Looking for something special for that special someone? A unique homage to Berks? Look no further than the ever-expanding artist community in the county (and a little beyond). Here, we’ve profiled a few for you to get to know a bit better.
Bernadette Bresnahan, Wyomissing • Bernadette isn’t just an artist selling her work; she’s an artist sharing her talent and teaching skills to others. “Sharing my love of painting with others through my classes at Junk to Jazz [in Shillington] brings others the same joy I experience,” she explains. “It tells the women and men I teach, ‘this is a painting…artistic expression is required; there are no rules!’” Bresnahan has nurtured her own talent and creativity through the years. She says painting brings her pleasure and being able to fly freely with her ideas is a form of her following her dreams. It’s also a calming force. She’s inspired by compositions of color, rhythm and texture. For more info, contact Bresnahan through Junk to Jazz at 610.775.3510.
Louise Mehaffey, Wyomissing • Louise's obsession with glass started in the 1970s. Her house at that time had an ugly plastic sidelight and she decided to replace it with a stained glass panel, so she signed up for a workshop and has been hooked on glass ever since. After working with stained glass for many years, she started melting glass in a torch to make beads, and that remains her current obsession. Her beads have been featured in many books and magazines, and she has written two books about lampworked beads and another about her stained glass designs. She loves the idea of someone finding one of her beads 100 years from now, feeling the energy that created it, and wondering about the artist who made it. For more info visit eGlassplace.com.
Elise Phillips, Elverson • Born into a family with extensive experience in the fine arts, Elise is the great-great-granddaughter of the originator of Newman Galleries in Philadelphia, founded in 1865. She’s maintained her studio in Elverson for some time; the bucolic countryside there is a source of inspiration for many of her paintings, as is the Jersey Shore, New England and Maryland’s Eastern Shore. An award-winning exhibitor, she’s a signature member of the Philadelphia Water Color Society, among other organizations. Says Elise, “Ever since I was a child, I knew I was an artist. Where most people see the ordinary, I envision a painting. Everyday surroundings become inspiration to me. My paintings are my journal, reflecting on the places I’ve been, seen and experienced.” For more info visit enphillips.com.
Susan Golembiski, Reading • Since she was very young, Susan has sewn. Although she works within the confinements of the female form, Susan finds this expression to be the most freeing. She believes fashion is art that is compelled to move, to be organic, and to breathe. Susan has been sewing since she was 10 years old and learned pattern making at a vocational-technical school. Her work primarily consists of designing for “alternative” brides and re-creating heirloom gowns. She is an adjunct in the fashion department at Albright College, Reading, and has a studio in Reading’s GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Room 215. For more info visit susangolembiski.com or email susan@frockonpenn.com.
Adrienne Trafford, Reading • Adrienne is a fine artist and illustrator who earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Communications Design from Kutztown University. She’s a full-time artist working for the Humane Society of Berks County, where her illustrations of Spike the Dog and Tilly the Cat are used as the organization’s mascots. She’s created coloring books for Dover Publishing (including one starring Spike and Tilly) which will be available at craft and book stores and on amazon.com beginning in the spring, and her fine art pieces are displayed in galleries across the tri-state area. Look Adrienne up on Facebook, on her blog at adriennetrafford.blogspot.com and on Etsy. She can be reached via email at atraf@ptd.net.
Jane Runyeon, Shillington • Jane grew up in Wyomissing, ice skating at the Stone House and participating in the 4th of July parade on her decorated bicycle. She has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Cincinnati, and taught painting and drawing at Albright College and the University of Colorado. She mentors young artists through internship programs with her company All Together Art, Inc. in Shillington. Jane once designed and installed site-specific stained glass windows for Reading Hospital, Christ Episcopal Church as well as private residential and commercial commissions. “Go for the Gold (pictured)” is a recent artwork, featured in the Blum Gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine, during the Acadia Night Sky Festival 2013. JaneRunyeonWorksOfArt.com.
Holly Gage, Bowmansville • Jewelry can mean more than looking pretty. Holly's word of the year is “connect,” as she strives to create meaningful and lasting relationships with others through her jewelry. Miniature sculptures, pictorial scenes and the symbolic use of materials and imagery replace words as a form of communication for Gage. Her work is crafted with hand-scultped fine silver and lamp work beads, along with other precious metals, gems and pearls. Holly travels worldwide teaching her signature techniques; offers mentoring programs to budding artists; and writes and speaks for national jewelry trade publications and organizations. You can find more information about her workshops, awards and publications at HollyGage.com.
On the hunt for more great art locally?Check out these spots!
All Together Art, 18 Catherine St., Shillington, 610.777.4107 | Art Plus Gallery, 604 Penn Ave., West Reading, 610.375.9122 | Dancing Tree Creations, LLC, 338 S. Ironstone Dr., Boyertown, 610.780.8639 | Eckhaus, 157 W. Main St., Kutztown, 610.683.6870 | Freedman Gallery at Albright College, 13th & Bern Sts., Reading, 610.921.7541 | Freyberger Gallery at Penn State Berks, Tulpehocken Rd., Wyomissing, 610.396.6140 | The Gallery of Hamburg, 335 State St., Hamburg, 610.562.3106 | GAPS “The Gallery” Above Penn Square, 128 N. 5th St., Reading, 610.685.5154 | GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, 201 Washington St., Reading, 610.374.4600 | Greshville Antiques & Fine Art, 1041 Reading Ave., Boyertown, 610.376.0076 | Marlin and Regina Miller Gallery at Kutztown University, 15200 Kutztown Rd., Kutztown, 610.683.4546 | Studio B, 39A E. Philadelphia Ave., Boyertown, 484.332.2757 | Taylor Backes, E. 2nd St., Boyertown, 610.367.4600 | The Yocum Gallery, 1100 Belmont Ave., Wyomissing, 610.376.1576.
