The Art of Wood

The Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, PA held their 5th Annual Festival of Wood on August 8th and 9th as a celebration of our natural and cultural heritage of wood. Numerous crafters and artist displayed their talents of pieces created from natural wood. The warm weather and the calming environment of the natural terrain enhanced the variety of work presented which reflected the numerous the species of trees the artists and artisans utilized in their imaginative creations.

Those artists and artisans included Herlene Frank Lobst who specializes in Alpine Relief Carvings, Original Woodcarvings and Oil Paintings by Robert Muller, Mark and Wendy Strouse of Sings and Wonders, Gabor Ruzsan, David B. Applegate, and Artist Madalena Van along with representative from The Pocono Arts Council* and The Pike County Arts and Crafts, Inc.*

The festival include numerous entertaining and informative activities. One such activity was a demonstration of native American music and dance given by a man called, “Little Bear.” The sounds of the music echoes throughout the rolling hills the Grey Towers Natural Historical Site is well know for. Many of those in the audience ceased to be mere spectators of the music as they began to dance along the sacred trail know to those native American from the past and which Little Bear now placed before each of their steps.

The festival of Wood takes place every year during August at The Grey Towers National Historic Site in Milford, PA. Please contact The Grey Towers National Historic Site at 570-2696-9630 for more information.

Here are links to some groups and individuals mentioned in this article. The Grey Towers National Historic Site www.greytowers.org, Pocono Arts Council* www.poconoarts.org, The Pike County Arts and Crafts, Inc.* www.pikecountyartsandcrafts.org, Herlene Frank Lobst www.herlenescarvings.com, and Madalena Van www.vegi.ws.

You’ll find more photographs on The Forwardian Arts Society Festival of Wood 2009 Gallery. www.myspace.com/forwardian_arts

(*) denotes members of The Forwardian Arts Society in good standing and are considered Our Good Friends.