Folk Art in Stone at CCCD

Carved blue stone fish by Richard McCormack

Carved mini-fireplace by Mark Swanberry

A two-month exhibit of folk art in Catskills bluestone is coming to an end in Arkville at the Erpf Gallery, part of  The Catskill Center.  It is on view through June 7, Monday - Friday 9:30 - 4:00 pm, at 43355 State Highway 28, Arkville, 12406.  There is a last chance to visit the exhibit on the weekend on Saturday, June 1, when the gallery will be kept open just for exhibit visitors.

Catskills Folk Connection organized the exhibit which features two folk artists from Schoharie County, Mark Swanberry and Richard McCormack.  Both artists come from artistic families and work as landscapers, but they carve and embellish their stone works differently.

Swanberry started carving stone plaques and bird baths.  He developed a series of stone lanterns and mini-fireplaces (complete with tea lights), both of which bear details in copper.  Recently he found a way to reproduce his stone carvings in repoussé copper on stone. 

McCormack is a draftsman and carves large stone figures, especially fish, in a linear style.  He embellishes slabs of bluestone with paintings of rural scenes, carving the stone to act as a frame.

"Folk Art in Stone" is the first in a series of exhibits of folk art in a number of media.  In 2020 Catskills Folk Connection will present an exhibit of folk art in wood, followed in 2022 by and exhibit of folk art in metal.

Catskills Folk Connection endeavors to conserve the diverse cultures of the CAtaskill Mountain Region through documentation and presentations such as this exhibit.  It is supported by Roxbury Arts Group, and is funded in part by  the New York State Council on the Arts Folk Art Program, by Gov.  Cuomo and the NYS Legislature, by an Aciton Grant from Humanities NY and by the O'Connor Foundation.  For more information contact Ginny Scheer 607-326-4206 or vscheer@juno.com.

Note that blog articles about Catskills Folk Connection's programs from September 2018 through April, 2019 can  be found at an alternate blog site: www.catskillsfolk.blogspot.com.