Kathy Trexel Reed , a lifelong art enthusiast, enjoys producing original papercut designs using scissors and exacto knife, as well as cutting small silhouette portraits (with no pencil drawing) of people, sometimes pets, who sit for about 5 minutes. Creating colorful silk and watercolor paintings also offer her a welcome change of pace and help satisfy her artist’s appetite for design, pattern, and color.

She is a PA Council on the Arts rostered artist in education through Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art. Also, she has taught at Touchstone Center for Crafts, and at Laurel Arts, Somerset, PA, where she is an active Board Member. Her efforts as the Guild of American Papercutters’ recent president were instrumental in establishing a National Museum of Papercutting with Laurel Arts at the Philip Dressler Center for the Arts. It was named by the guild board, the Kathy Trexel Reed Gallery; she continues to serve as the museum coordinator.

Artist’s statement: I treasure time spent in my art studio where my imagination, experiences, and senses combine into new expressions, basically for my own fun. I love and need the creative process itself, not knowing where it will go, but finding something, an image, at the end of the journey that pleases me.

See examples of Kathy’s work.

Trexel Reed cutting a portrait silhouette.

Trexel Reed doing a demo of her unique, intricate artwork.

Bridget Mayak, a Handmade Along the Highway artist, was named the Touchstone Center for Crafts Artist of the Year. Mayak is also an art teacher in Somerset County. She creates clay Garden Birds – no two are exactly alike. The birds and owls are made to be indoors or outdoors. They come in singles, pairs, mama and baby, as well as groupings. A limited number are done in raku and have metal appendages.

Touchstone Center for Crafts’ mission is to advance excellence in the arts and crafts by educating and encouraging individuals to develop technical skills, good design, and innovative expression. Recognizing the contributions of artists and artisans to the quality of life, Touchstone serves, but is not limited to, the people of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area. Touchstone Center for Crafts offers classes, exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations, and other creative, educational programming throughout the year for people of all ages and levels of expertise.

Bridget Mayak working on her clay birds.

A few examples of Mayak’s unique, handmade clay birds.

A Handmade Along the Highway destination, The Conservatory provides a variety of garden ornaments and accessories – mostly handmade by local artisans.  There are delightful ceramic birds made by Bridget Mayak of Somerset;  original watercolor greeting cards by Carole McCray from Laurel Mountain village, Patricia Loughran of Ligonier and Eileen Stoner of Latrobe; painted garden markers by Diane Ambrose of Latrobe; as well as bird houses and early American painted items by Dave Armstrong of Irwin. Mayak and Stoner are juried members of the Handmade Along the Highway Artisan Trail.  Mayak was recently named the artisan of the year for Touchstone Center  for Crafts.

The Conservatory also offers a wide variety of flowering indoor plants, hanging baskets, annuals, heirloom tomato and vegetable plants, garden tools and accessories and many gifts for gardeners.

Open four days a week – Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday by appointment. Call 724-238-2288. Located at 1369 Route 30, Laughlintown PA 15655.

Handmade Along the Highway artisan Mark Constantine will be teaching a triangle loom class at the Derry Station Art Center in Derry, PA on June 12, 19, and 24. The cost is $65, which includes all the materials. For more information, please contact Susan Bortz at 724-694-6040.

One of Constantine’s beautiful, hand-woven shawls. Visit Handmade’s Web Site for more information on this artisan.

Handmade Along the Highway artisans displayed and demonstrated their art at the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor fundraising event titled “An Affair with Lincoln,” which was held at The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier on December 12, 2009. Below are photos from the event.

Kathy Trexel Reed pictured demonstrating her art of papercutting.

Bill Baumgartel with his  handcrafted kitchen utensils.

John and Billie Humberger displaying their jewlery; pictured with them is Ralph Lincoln.

Handmade Along the Highway artisan, Kathy Trexel Reed, is named Vice President of the newly established Guild of American Papercutters National Museum. In partnership with Laurel Arts at the home of the Philip Dressler Center for the Arts in Somerset, PA, this is the first American museum devoted to the art form of papercutting, which is an ancient art, dating from the 5^th Century in China. This GAP National Museum will enable guild members to collect, preserve, and share both historic and contemporary examples for the enjoyment and education of the public.

Charter Members of the 22 year old guild have contributed 26 papercut art works for this first exhibit of the museum; these works will remain available to visitors through the end of March and most will become part of the permanent collection. On March 20, 2010, the museum will celebrate with a grand opening and reunion style weekend of activities. Details and reservation information for these events will be available through the GAP newsletter and website, www.papercutters.org.