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May 1--This weekend is the 10th Annual Athens ArtsFest, and organizer David Webster said it will be bigger than past years.

Webster said that around 150 artisans will be set up indoors and outdoors at the grounds of the Harlan-Rowe Junior High School, as well as around 50 booths for non-profit organizations and food vendors.

Artists come from near and far to participate in the festival, he said. About one-third are from the local area, and others come from as far away as New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Rochester, Webster said.

The students of the Athens School District will also be hard at work at the ArtsFest, he said, helping people in the art and clay tent to throw pots, and selling their own pieces of art at the 10 booths that will be set up for student artists.

There will be many returning favorites at the festival this year, Webster said, including the kids corner, which keeps children active in doing arts and crafts. He also said that there will be more carnival-style rides this year for the children.

New to the festival this year, artist Ron Dickson will be creating a chalk art mural in the area of the food court, Webster said. Though Dickson has presented art at the festival in past years, he said it is the first time he is creating a chalk mural. Webster added that Dickson is hoping kids will get involved with the art and have their own chalk art competition.

Artists at the event will be selling a variety of handmade items. Here's a look at some of the artists who will be at the ArtsFest, as well as a preview of some of the other entertainment going on there this weekend.

Folk artist Laurie Sherrell

Laurie Sherrell, based out of Tioga County, Pa., said that she gets her inspiration for her artwork from her beautiful Northeast Pennsylvania surroundings.

Sherrell, a folk artist who paints acrylic signs and folk art paintings, said she has enjoyed painting all her life, and said her interest in art started at a young age.

"I had a very artistic mom who encouraged me in my drawing and painting," Sherrell states on her Web site. "From crayons to oil paints, then sewing and stitchery, clay and fabric sculpture, she encouraged me to work with my hands."

Sherrell stated that she then moved from the rural Nebraska and Iowa area to Northeast Pennsylvania. With the encouragement of her husband, she said she began selling her artwork and traveling to craft fairs.

When her business first started, she said her husband was making furniture, and she would paint designs on it. After she began doing two-dimensional work, she said things went well, causing her to continue with only two-dimensional work.

"My artwork depicts my love of the country," she stated. "I am inspired by the small towns and villages in Pennsylvania and New England."

She designs a variety of signs, many based on her environment. Some are faith based, she said, others are inspirational or humorous sayings, and some of the signs she does are custom pieces requested by customers.

Sherrell said she has been selling her artwork at the Athens ArtsFest for four or five years. Sherrell's booth will be set up outside in row A.

Mountain Meadows Soap

Joyce Lewis, of Mountain Meadows Soap, is certainly no stranger to the Athens ArtsFest -- she's been selling her body products there since the very first year of the show in 2000.

Lewis has been in the businesses of making natural, vegetable-based soaps for 16 years, she said. Each of her products she makes from scratch, she said, from creating the product to designing her own packaging.

She first started her Port Allegany, Pa., business making soaps after she read an article about why vegetable-based soaps are better for the skin than animal fat-based soaps, she said.

"They tell you if you eat too much fat, it coats your arteries, and it does the same thing when soap is made with animal fat," Lewis said. "Your pores don't breath; they can't take in oxygen. It makes skin so dry and flaky. Vegetable oils will not do that to your skin."

Lewis decided after learning this that she would try to craft her own soap. She made several batches, throwing many away because they weren't good enough.

"I wanted a certain feel," she said. She finally found a recipe she liked that made the skin "smooth and silky and soft," she said.

After trying out her soap on friends and relatives, she said she decided to try to sell her wares at a craft show. She brought 100 bars of soap with her, and within a half-an-hour, it was all gone, Lewis said.

Now she travels to several craft fairs each year, bringing around 800 bars of soap, she said. She also brings her other products that she began to make, such as lotions, lip balms, body butters, massage oils, shower gels, foaming soaps, hand cream, shaving soap and bug spray, many in different fragrances and all made from scratch.

"It's fun and I really like doing it," Lewis said.

Mountain Meadows will be set up in cafeteria two in the school.

Precious Jewels by Fran

It was the birth of her granddaughter and a gift the newborn received that inspired Fran Lape, of Jersey Shore, Pa., to start her business.

Lape said that her granddaughter received a gift of a bracelet and necklace set when she was born, and said that she thought her daughter should start making the jewelry herself. After helping her daughter make the jewelry, Lape eventually became "hooked" herself, she said.

Precious Jewels by Fran, Lape's business, provides jewelry for everyone from newborn babies to adults. The jewelry is made using sterling silver, freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals, and other quality materials, she said.

"I pride myself on the fact that I give good quality items," Lape said.

She added that her jewelry comes with an unconditional guarantee -- no matter what a child does to damage it.

Something that sets Lape's business apart from others is that she expands the jewelry to grow with the child, she said. After an item is purchased, if the person wants to make it larger, she said they just send it back to her with $5 and she enlarges it.

Lape's work includes birthstone jewelry, mother jewelry, princess jewelry, personalized jewelry, and even a "Hannah Montana" bracelet that is pink, purple and sparkly, she said. She added that she does some custom work as well.

"If you see something in pink, and you want in blue, you can ask to order that way," Lape said.

Lape said that she loves her work.

"I work at kitchen table, and I can sit here for eight hours working," she said. "I enjoy it."

