Opening Reception: Rebecca Ross

Berks County artist Rebecca Ross is having a solo exhibition at Clay on Main in Oley, PA from January 12 through February 16, 2020, with an opening reception on January 12th from 4-6pm. The show focuses on a group of figurative, religious oil pastels created over the past thirty years. Forty-one works will be featured in the show. Other series included in the show are based on yantras, Pennsylvania-German hex symbols and crop circle geometry.

Much of Rebecca’s work is made in an oil pastel, scratch board technique. Rebecca says, “ My artworks are made with both oil pastel and wax crayon. I create my own scratch board by blocking out large areas of the page with neon and glitter crayon. Location and size of the blocks of color are chosen based on anticipated placement of figures and symbols in the final work. After completing the base coat, I cover it with a mix of oil pastels. Different colors are put in different areas of the page. I favor darker colors for the outer layer. I draw with pen nibs for scratch board, combs, razor blades and map making tools. The work is both additive and subtractive, like oil painting. Part of the work is made by using oil pastels to draw over scratched areas.”

Rebecca has lived in Berks County for over twenty-six years. In the 1980s she received a B.F.A. in art from the University of Nebraska and an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from James Madison University in Virginia. Rebecca has an art studio in Goggleworks Center for the Arts in Reading. Six of her most recent works are also featured in the show. They are colored pencil drawings and acrylic paintings based on live musical performances.

Opening Reception: Snippets

Join us in the Clay on Main galleries for a group show of seven woman artists.  Opening reception takes place on April 7th from 4-6pm, and artists included in this show will be present to talk about their work!

Kitbashing Workshop with Artist John Salvino

Come learn how to Kitbash with local artist John Salvino!  John is offering this workshop in conjunction with his current exhibition in the Clay on Main galleries.
Kitbashing is the art of mixing model kit pieces to make an original design. Come learn the basics and make your own model as you go! Workshop includes kit materials.  Geared towards ages 12+, exacto knives and some hot glue are involved.  Materials fee of $20 for kits should be paid to artist.
John Salvino is an artist and author residing in Lancaster, PA. John works in a range of different illustration styles, including sumi-e, sequential art, digital painting, and concept design. His ‘Islands’ Sumi ink series and his graphic novel ‘She Walks with the Giant’ have been in galleries and shops in Lancaster City since 2015.
Questions about this workshop? Want to attend?  Call us at 610-987-0273 to register!  or email clayonmain@gmail.com.  Please register at least one week in advance.

Rachel Yoder: PA Dutch Folk Art

Rachel Yoder, a PA Dutch folk artist with deep familial roots in the Oley Valley, will exhibit her work at Clay on Main’s gallery from January 27 to February 17.  The opening, on Sunday, January 27 from 4-6pm, is free and open to the public.  Viewers can expect to see brightly colored painting of abstracted figures and patterns derived from plants and animals in a bold graphic style, often painted on wood.  Her work is focused on contemporary interpretations of fraktur style painting and portraits of der Belsnickel.  She has exhibited at Tyler School of Art, Kutztown University and The Hex Factory gallery.  Yoder explains, “Clay on Main is where I have always envisioned my work being able to shine; especially since my family is out of Oley, and it’s a very special and sacred place to me.”

 

Clay on Main’s Annual Holiday Boutique

Join us as we turn our entire gallery space into a holiday boutique filled with handmade items to be sold.  Our Co-Op members are hard at work making everything from ceramics to textiles- there’s something for everyone!
We have several Open House dates, and will be participating in the Fall Into Winter Tour November 17 & 18, 10-5pm.  Boutique will be open regular gallery hours: Sundays 1-4pm, Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays 10-2pm, Wednesdays 12-9pm- or give us a call!  If someone is in the studio, we can gladly have visitors for a special appointment!

Stop in during Half Moon shows and browse the gallery, or during classes and workshops too!

 

‘Working Surface’ Opening Exhibit

Join us in the Clay on Main galleries as we invite local artists and friends of Clay on Main who have previously shown within our walls to exhibit work that focuses on the treatment and application of ‘surface’.  Exhibiting artists will include, Mary Ann Conway, Rhonda Counts, Lisa Gauker, Dolores Kirschner, Pirjo L’Esperance, Ron Schira, and Joshua Steffy and includes works of ceramics, painting, encaustic, and photography- all showcasing the different approaches to creating surface.

Opening Exhibition runs from 4-6pm.

Show runs May 20th- June 17th.

Strange & Wondrous Things Opening Exhibition

Clay on Main presents Bob Hakun and Stefan Benovsky: Strange and Wondrous Things

Bob Hakun’s found-object industrial assemblages will be exhibited in dialogue with the wearable fabric collages of Stefan Benovsky in the exhibit opening on Sunday, February 18 from 4-6pm.  Hakun describes his work as “Industrial Primitive,” and explains, “I collect old, discarded items: some natural like bones or wood; some man made, like wheels or gears. I look for old things that show the graphic effects of aging: the beauty and harshness of the breaking down over time of all things. I like things that are burned, broken, rusty, crushed, bent, and have acquired a warm patina.”  Benovsky aquires his materials in a similarly omnivorous way, bringing home anything from farm equipment to clothing and beads, then transforming them into one of a kind pieces of wearable art and iron garden ornaments that evoke strange insect and vegetative forms.

For this show, the artists worked with different types of materials, but they have even more in common than their commitment to re-use; both have professional experience in design. Hakun worked in the toy industry, designing Halloween costumes and masks, and designing graphics for silk-screen printing, and has also worked as a computer prepress specialist and a digital graphic designer.  Benovsky is semi retired from a long career as a pattern maker and technical designer in the garment industry.

The public is invited to the opening on Sunday February 18 from 4-6pm, and the show will be up until March 18.

Reflections II Opening Reception

Visual artist and graphic designer Amanda Condict will curate a follow-up to 2014’s exhibit of female artists, titled Reflections, this September and October at Clay on Main in Oley. Ron Schira, art critic for the Reading Eagle, called that show “a thinking show with strong imagery,” and this iteration is sure to continue to gently provoke and inspire, with a touch of humor.    Join us for this opening for an opportunity to talk with the artists!

 

Artists exhibiting in the show:

Michele Byrne

Amanda Lee Condict

Mary Ann Conway

Caren Dissinger

Angela Faust Izzo

Cathy Jones

Tina Louise

Sharon McGinley

Pam Roule

Adrienne Trafford

 

The public is invited to the opening on Sunday September 24 from 1-4pm, and the show will be up until October 22.