Day 27 at Peters Valley

Artists Mary Butler, Dave Robinson, Allyn Cantor, Jennie Schaeffer, Yong Hyun Chung, Missing - Lisa Cecere & Joe Iscaro. Dinner Last Night at the Blue Ribbon in Culver Lake, NJ - Photo courtesy Mary Butler

All good things must come to an end, but before they do I'd like to share the work of the other six artists with whom I've spent the past month. They are each quite different and talented in their own right. The photos I'm going to post are mostly all works in progress, so it will be difficult in some cases to visualize the end result. Many of the artists have web sites or work online so click on their links to get a better idea of the finished product.

David Robinson:Dave is a woodworker from Trenton, NJ who works in a variety of woods, but predominantly cedar. Dave's art has a natural bent to it, ranging from womb-like meditation spaces like above to "curious" birdhouses. His work is meant to be interacted, used and explored. To see more of what Dave creates, go to Natural Edge.

Allyn Cantor:Originally from Rockaway, NJ, Allyn now resides in the Pacific Northwest on the coast of Oregon. Allyn has a passion for painting, but has found a way to fuse it to her new interest in fabric and sewing. Her works are abstract assemblages of fabrics, papers, embroidery and paint that hint at her home landscape. Above is a work in progress of various blue fabrics sewn together which will then be stretched and painted. Some of her older works can be viewed at White Bird Gallery.

Mary Butler:
Mary is a quilter from NYC who has frequented Peters Valley for its many opportunities. She works within the quilting tradition, while creating contemporary themes. Above, is one of Mary's "notes" using a flying geese quilting pattern to convey the movement and pulsing of music. It was fascinating to watch the evolution of Mary's idea. Two of her completed works can be viewed through the Empire Quilters Guild.

Lisa Cecere:Lisa's work comprises itself of two separate bodies: one that is functional and streamlined featuring transfers of various design motifs, another that is much more earthy and organic with influence of ancient ruins. She is a ceramics artist and ceramics teacher at Ocean County Community College in NJ.

Joe Iscaro:Joe spent two and a half weeks with us because he had to return to Rutgers to finish his undergraduate photo degree. He is a prolific photographer who is extremely inventive, working with film and producing both bichromate and gelatin prints. I anticipate seeing more of his work in the future and hope he takes the path of photography over computer science.

Yong Hyun Chung:Yong is a native of Seoul, Korea and a resident of Chicago. He recently graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago with an MFA in ceramics. The above tiles feature Rorschach images of vessels. He is constantly exploring the idea of "interactive relation . . . to communicate with people", says Yong. His work goes beyond beauty, form and function. For more about Yong's art go to his site: www.yonghyunchung.com