Native American tradition inspires art

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The Zuni used to carve natural stones and bind arrowheads, feathers and other natural objects to the stone with sinew.

James and Greta Cannons' art is based on this Native American -- specifically Zuni -- tradition.

"They're based on Native American fetishes of the Southwest. We used to call them contemporary fetishes," James Cannon said. "But as soon as we took them out of the Southwest, people got scared by the name 'fetishes.' Now we call them miniature sculptures."

Each piece of art is based on a beach pebble they've polished, which enhances the details in the pebbles.

"You know how they look when they're wet? It becomes kind of the permanent effect," James Cannon said.

Other components include semi-precious stones, sterling silver and sometimes even twigs. The components are bound together with artificial sinew, which looks similar to natural sinew, a tissue that connects muscle to bone, James Cannon said. The art is then displayed on hard wood bases the Cannons make.

This year, they will also show jewelry with Japanese paper details and connected with magnetic clasps, he said.

"It's really just a study in balance and harmony," James Cannon said. "To me, it's about the emotional response."

Artist's sculptures exhibit interest in Asian art forms

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Two weeks -- and 35 years. That's how long each of David Bryce's sculptures takes.

"People ask, 'How long did it take?' " he said. "That's the kind of commitment I have."

Bryce's drawings in clay and clay sculptures are inspired by his interests in Asian antiquity and baroque drapery, he said.

"The use of clay is a metaphor for drapery," Bryce said. "They're figures that are draped in ribbons of clay, and they have quite a good gesture to them. It looks like I just walked away."

Bryce said when he tries to finish his pieces, they tend to go "belly up."

"They generally have a bit of whimsy to them," Bryce said. "Think of Chaucer in China."

He then casts his pieces in materials that enable people to display his work outdoors.

His sculptures stem from what he described as a lifelong interest in making things, said Bryce, who made studio furniture before he made sculptures.

Then, he went to graduate school at Queens College-CUNY.

"I got stuck on sculpture and never looked away," he said.

He said people attending the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts will be "uplifted" by his work -- which he said will also help pay his children's tuition.

"In this economy, it's expensive pieces that they're buying," Bryce said.

However, he said people tend to like the artwork, and they often make an emotional connection.

Artist brings woodwork pieces to Arts Festival

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Mark Speiser makes the "Lamborghini of wooden bowls."

That is, compared to the "Kia Rio" of wooden bowls.

"I make artful, functional wooden bowls and other handy kitchen items," Speiser said, adding other bowls may not be as finely cut or sanded.

He also makes cutting boards and spring-action salad servers, he said.

He enjoys the creativity his art provides compared to the cabinet making he did before, he said.

"I saw somebody else do it, and I said, 'that's fun, I think maybe I could do that,' " said Speiser, who has been coming to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts since about 1995.

There are slight differences in shapes and styles, but he has grown to know what people like, he said.

"If I feel like making something new, I just go ahead and do it. And, hopefully, someone will like it and buy it," Speiser said.

-- Compiled by Danielle Vickery