Three Kane Groups Provide Synergy
for Local Artists & Art Lovers

Visual artistry in the Kane Area is developing and growing. Members or participants in three groups are often asked the differences between the Kane Creative Arts League, ArtWorks at the Depot and the Art in the Wilds.

Nothing about art fits neatly into a box. Even so, a quick explanation of each group might help clarify what each offers. Some confusion may lie in the fact that many artists and art lovers are members or participants in each of the groups.

The Kane Creative Arts League (KCAL) is a group of people who love art – whether an established or aspiring artist, or a promoter or admirer of the arts. Started in November 1990 by artist Jenifer Robinson the mission of the KCAL is to promote all arts in the Kane area, and to support continuing art appreciation and exploration.

The KCAL hosts quarterly gatherings on the second Thursday evening of February, May, August and November at Friends' Memorial Library to learn or experience something new or different about an art technique, the history of art or perhaps to enjoy a talk or demonstration.

The Kane Creative Arts League has open membership, with a nominal annual fee of $10 for adults and $5 for students. Membership fees help pay for publicity for quarterly programs and advertising for their annual Holiday Artisan Market where members display and sell their work.

The annual Artisan Market will be held this Saturday, December 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Depot.

Local artist Steve Miller is KCAL president, nature photographer Rocky Holland, vice president, painter Buzz Anderson, treasurer and art promoter Marilyn Blackmore, secretary. For more information call Steve at 837-7078.

In addition to the Artisan Market, the League provides local art for rotating art galleries and displays at Kane Community Hospital (Galleries for paintings and drawings on the first and second floors and photo gallery on the ground floor), at Friends' Memorial Library, and as requested.

For years the Kane Creative Arts League hosted an art show and competition at KaneFest each summer.

ArtWorks at the Depot is an Artists’ cooperative gallery selling original art and fine crafts in the middle room of the restored Kane Depot.

ArtWorks is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday from June through December, or by appointment. In December, hours are also planned for Fridays. Local art includes watercolors, oil and acrylic paintings, prints, drawings, photography, pottery, fine woodworking, and beadwork from area artists and artisans.

The opening show for the 2008 ArtWorks season -- entitled "Looking Up" -- was a creative and very successful community project that celebrated our local treasures (our past, our natural and built environments, our heritage, and our people). The Show engaged the community and inspired many creative entries by area residents. The art and the inspiration for each piece in the show were captured in print. It is available at ArtWorks.

ArtWorks sells Kane Depot items, Holgate Toys, fine locally produced wooden toys; and many other things of artistic or local significance including Art in the Wilds Purchase Awards (Gift Certificates) and Clocks made from Kinzua Bridge handrails.

ArtWorks is located in the restored 1873 Kane Railroad station building at the Depot at 1 South Fraley Street in Kane.

Its members pay an annual fee to join the cooperative and pay a commission on work sold to share the expenses of doing business. They help staff the Gallery and Store.

The creator and director of ArtWorks at the Depot is artist Merry Ryding. An ArtWorks Roundtable made up of artists and patrons sets policy and procedures. Ryding serves as president; Joe Feikls, vice president; Marian Aranyos, secretary; and Marilyn Blackmore, treasurer.

The aspiring art work of Kane Area High School Students is also sold at ArtWorks Gallery and Store during the holidays. New items from the Art Club have just arrived. Students are exposed to many media as members of the KAHS Art Club directed by teacher and artist Cathy Sirianni, a member of ArtWorks. Stained glass ornaments, earrings, and pottery were big sellers last year.

The ArtWorks Gallery & Store is a destination on the Scenic Route 6 Artisan Trail, one of many Pennsylvania Wilds initiatives to promote tourism in the mostly rural, natural wilds of a 13 county area of Pennsylvania.

An ArtWorks Patron membership is being considered for nonartists who wish to support the visual arts in Kane and receive news and information about local art events and discounts.

To learn more about the gallery and store go to www.alleghenyartworks.org.

Art in the Wilds is Kane’s annual juried fine art event the fourth weekend in June, that purposely coincides with Kane’s Alumni Weekend to ensure the large number of people needed to have a successful event.

The Third Annual Art in the Wilds Fine Arts Show will be held June 27-28, 2009. Set in beautiful Evergreen Park in the center of Kane on the edge of the Allegheny National Forest, part of the Pennsylvania Wilds. Admission and parking are free. Food, drinks and resting places are available on site.

Art in the Wilds Purchase Awards are like gift certificates and can be bought in increments of $20, and can be used just like money to buy pieces of art. Artists then redeem Purchase Awards for cash at the end of the show. Purchase Awards are ideal gifts for friends and family, or as a gift for an organization such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools, business clients, or community centers. Purchase Awards can be bought in advance at ArtWorks, the Kane Area Chamber of Commerce or by sending a check to Art in the Wilds Purchase Awards at 214 Chemical Works Road, Kane PA 16735 or by contacting Marilyn Blackmore at mab@penn.com.

Art in the Wilds was created and voluntarily co-directed by Dave and Marilyn Blackmore with the support of a year round volunteer working committee of community leaders/organizers, vital grants and sponsors and dozens of community volunteers during the event.

As a juried show, artists compete for the opportunity to participate in the show. In addition to the jury process, artists need to have a white tent with sides and a significant volume of work available for this venue.

During Art in the Wilds, ArtWorks maintains the same hours as the show so as to extend the opportunities for purchasing great local art and to extend the festivities of the event into the community.

As Art in the Wilds grows among art venues in the region, it is not intended to evolve into a much larger show. Over time it will grow more diverse in media, but its current size is what Kane can support with alumni and available lodging and accommodations. To learn more about Art in the Wilds, go to www.artinthewilds.org.

Each of the three groups is a nonprofit organization that welcomes tax deductible contributions.

This is a quick summary for information on three visual art groups in Kane. It does not include the many artist studios in the area or other visual art businesses, or gallery spaces in Kane.

And, it doesn’t even touch the performing arts of music, dance, theatre which over the years have uniquely distinguished our town, the Star in the Forest, for its creativity, with many awards and standing ovations.

Pictured from top to bottom: Kane Creative Arts League Members at Kane Community Hospital hanging their first gallery in 2006. From left are artists Steve Miller, President of the Creative Arts League, member of ArtWorks and one of 30 featured aritsts at Art in the Wilds; Betty Lingle formerly of Kane; Jenifer Robinson, founder of KCAL who recently moved from the area; Olivia "Missy" Hartman; and Mary Lou Rich. An old view from the middle room of the Depot that houses the extraordinary talents of local fine artists and artisans and is known as ArtWorks at the Depot Gallery & Store. Open every Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. until Christmas. In the front room of the Depot this Saturday, Dec. 6 the Kane Creative Arts League will hold its annual Holiday Artisan Market from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. The look of a juried fine arts show in Evergreen Park the fourth weekend in June.

Thanks to Ruth Gentilman Peterson for the story and photos
.

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