The 77th annual Chadds Ford Elementary School Art Show and Sale got off to a grand start Saturday. Hundreds of people packed the school’s gymnasium/auditorium to view — and buy —works of more than 70 professional artists. There have been some changes to the show, and some are liked, some not.
While the event is annual and many artists return year after year, some feel a closer connection than others to the event. They are the local artists who keep on coming back.
Jacalyn Beam, known primarily for her plein air impressionistic approach, has been painting the local Chester County for years and has been attending the CFE S Art Show for more years than she can recall.
“These are my people,” Beam said. “It’s been a number of years, and I do it because this is where I paint, this is my clientele,” she said.
Yet, while Beam can’t recall how many years she has been showing at the school, she has seen changes to the event. She said she was glad to see more space given to artists in the gymnasium.
“This particular show, this year, they gave more room in the aisles, which I think was good because people don’t like to bump into each other, and also, they need to stand back to see all of the art,” Beam said.
She said she can’t think of anything else the school can do.
“I just show up and have fun…These are my people, and this is the area I paint.”
While not part of the show, Beam was pleased to reveal that she has a new book coming out in May titled simply “Jacalyn Beam.” The book has 112 of her paintings, with a forward written by the senior curator of the Brandywine Art Museum, Amanda Burdan. It’s being published by Brilliant Graphics.
Another returning local artist is Kathy Ruck, who thinks she’s been showing at the Chadds Ford event since about 2012. Why does she keep coming back?
“Oh my gosh, this is the best show in the area,” Ruck said. “We have such a great community of art here. We have the Wyeth tradition. We have so many artists in the area that are just wonderful, and I get to see all my friends. But the community supports us so much.”
Ruck said she’s seen several changes to the show over the years and pointed to one in particular.
“We don’t have the Friday night reception,” she said, “I do kind of miss that. But, on the other hand, we now handle our own sales, and that’s good. It’s good because people get a chance to talk to the artists. The artists have to be here, so you get to be face-to-face with the artists.”
There’s only one change she would like to see.
“I’d like to see the Friday night reception come back,” she said with a laugh, “because that was a lot of fun.”
And then there’s Nicki Wandersee, a former Chadds Ford resident who sketches animal figures, many of which show some humor.
Wandersee wasn’t exactly sure how long she’s been showing, but thinks it was about two years before COVID hit. She keeps coming back for one simple reason: “It’s great.”
She then fleshed out that statement a little more.
“This is my hometown. It’s a great community of artists; wonderful people. The volunteers are awesome, and I love the people here. It’s really great.”
One of the changes that Wandersee likes is the fact that the show is now open to artists who work in different media.
“It can now incorporate a lot of different artists, and it’s not strictly just a certain kind of art. And I love that they’re trying to make it easier to get in; I just love the diversity,” Wandersee said.
She explained that some of the new people in the show work with different materials. One person that she mentioned specifically was Brian Marshall, who makes fish out of recycled material.
“Before it was just 2-D art, now we have three-dimensional, all kinds of different artists where you see so many unique talents,” she said.
One change Wandersee would like to see is more rooms opening for artists’ displays, and for artists to pick their location in the gym.
Another local artist who continues to return is Concord Township resident Jerry Dowling.
“This is going to be my last year, but I said the same thing last year,” Dowling said with a smile. “I hope I say that again next year.”
He’s been showing at CFES for about 28 years and said he keeps coming back because of the people.
“I get to know the people here,” Dowling said. It sure isn’t about selling because you’re not going to make a living at it, a lot of years you don’t sell anything. But you get to talk to the people, and that’s nice.”
Dowling said he thought the Friday night receptions were too crowded with too few sales, so he was OK with them going away
“This way, a one-day event like this, you control your own sales and pay them a fee to be here, I think, is much better,” he added.
And while some of the old folks return, there are always new people who show up. One of those people is Briam Marshall, whom Nicki Wandersee referenced. Marshall sculpts fish from found pieces of wood. One large piece is a fish he made from wood that came from a mushroom house.
He said he only started doing the fish a few years ago. Before that, he had been making robots, but then he started making the fish for people to put on their walls.
Another newbie to the show is Sean Davis, a massage therapist by trade, who makes small sculptures from wood and hand-built ceramics. He said he learned about the Chadds Ford show from a massage client.
Davis said he got into sculpting because he’s always been drawn to sculptures, be it stone, wood, clay, or ceramics. “But it really started with his fascination with castles and gargoyles,” he said, adding that he’s always been attracted to the history of sculpting, especially the sculpting around European castles.
He said that he and his wife are preparing for retirement and want to make sculpting a part of that future.
“Once we get to that stage, hopefully we’ll be at a point where we can expand beyond what we’re doing right now.”
He hopes to start creating larger pieces that are geared more toward galleries. He’s also looking to explore other media. One of his plans are top study metal work.
The Chadds Ford Elementary School Art Show and Sale is a fundraiser for the CFES PTO. It began 77 years ago when Betsy Wyeth started the idea when her son Jamie was in school.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
