By Barbara Arnstein
This year, the historic Roycroft Campus in East Aurora is presenting the annual Fall Show on Saturday & Sunday, October 3-5, from 10am-5pm. Admission is free. There will be paintings, prints, photography, jewelry, and stained glass. There will also be fiber artists, antique vendors, community groups, woodworking, leather workers, metal workers, printmaking, bookbinding, journal making, and more. (It will be a great spot to begin your holiday shopping!) According to Samantha Lehsten, the Roycroft Campus Event Manager, “We will have over seventy artisans, and there will be many food vendors and multiple food products, including fresh baked goods and kettle corn. The non-profit organizations with booths there will include: Stitch Buffalo, the Ten Lives Club, the Tool Library, the Erie County 4-H Youth Organization, and more. The majority of them are returning favorites. The live music will be performed on both Saturday and Sunday from 12-3pm. Saturdays performance is by the Samuel Tambe Band and on Sunday, 45RPM Trio will entertain the crowd.
Stephen Evanock, one of the exhibiting Fine Artists, is a local artist who works primarily in acrylic paint, along with colored pencil and pastel pencil. He will be bringing to the festival mostly original acrylic paintings, plus some colored pencil pieces and prints of a few popular originals. Most of his work focuses on animals, wildlife, and places that mean something to him. “I’m always drawn to the personality and small details that make a subject unique”, he said. “Most of my paintings have a story behind them. One day, as the cows were coming in from the pasture, one cow walked right up to my sister-in-law with a daisy sticking out of her mouth. The second I saw the photo of that, I knew I had to paint it. That’s exactly the kind of personality and character I love finding in my subjects.”
“Another painting, Serene Waters, is of a pond that has been the backdrop for a lot of family memories, from fishing to cookouts to wedding photos, so I wanted the painting to be about more than just how it looks”, he continued. “I worked from a photograph of the pond at sunset to capture the sense of peace and the memories the place holds for my family. For commissions, whether the subject is a pet, a person, or a meaningful place, I’ll do my best to capture it. One of my favorite commissions was a painting I made for my brother after his dog, Hannah, passed away. I worked from a photo of her sitting in a window with sunlight lighting up her golden orange coat, almost making her look regal. I wanted to create a painting that showed not just what Hannah looked like, but who she was.”
Fun Facts: The food and beverage stands will include the Traveling Tipsy Trailer. There will be kids’ craft stations, and alpacas from Thistle Creek Alpacas, which will have products made from alpaca wool.
For more information, go to Roycroft Campus Fall Show on Facebook, or call (716) 655-0261.