This will be Lape's third year at the Athens ArtsFest, which she said is one of the nicest art shows she attends.

"The people that organize it do an unbelievable job," she said. "It's just a very nice craft show."

Precious Jewels by Fran will be set up in the gym of Harlan Rowe Junior High.

Shades of Nature

Linda Doucette uses a lot of green to make her art, and not just in the dye, but in the whole process.

Doucette, who has a dyed fiber and artwork business based in Columbia County, Pa., said that she uses old technology and natural products to be environmentally conscious.

To make the fibers, Doucette said she uses her own animals, such as her eight alpacas and six Angora rabbits. She said she also uses natural fibers such as cotton, wool and silk. To make the dye for the fibers, she said she uses plants and flowers.

She first got involved with the old technology of producing and dyeing fibers from scratch when she was 8 years old and saw women dyeing wool with marigolds, Doucette said.

"I was fascinated by using plants to color the wool," she said.

Doucette attended the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science before moving to Pennsylvania and becoming involved with her fiber business full-time, she said.

"I have two spinning wheels, two looms, seven acres of weeds and gardens that I use for dyeing and animals -- everything I need is right here," she said. "Occasionally I have to purchase exotic dyes, but I prefer to grow them."

For the artwork side of her business, Doucette said she was always interested in painting.

"I could paint before I could write my name," she said.

Doucette weaves her paintings with her dyed fibers, she said, also using handmade paper at times.

"I will paint images and cut them apart and weave them," she said, adding that there is no particular theme to the scenes she paints: just whatever comes to her mind.

Doucette said that though she wasn't at ArtsFest last year, she has attended before. Shades of Nature will be set up outside in row A.

Fancy Feets

Amy Hastings' business is all about the fashion-conscious baby.

Her business, Fancy Feets out of Vestal, N.Y., features a "unique clothing line," including hats and footwear, for newborns, infants and toddler, Hastings said. She started out with footwear, giving her business its name, and branched out to other attire from there, designing, embroidering, decorating and hand-painting the clothes, hats and shoes.

Hastings said she uses feathers, rosebuds, bows, satin trimmings, and sometimes dried flowers to accomplish the looks she wants.

"The entire emphasis is on it blending together, so that when the child is wearing the clothes, there's a unique appearance," she said. "It's more of a boutique style that I'm trying to accomplish in a fashion setting for the newborn/infant/toddler age group."

Hastings first got started making baby clothes 18 years ago when she received a footwear gift set for her daughter.

"I saw them and thought they were really kind of neat," she said. "I thought I would try to do it myself and add my own touch to them. I used my art background and I love design."

After making baby footwear and clothes for 18 years, Hastings said she still loves and enjoys her work.

She does a mix of boys and girls clothing for all seasons. One thing she said is unique about her business is that she makes old style bonnets.

"A lot of people say they don't see bonnets in the stores anymore," Hastings said. "It seems to be a large attraction to my booth."

This will be Fancy Feets' third year at the Athens ArtsFest, and it will be set up outside in row A.

Athens ArtsFest 5K

For each year the ArtsFest has been held, the Athens Cross Country team has hosted a 5K race to raise funds for the team. This year is no exception, with the 10th Annual Athens ArtsFest 5k to be held the morning of Saturday, May 2, according to Scott Riley, Athens girls' cross county coach.

The registration, which is $15, is at 8 a.m. and the race is at 9 a.m., he said, adding that the first 50 registrants get a race T-shirt. Registration is at the Athens High School parking lot on Third Street, Riley said, which is where the 5K will begin -- rain or shine.

In past years, between $1,000 and $1,200 was raised for the cross country team, Riley said, with about 60 people coming out to the race the morning of ArtsFest's opening day.

Entertainment

Three stages on the grounds of the ArtsFest will provide attendees with entertainment all day, Webster said.

Two bands are featured to perform on Saturday, May 2: Jared Campbell, a singer/songwriter from Upstate New York, according to his Web site, will play at 1:30 p.m.; and The Orshaw's Bluegrass Band, a group out of the Valley area playing bluegrass, Celtic and old time American music, according to Laura Orshaw's Web site, will play at 3 p.m.

Three bands are featured to perform on Sunday, May 3: Travis Rocco, an artist from Upstate New York performing power-pop, acoustic and funk music, according to his Web site, will play at 12:30 p.m.; Drew De Four, of Ann Arbor, Mich., a "troubadour" performing soul, rock and blues music, according to his Web site, will play at 1 p.m.; and Kelly Birtch, a guitarist performing music in the style of Spanish, blues, rock, jazz, and classical, will play at 2:30 p.m.

There will also be a battle of the bands on both days, Webster said, set up behind the Harlan Rowe building by the playground. There is still room for bands to sign up if they want to compete, he said; interested bands can contact Georgetta Ulmer in the Athens business office at (570) 888-7766.

As in past years, the Pat Haggerty Dancers will be performing in the school, and the Athens High School band, Reflections, and Pat Kane are also some of the entertainment being offered at the ArtsFest.

The Athens ArtsFest goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at the grounds of the Harlan-Rowe Junior High School off Pine Street in Athens. Parking and admission are free.

Tiffany Peden may be reached at (570) 888-9652; e-mail: reviewvalley@thedailyreview.com.

Credit: The Daily Review, Towanda, Pa.

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