodwork
Helen Stetina - needlecrafts
Lisa Hertzog - country decorating

Additional guests will be announced prior to the event.

Location:
1104 Middletown Road
Greensburg, PA 15601