This past weekend I attended a few festivities with my mom in Hawley, Pennsylvania, which is just a few minutes away from where I currently live. Every year Hawley hosts their annual Hawley Winterfest. Many years ago I was actually fortunate enough to be apart of the fest because the dance studio I danced for always did a show, it was definitely something I truly enjoyed! However, this was the first year I actually attended at an older age and truly appreciated it.

The Hawley Winterfest includes all sorts of activities such as breakfast with Santa, a Christmas play at the Ritz Theater, horse and carriage rides, brunches, beer tours, and fairs. My mom and I went to antique shops across the town and attended the Holiday Artisans’ Fair, which was my favorite! The fair included work from our regional area artists, which was fascinating to see especially for me because I never really realized that art is actually being created right here where I live.

I would like to specifically talk about one venue I truly enjoyed, which was Jared Jaffe’s Ceramics. I do not have any pictures from my visit but I did find his website, http://jaredjaffe.wix.com/jaredjaffe, and I encourage everyone to take a look. I was blown away by his work! I could see the techniques and forms that were taught to me this past semester in Basic Ceramics, but his work was taken to a whole different level! I loved how his pieces looked like they were broken and attached. I asked if they were done purposely or by accident because you never know. Jared said he would make them as one piece but put the cuts in the pieces or cut them apart and rearrange the pieces back together. I felt so inspired after speaking with him and looking at his work. My mom even showed some interest towards them and it made me very happy as well!

If I ever get the opportunity to work with clay again, I definitely want to incorporate some of his style into my pieces. I really did enjoy them!

Featured Image: Barbara Briden’s Painting, found online here http://www.hawleywinterfest.com/files/images/Briden_Painting.jpg