The 2022 holiday exhibit, ‘Shopping During the Holidays: The L.L. Stearns Department Store’ opened on Friday, December 2. Under the talented hands of coordinator Deb Parsons, glass artist, our ornament sale has quickly become a cherished tradition within the County. Featuring a number of local artists, the Community Room glistened and sparkled with the delicate works of glass, ceramics, eggs, fiber arts and stained-glass.
Catheal Weiser was the featured artist. Catheal produced pysanky eggs and in honoring the Stearns Department Store exhibit added details to her pysanky eggs which are reminiscent of the Stearns bell. She demonstrated her craft at the ornament sale. Catheal was an art teacher in Montoursville for seventeen years. She studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, at Mansfield University and achieving her Master’s at Wilkes University. She has instructed children and adults alike in creating pysanky and fraktur in workshops at the museum.
The artists who participated this year included: Lisa Bitler (pottery), Amanda
Emig (puffy foam snowmen), Karen Mothersbaugh (wire trees), Deb Parsons
(lampworked glass), Theresa Phillips (gourds, fur), Victoria Stetts (Japanese
kusudama blossom balls & origami cranes (with beaded accents), Mike Swanger
(blown glass), Becky Charles (pine cones & pottery) and of course, Catheal
Weiser. As well, a tree with a limited number of ornaments from previous years
by the past featured artists included the work of Jackie Thomas (loblolly pine
woven ornaments), Deb Parsons (glass), Meg Smith (silver and jade) and Linda
Campbell (ceramic). Pop up tables at the sale will include jewelry, stained-glass,
sculpture, fiber arts, pottery, blown glass and gourds.
The event was a fundraiser to support the Museum, and over $1600 was raised.
