The 34th annual Art on the Lawn art fair will take place this Saturday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the grounds of Mills Lawn School, featuring a variety of artists from Yellow Springs, Ohio and surrounding states. Shown above is a scene from last year’s Art on the Lawn. (News Archive photo by Isaac Delametre)
Mosaics and more at annual Art on the Lawn
- Published: August 17, 2017
The 34th annual Art on the Lawn is taking place this Saturday, Aug. 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mills Lawn School. The annual event presented by Village Artisans is free to the public.
While taking in the art, visitors will be entertained with acoustic performances scattered throughout the show, said Pam Geisel, Village Artisans member and one of the coordinators for Art on the Lawn.
This year’s three food vendors, Keller Catering, Mariano’s La Pampa Grill and Young’s on the Moove Food Truck, will have water and drinks available. Visitors can stay hydrated while strolling through the grass and checking out artisans’ booths.
This year’s featured artist and last year’s “Best of Show winner” Peggy Schuning, won over the judges with her mosaic pieces. Schuning, who is from Cincinnati, won because her slate work is unique and her artwork is well crafted, said Geisel.
Her mosaic artwork, some consisting of a combination of slate rock and stained glass, are what she prefers to create as she enjoys working with the broken and discarded pieces, according to the Village Artisans’ website.
Last year’s Art on the Lawn was Schuning’s first juried art show and she was surprised when her slate work sold out, according to the Village Artisans’ website. Her mosaic work, entitled “Unbroken, Uncovered, Undone,” received an award at the Mosaic Arts International show in Detroit this year as well.
While a majority of the nearly 100 Art on the Lawn artists hail from Ohio or the surrounding states, there are artists coming from as far away as Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, said Geisel.
While visiting artisans travel to Yellow Springs for this event, there are some local faces participating this year as well. Some townspeople selling their work this year are Michael Jones, Steve Lord and Nicole Swani.
Swani, Yellow Springs resident of one year, has attended Art on the Lawn multiple times. This is her first year with a booth of her own.
For the last three and a half years, Swani has been creating jewelry from foreign coins she collects as well as what she retrieves from her travels abroad. She gained her love of coin collecting from her father.
With her shop, Singapore Seahorse Coin Jewelry, she combines her coin-collecting hobby with her love and curiosity for other cultures to create jewelry pieces that can be made with a customer’s bead or chain preference. She thinks the jewelry can connect people to places they have been or plan to go.
When she brings back coins from abroad, she tries to find unique pieces like the 1,000-year-old coin she obtained in India six months ago.
“When you look at the coins, they are a little piece of art and history from all over the world,” said Swani. “I think it builds little bridges to these other far-away places.”
Swani sees the Art on the Lawn event as an opportunity to get to know more villagers as well as help them get to know her through her jewelry.
Jones, who has lived in Yellow Springs since 1970, creates functional stoneware inspired by his more than eight visits to Japan. This has been his full-time job since 1992 when he decided to pursue his passion. Jones thinks art plays a pivotal role in communities by bringing people together.
“I think art has the power to make us and our interactions within society more civil, gentle and responsive to the human components in our lives,” said Jones.
While he has participated in art shows in places like Baltimore, Chicago, Michigan and New York, this will be only his second year with a booth at Art on the Lawn.
Steve Lord, another Yellow Springs resident, has been serious about photography for 15 years. His muse is nature, where he captures photos of wildflowers and other natural scenes around the area.
He gains inspiration by paying attention to small nature scenes that may get overlooked by others. This will be his seventh year participating in Art on the Lawn.
John Bryan Community Pottery members will also be displaying their work. Renters who use the community pottery space will have their work featured at the booth along with pieces by Brad Husk, John Bryan Community Pottery’s studio tech.
Husk has been working on a new technique called “chattering,” which he is excited to display and discuss with visitors, according to Krystal Luketic, director of John Bryan Community Pottery.
Planning of Art on the Lawn is a year-round process where all Village Artisans are involved, said Geisel. The planning for next year’s event is already happening even though many of the Village Artisans are busy themselves, exhibiting their own pieces at this year’s show.
Village Artisans displaying their work this year include: Amy Achor (photography and mixed media), Tara Anderson (ceramics), Pam Geisel (fiber arts/quilting), Leah Grommon (painting), Mary Kleismit (jewelry), Cynthia McDonald (gourd art and paintings), Libby Rudolf (watercolor paintings) and Barbara Vandecreek (lampwork/jewelry).
For more information on the 34th annual Art on the Lawn, visit Village Artisans shop at 100 Corry St., call 937-767-1209 or visit http://www.villageartisans.blogspot.com.
Jessica Sees is an Ohio University student intern at the News.
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