Dozens of juried craftspeople in many media will have their works on display at the 39th annual fair in the school on Route 5. Participating artists donate a percentage of their sales to the Library. Since all work is judged as a prerequisite for entry, it is a very high-quality show. This event also includes a book sale, homemade refreshments, and a raffle of art work donated by 10 of the participating artists.

Winchell Moore became interested in minerals when he was a teenager. He was an enthusiastic rockhound, hunting for treasure. This led him to silversmithing; he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, studying for three years to become a silversmith. He also received a bachelor of arts degree in art education from Gallaudet College. He spent 39 years as an arts and crafts teacher for the deaf, continuing and refining his silversmithing work at the same time.

Moore now enjoys making jewelry, which he sells at craft fairs. He also accepts special orders to design wedding rings and other jewelry.

Paula Hughes of Art Underfoot specializes in floorcloths – durable, individually designed, painted cloth panels for floors in kitchens and other areas of the house. In the painstaking historical process, heavy canvas is cut, shrunk and dried. Hems are glued and the corners are mitered. Two coats of marine grade base paint are brushed on. The design layer is painted by hand, with stencils or both. Finally, three coats of marine grade clear acrylic seal the cloth and protect it from yellowing. Every floorcloth is unique, signed by the artist.

Sandra White, who will be exhibiting this heirloom quilling art at the fair, explained that the name of the craft comes from the practice of trimming the gold edges from books, and then winding the narrow strips of paper around feather quills, using the quill for the tool. Once rolled into circles and pinched into various shapes, the paper is used as texture and detail in pictures. White explained that in her work, building on natural images, “The quill work simulates the feathers in the ducks and birds, the scales on the fish, the veins in the wildflowers, and the fur on the moose.”

Admission is free. For more information and directions, visit www.hobbslibrary.org and click on the Arts and Artisans link or email aafair@hobbslibrary.org.

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