The new format for the Chadds Ford Elementary School Art Show and Sale, which coincided with the show’s 75th anniversary, seems to have been a hit. And while some artists bowed out for this year, the show picked up 23 new artists, professionals who haven’t shown there before.
Changes for this year included having it on one day only, Saturday. Gone was the Friday night opening reception. Additionally, the artists handled their own sales. Instead of them paying a commission, they paid for the space of their display.
A third change was in not having a featured artist. Instead, there was a Diamond Showcase with the works of seven previous featured artists, with Superintendent of Schools John Sanville presenting those seven artists with Certificates of Appreciation.
According to Michelle Boyle, who chaired the show this year, the changes came about because there were fewer volunteers.
“It’s hard sometimes to get volunteers to run the show,” she said, “and we didn’t have anybody to run the show this year [as it had been run in the past].”
But she added that they wanted to make this year’s event special in light of it being the show’s 75th anniversary.
Having the artists take care of their own sales without the need for volunteers to take the purchase to the checkout area and then write up the sale, reduced the number of volunteers needed to run the event.
Shawn Faust, one of the former featured artists, said he was apprehensive about paying for space instead of paying a commission, but then realized the change allowed him more flexibility in pricing, He could charge less for his work but still make the same money.
While the show is a major fundraiser for the CFES PTO, it’s still all about art. And even though artists who regularly show during the event sat out this year, there were new faces and new artistic expressions.
One of those new artists is Al Moretti, who is both a fine artist and a musician. His instrument is a B-flat (B♭ in musical notation) trumpet. And that he said is significant for his paintings that have a dominant yellow.
“If you transpose the light down, B♭ is yellow, D is blue, and F-sharp [F♯] is red. Colorists adapted the thinking of the cycle of fifths [the steps in a 12-note scale] from the music world and made a color wheel out of it,” he said.
Moretti said color and sound are both vibrations, one of light, and the other of sound. “You can hear the sound, but if you actually saw it, you would see a color.”
He describes his work as “portraiture in a pop art style. I use a lot of primary and highly saturated colors in an acrylic paint medium.”
What does he think of the CFES Art Show and Sale as a venue?
“I think it’s a great venue and of course, it has a long history, 75 years now, and we’re a very artsy kind of community. To have a place like this that’s open for us to share our work with the community is great.”
Another new face was that of Sarah Chapman, of Pocopson Township.
“This show is really exciting for me because it benefits the elementary school and because of its history. It’s exciting that it was started by Betsy Wyeth 75 years ago. It’s fun to be part of a local tradition and be out here with all these other fantastic artists,” she said.
Chapman said she started painting seriously about five years ago, “So, it’s nice seeing my work up and having people respond to it.”
She describes her work as “realism with a healthy dose of whimsey and imagination.”
One other new face is not new to the area's art scene. It’s Carol Apicella who regularly shows at the Unionville High School Art Gala, and who will be the featured artist there later this year.
Apicella has been to the CFES show but decided to exhibit there this year for business reasons. “It opens up another audience for my work.”
She said the Saturday morning crown was good, but said people likely still need to adjust to the fact that there’s no Friday night opening reception.
“But the crowd is good. I’ve spoken to a lot of different people and got some positive feedback on my art. People seem to be enjoying the event,” she said. “And there seems to be more diversity here this year than I’ve seen in the past.”
About 30 artists who showed at CFES before didn’t return this year, but 23 new artists did show. In all, 67 professional artists had works on display.
As for the history of the show, Sanville said while handing out the Certificates of Appreciation, “This event is part of our culture.”
To all the artists, Sanville added, “Your beautiful artwork not only enriches our lives but also plays a vital role in supporting the educational initiatives of the Chadds Ford Elementary School. Your contributions are a testament to the transformative power of art and the profound impact it can have on our community…Here’s to 75 years of art, inspiration, and making a difference.”
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.
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