Featured Artisan: Ellen Buchanan Weiss

Metal jewelry

Website: http://ellenbuchanan.etsy.com 

BIO: I'm a 29 year old State College metalsmith.  I went to college first at Marlboro College, a tiny liberal arts school on a converted farm in Vermont's Green Mountains, and then at Penn State where I got a degree in philosophy and then later went back to study metalsmithing (right before the department closed, sadly).

Metalsmithing is my true passion and gives me deep and ongoing joy and satisfaction.  I love being in my studio forming a material that seems cold and unmoving into something beautiful and inspired.  I spend part of every day reading about and studying metalsmithing information and techniques and I like allowing my work to evolve as I do.

I love custom orders and working with somebody to turn their vision into reality. I believe in using recycled or responsibly sourced gems and metals wherever possible - doing so, in my opinion, adds beauty and meaning to art.

Featured Artisan: J. Harlan Ritchey

 J. Harlan Ritchey

Art prints, shrink plastic magnets

BIO: J. Harlan Ritchey is an illustrator, cartoonist, and designer based in State College, PA. He is self-taught. He works primarily in pen-and-ink but is incorporating computers into his process. Previous clients include 4-H, the Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy, the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Centre County Reads, and area musicians. He is inspired by shamanic cave painting, Breughel forgeries, Victorian zoological illustration, calligraphy in imaginary languages, poststructuralist interpretations of skateboarding, and beer labels.

Featured Artisan...Dani Kaulakis

Renaissance-style clothing and accessories.

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/IDreamInPeriod

http://danikaulakisart.com/

I've always liked to play dress up. Now that I'm a grownup, I find
myself gravitating towards hobbies that give me the chance to dress in
imaginative ways. I'm a historical reenactor, I sword-fight in frilly
dresses and I love vintage, neo-victorian and steampunk fashion. While
I make a living as a freelance illustrator, I spend the bulk of my
personal time sifting through antique malls and putting my crafting
abilities towards creating something fun and interesting things to
wear.

Featured Business....The Music Underground

Website: http://www.musicundergroundusa.com/

The Music Underground is your one and only locally-owned and independent source for new and used vinyl records, CDs, tapes, turntables and stereo equipment, as well as hi-fi repair.  We restock new and used vinyl regularly, and offer special ordering from our many vendors and distros at fair prices.  There's not much out there we can't track down for you in a reasonable time frame.

We also have a selection of vintage, fully functional home stereo equipment, including: receivers, turntables, speakers and boomboxes.  Home hi-fi equipment peaked in quality in the early-80's, so most of our stuff is from that era.  They don't make stuff like they used to, and we seek to preserve, refurbish, and reuse that valuable equipment.

We can repair most quality hi-fi components at reasonable rates. 

Check out The Music Underground (224 W. College Aveune) and at the Underground Artisans Marketplace on April 9, 2011 from 1-5pm at Schlow Library.

Benefits Schlow! Free Admission! Free Parking!

Featured Artisan...Suzanne Bruening

 Fused Glass, 2-D and 3-D Collage. 

A 2001 Penn State graduate, with a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture and a bachelor of science in art education. She took her first fused glass class at The Creative Oasis in 2003 where she fell in love with the process and technique.  She bought her first kiln before the class was over. now, after 8 years of working with the medium, her kiln collection has increased and her abilities to make unique items for the home and body. 

Featured Artisan...Dory Ferguson

Beadwork with kumihimo & lor knit accents. Glass, sterling and fine silver.

BIO:As an only child, I was encouraged to be creative from a young age in order to to entertain myself. My grandmother gave me a tin of buttons and beads and a new passion was born in me.  Lynne Merchant's hands-on approach to cold worked wire dazzled me, my friend Ceph taught and encouraged fiber-fiddling, and Ben Cunningham, a professor I had at PSU, really made me understand that personal adornment is the ultimate form of artist appreciation. I try to be conscious of where my materials are coming from and at what cost, both for original source items and up-cycling older pieces. Often times, I find beads that just are not made today.

Featured Artisan: Julia Lukowsky

Wheel thrown and hand built pottery.

 

  I create functional pottery with slight sculptural elements.  My work is primarily wheel thrown and altered porcelain with in some cases hand-built attachments.  I would like my work to reflect the soft curves of the female form and also mimic the gestures and attitude of the body.  I am interested in conveying a sense of movement in some of my pots.  In a way that you are forced to pick up the pots and examine them from all angles.  I am also drawn to the contrast between sharp angles and smooth curves.  For glazes, I like to explore the full spectrum, from shiny browns to matte pinks and anything in between.  I am fascinated with the chemical changes that occur inside the kiln during the final firing stage.  I love the variation and surprise when you open the kiln to discover the finished works.

Featured Artisan: Kasey Cannon of Kay.em.Kay

Hats, Handmade dresses, bags, upcycled vintage, art, misc.

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kayemkay

BIO: my parents bought me a sewing machine for christmas when i was in high school. i touched it only a few times, making square pincushions... and larger square pincushions which i referred to as pillows. I hated threading the machine, so it wasn't long before i gave up.Though, i still don't derive any pleasure from threading my machine, i am very pleased to make things that my friends call "cute". Now i spend my free time making purses and recycling old thrift finds. I'm always up for trying something new; shoes, hats, upholstery. I hope to be able to make something you like, something that you'll call "cute".

Featured Artisan: Sandra Park of Accidental Charm

Handmade jewelry, knitting charms, vintage

Website: http://www.etsy.com/shop/accidentalcharm

Accidental Charm is a one woman operation run by yours truly.  I've had this need to be doing something with my hands for as long as I can remember, be it origami, sewing (very poorly), drawing (even worse), knitting, crocheting, jewelry-making, etc.   Born in NYC and raised in Northern Jersey I moved to State College earlier this year.  Some of the finer points of living in Central PA I've learned to truly appreciate are Wegmans and free refills on soda.  My interests include: vintage Pyrex, street fashion photography, Johannes Brahms, Art Deco, hot dogs.