~ Mark Your Calendar ~ The 6th annual Francisco's Farm Arts Festival at Midway College is June 27 & 28 ~

Each week between now and the Festival, we'll introduce you to one of the 150 artists from 17 states who will be coming to Midway in June. If you enjoy the newsletter consider sharing with friends and help us grow!

Meet Jan Havens ~ Etchings with Attitude

Jan Havens is one of the more than 70 artists new to Francisco's Farm this year. She's coming up from Nashville and I can't wait to meet her and see her artwork up close. Jan creates hand-colored etchings. Her themes include dogs, cats, bears, the stock market, birds and plants.
 
To make an etching plate, she has to draw backwards through a wax resist on a copper plate. The acid etches the exposed copper lines. Once the plate is etched in acid, she rubs ink in the etched lines, cleans the surface of the plate, puts a sheet of damp paper on top of the inked plate and prints it with a hand-turned etching press. When the paper is dry, she paints the etching with watercolor.

 

"After I did the etching 'Why Carrots are Good Neighbors', I said I'd never do another plant etching. Drawing a bunch of vegetables backward isn't easy, as the lines are so similar." says Jan.

With a Master of Arts degree from Vanderbilt, Jan is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Piedmont Craftsmen, Foothills Guild, and Carolina Designer Craftsmen. She has been published in Who's Who in American Art, The Crafts Report, Country Living, and Ceramics Monthly.

"I grew up in a military family and spent 5 years in the Panama Canal Zone," says Jan, "I think that experience influenced my work."

Jan is one of those artists who 'can't leave well enough alone'. Not content to just create a superb work of color and whimsy, she writes a story around the etching, giving you a rare opportunity to overhear the private conversations of her subjects - be they dogs, cats, or bugs.

Be real quiet and listen to two of my favorites................."Where are the Tomatoes?"  

"They were right here last year."

"Best tomatoes I ever ate."

"The leaves were tasty, too."

"Everything moved."

"I'm eating cucumbers until we find the tomatoes."


and "Lovesick Dogs" -

"There she is at the window! She's looking at me!"

"I just love the way she smells."

"I know she likes me best."

"Remember she bit you 2 weeks ago." 

"It was a love bite."

"On your foot?"         "You want to fight?"  

"Hey Ralph, somebody is calling your name. You have to go home."                          
         "I don't hear anything."

I LOVE IT!

Thanks for your support! Talk to you next week!

 
Marcie Christensen
Event Coordinator / Imagineer

Visit the Newsletter Archives for More Artist Profiles

UPCOMING EVENTS ~  MARK YOUR CALENDAR and JOIN US!

Wednesday, May 27th ~ 6pm ~ Thoroughbred Theater

"Night of Midway Talent: A Fundraiser for Francisco's Farm Arts"

Admission is Free, Donations are welcome (as well as encouraged, promoted, appreciated, and unashamedly suggested!)

Featuring: Midway Baptist Praise Band, Bill and Leslie Penn, The Jones Boys, Billy and Lauren Hill, Margaret Lyle Gravitt.......And More...

Sunday, June 7th ~ 5pm ~

"First Look: Francisco's Farm Arts Festival"
at First United Methodist Church ~ 211 Washington Street ~ Frankfort

FUMC sees art as one of its community services and a new facility has designated space for featuring art exhibits and events. They've chosen a selection of our 2009 exhibitors to present at their "First at First: An Evening of the Arts" series, which includes a jazz service.

I will be on hand to talk about the exhibit and the Festival before the service. The exhibit will be installed on May 17th and will remain up until the Closing Reception on June 25th ~ 5pm to 7pm.

PPS - Help This Art Festival THRIVE!  

As I'm sure you can imagine, fundraising is a serious challenge this year. In challenging economic times, non-profits take advantage of the potential to raise pennies from every decent source and the pennies add up! You absolutely would not believe how much you can help us just by using a Kroger Gift Card.

Many non-profit organizations and schools earn money through this program, and we've joined them!

Order your Gift Card today. Mail a check for $5 and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Francisco's Farm at the address below, and I'll send your card (preloaded with $5) and complete instructions. Each time you recharge (add money to) the card, Kroger will donate cash to the Festival.

When you order a Gift Card we'll put your name in the FarmBucks Drawing. One lucky winner, drawn before the Festival, will receive $100 in FarmBucks to spend on art at the Festival. AND every time your recharges total $500, we'll put your name in the drawing again!

Magnify your efforts by encouraging friends and family to order Gift Cards, too! There is no limit to the number of cards we can distribute or the amount of money we can earn.

Questions about how the Gift Cards work?
Click here for the All The Answers!