Contributed by: Holly Knott / Skaneateles Artisans

Artist Opening – Stoneware and Stone ‘Wear’: Skaneateles Artisans, 11 Fennell St., Skaneateles. First Friday, 5/1, 6:00 – 9:00pm. Skaneateles Artisans is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit featuring Sallie Thompson, ceramics, and Dee Ann VonHunke, fine silver and semi-precious gemstone jewelry. Music by Chris Molloy and his electric blue harp. Through 5/31. The gallery offers off-street parking and accepts major credit cards. Visit their website at www.skaneatelesartisans.com. For more information, call 315-685-8580.

Contact person:
Holly Knott
315-673-9074
email:  hollyknott@hollyknott.com

ARTIST BIOS

Sallie Thompson, Elbridge, Ceramics
Sallie Thompson of Elbridge combines her love of nature, printmaking, and pottery to create pieces influenced by the diversity of form and texture found in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Sallie studied pottery at the Oregon School of Arts & Crafts and earned a B.F.A. from the N.Y.S. College of Ceramics at Alfred. She was a 2006 Ceramic Artist in Residence at Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock. She has taught pottery at Clayscapes and the Veterans Administration Community Care Center in Syracuse, New York. Inspired by a recent trip to Belize, she will have several new pieces on display including ceramics for the garden.

Dee VonHunke, Jamesville, Fine silver and semi-precious gemstone jewelry
I have been a creative designer/craftsperson for over thirty years. My work in silver and gemstone is divided between one of a kind personally inspired pieces, and work that is a custom created collaboration with a client/collector.

I personally and thoughtfully creatively design and craft nearly every aspect of each jewelry piece; right from selecting the rough mined stone to doing the lapidary work prior to my visualizing the design and working the silver for the finished piece.

I have exhibited my work in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Mexico, and in 2009 in Arizona. Last summer I studied in Massachusetts new techniques for working silver and this past winter I studied advanced forming processes in Tucson, where I also participated in creative design workshops. I’m a member of the Arizona Designer Craftsmen and was invited to participate in a national symposium in Yuma.

I use a variety of semi-precious materials collected from around the world and brought together using multi-step processes, forming thoughts and feelings; discovery and craft; story and art.

I hope my collectors find the same sense of discovery, joy, and fulfillment with my work that the art and craft has provided me.