YELLOW SPRINGS — More than 100 artists from Ohio and beyond will gather under the shade trees in the heart of Yellow Springs to show and sell their original, fine arts and crafts at this year’s Art on the Lawn — the free, popular, outdoor festival of art, food and music sponsored by Village Artisans Gallery, is now in its thirty-fourth year.
Both new and returning artists will present ceramics, drawings, fiber art, garden art, glass, jewelry, leatherwork, mixed media, papercraft, paintings, photography and more. Food vendors and live music complement the outstanding, juried artwork.
Art on the Lawn’s returning, featured artist this year is Peggy Schuning, a mixed media, mosaic artist from Cincinnati who primarily works in slate. She won best of show at the 2016 Art on the Lawn. Quoting from her artist statement, Schuning said she studied at Miami (of Ohio) University as an art teacher. She decided not to remain in the teaching profession and when she pursued stained glass a bit she found that “creating mosaics was a better fit for me as I enjoyed working with broken and discarded pieces,” she said.
In 2014, the Preble County Art Association commissioned a sensory wall for a handicapped accessible playground in Eaton. Schuning realized she “needed to learn a lot more” to be able to complete this project so she attended the 2014 Society of Mosaic Artists Conference, training under Isaiah Zagar, a mosaic artist who has created exterior mosaics all over South Philadelphia. Also at this conference Schuning found other like-minded people who pursued mosaics as an art.
“I haven’t looked back since,” she said.
Schuning continues her mosaic training and has learned from internationally known mosaic artists.
“Art on the Lawn last year was actually the first juried art show I had ever applied to,” she said. “At the show, I brought pieces from two workshops she had recently attended and was surprised when her slate pieces sold out. Art on the Lawn was a pivotal turning point for me and my work. I’ve since obtained a studio space at Pendleton Art Center in Cincinnati and won more awards at art shows. My mosaic piece entitled Unbroken, Uncovered, Undone, received an award at the Mosaic Arts International show in Detroit this year.”
“My family has been very supportive. I love when my husband tells me, ‘You were born for this.’ My artwork can be seen at www.peggyschuningmosaics.com and every Final Friday of the month at Pendleton Art Center in Cincinnati,” Schuning added.
