Topping the Sky with Art

Colorful lights, enchanting art and crafts, and the excited utterances known to accompany the holiday season filled the Executive Conference Center located within the Skytop Lodge in which The Pocono Mountain Arts Council held their 7th Annual Holiday Arts Festival on November 26th and 27th. Although I was only able to attend the festival during it’s final two hours, much of the spirit of the festival was still felt as it permeated among the vendors and all who experience their seasonal hospitality. A relaxed joy touched the air as offerings ranging from the creative works of renowned artists and crafters to the pieces created by energetic students from local school districts who shared their newly discovered talents.

Over 50 creative souls presented their works to a sizable number of art and craft lovers who awaited for the yearly arrival of the festival. Many came with a desire to enhance their holiday shopping through the purchase of the pleasantly beautiful images, the divinely adornment jewelry, and gently crafted household décor that were on display while many came to simply admire the work. Indeed, this was a festival combining love with commerce in a tastefully satisfying manner.

As for me, it was an enjoyable festival filled with some very nice work and delightful conversation. The objects presented by the crafters caught the eye’s attention and proved to be interesting products while the art presented pleased the eye with their gentle depictions. With few exceptions, the body of work presented at the festival were created with commerce in mind so there were very few pieces providing any reflections of the state of human existence.

However, there was a love for the crafts and art that were presented which emanated from their creators. Without this love, the objects would hold no more significance than those found in retail stores whose items are merely placed their to make the shop owners a profit. One can sense the work presented during The Pocono Mountain Arts Council’s 7th Annual Holiday Arts Festival were not made with a mere profit motivation to which its existence was owed. A human heart was present as each stroke of a paintbrush touched a canvas, as each nail was hammered in a piece of wood, and as each pierced stone was strung together.

The Pocono Mountain Arts Council supports the work of artists and promotes the arts in the community through education and by providing avenues of creative expression encouraging working relationships among the area's artistic groups, providing financial support toward the education of aspiring artists, and working toward the establishment of a permanent gallery space in which to host workshops and exhibitions. The Pocono Mountain Arts Council’s Annual Holiday Arts Festival is held every year during the weekend following Thanksgiving. You’ll find more photographs I took during my time at the festival in The Visual Arts 2011 Galleries Part 2 at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150316388700421.390846.636000420&type=1&l=559eabb691 and Part 3 at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150485302325421.426918.636000420&type=1&l=ac02183230. Please Explore The Pocono Mountain Arts Council Website at www.poconomac.com or call 570-595-3157 to learn more about them, what they offer to the community, and how to become welcomed as a member.