RESIDENT ARTISTS
Browse our vibrant collective of house artists below.
KATHRYN E. NOSKA / IMAGINAL ARTWORK
I majored in Fine Art for two years of college. Over the years, I won awards and exhibited in the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Yellow Springs Art Show, Art Gallery at Devon, Malvern Retreat Art Show, Chester County Studio Tour, 25 Days of Minis, and in galleries in Pennsylvania, New York, Nevada, Oregon, and California.
But, my path has been winding. In college, headaches due to solvents caused me to stop painting for several years. Returning to art, I used acrylics for 15 years, but became sensitive to the paint so I stopped, again. By 2010, I learned I have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, which means I’m affected by tiny amounts of many different chemicals.
By 2015, eager to paint, I used chemical-free walnut oil paint without solvents. I happily painted… until fall of 2023. I got sensitized to this paint and had to quit them, too. Being persistent, I switched to watercolor with blackberry honey (cuts down on biocide). I work in concert with the watercolor which has a mind of it’s own, and I rely on my intuition more which feels great!
My imaginal artwork highlights choices made in life to courageously do what’s in your heart and go your own way even if you don’t always know where you’ll end up. With belief in yourself and in the process, you’ll get where you need to be. My art encourages you to find your way when you feel lost, and believe in yourself to confidently choose your own path knowing that when you take chances and trust the unknown, you can do it!
LESLIE CLEARWATER / GOLDSMITH
Ten Air Studios
Indie Phoenixville goldsmith Leslie Clearwater creates jewelry that is talismanic: vivid, wearable emblems of the nature of the wearer's spirit. Each piece is alive with color and intention, created with traditional metalsmithing techniques and an embrace of the philosophy of "slow fashion."
Leslie curates a carefully-chosen and ethical library of gemstones and minerals from lapidary artists across the globe, including stones she herself has collected and cut.
She has been recognized globally in publications including Vogue and Vanity Fair, and was twice honored with a Best of Main Line award.
Leslie's work has been called fresh, vibrant, and enchanting. She frequently hides pieces of her jewelry around Chester County as serendipitous "treasure hunts."
BOB HAKUN / ASSEMBLAGE ART
I collect old, discarded items: some natural like bones or wood, some man-made, like wheels or rusty wire. I look for old things that show the graphic effects of aging: the beauty and harshness of the breaking-down over time of all things. I collect objects that are burnt, broken, rusty, crushed, bent, and stained: these things naturally imply a history or narrative. I stitch or bolt them together in a very un-craftsmanlike manner, and assemble a relatively crude and unrefined piece of art. My assembled artwork is intended to tell a story or convey a message greater than the individual items would project separately. The interpretation of that message is left to the viewer.
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Bob has recently retired, and works full time as a fine artist. His artistic interests include painting, sculpture, and photography.
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Bob has won numerous awards in local art shows, including numerous “Best of Show” awards for his “Industrial Primitive” assemblages made from found objects. Bob was accepted into the Pennsylvania Art of the State exhibit in 2014, and won third place in sculpture in the 2016 exhibit. He has participated in both the Chester County Studio Tour and the Montgomery County Studio Tour over the last several years. He has had three one-person shows and numerous two and three-person shows in the last several years.
DAVE YASENCHAK / PEN & INK
Hailing from Berks County, Pennsylvania, Dave Yasenchak is an ever-evolving illustrator, printmaker, and muralist typically working in a monochromatic, line-based neo-surrealist style. In his highly detailed work, Dave is drawn to subject matter that reveals the inseparability and inevitable clash of man and nature – the yin and the yang, the geometric and the organic.
RHONA CANDELORO / PAINTER
I am enthralled by light and the illumination of a single moment. I am enraptured by the colors of the sky, by how light bounces around the atmosphere, and the colors of darkness.
There are moments of awe, wonder, illumination and beauty — moments of light. The arts illuminate those moments through both the process and the product. My goal is to learn to paint and see not just the person, landscape or object, but the light and atmosphere emanating from them.
I have a painting degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to painting, I work as a teaching artist with the PA Council on the Arts and teach drawing and painting at Chester Springs Art Studio as well as privately.
BOB DAHMS / WOODTURNING
Bob Dahms began crafting bowls and wooden vessels in 2014. With his love of nature and trees in particular it was natural that he would use his woodworking skills to take already fallen trees and give them a second life that others could appreciate.
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The shapes, colors, and variations that nature has to offer have always drawn him in. He prefers working with logs as opposed to pre-cut lumber, as logs in their more natural state are able to help dictate to a certain extent what the finished piece will look like. He finds satisfaction in giving an old log new life that will bring pleasure to someone else.
Bob lives and has his shop in northern Chester County. He features his work at local art shows. Bob is currently displaying his work monthly at the Phoenixville Farmers Market.
KATHERYN JENSEN / DECORATIVE & WATERCOLOR PAINTER
Over 20 years ago, armed with books, paints, brushes and designs inspired by nature, Katheryn decided to leave the corporate world and pursue her passion for painting. Her “canvas” was a wealth of found materials: old galvanized buckets, vintage furniture, cigar boxes, glassware, and anything else she could wrap her design around.
For several years she did shows and commissioned custom pieces until a health crisis brought everything to a halt. During that time Katheryn discovered a love for watercolor which offered a new set of challenges. She was intrigued by the looseness and spontaneity of the medium. She took numerous watercolor classes and displayed her work in shows. Eventually she realized how much she missed painting on “things” and decided to get back to her roots of finding cast-off items and giving them new life.
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Katheryn’s current focus is painting unique designs on glass which creates a stained-glass effect. She still loves to paint on other unique items, and recently completed two custom pieces, a guitar and a vintage kerosene heater.
Katheryn resides in Upper Providence with her overly patient, supportive and creative in his own right, husband, Steve. Her other hobbies include: gardening, over-thinking, annoying her husband and thinking up episode names for the pretend sitcom she’s developing about their life together. She also enjoys feeding and befriending chipmunks, squirrels and whatever other wildlife happens to venture into their yard.
ETHAN HORWITZ / FINE CABINETRY
I graduated from West Chester University where I studied fine art with a focus on ceramics. My plan was to create non-functional pottery. After college, I spent the summer at Alfred University in the pottery program. I also worked as an industrial radiographer for a period of time before moving to New York State.
It was here that I happened to pick up a fine woodworking magazine and suddenly felt as though a whole new world was opened up to me. My world expanded as I started doing basic carpentry.
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After this, I moved back to Pennsylvania and started working in a mill shop for a while. But, realizing I really wanted to pursue woodworking, I decided to go out on my own and work in cabinetry. Even though I had very little experience, I kept going, growing, and gaining experience while learning from other cabinet makers.
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Over time, my inspiration and influence came from both current designers as well as historical styles. Merging the past with the present feels fresh, and I thoroughly enjoy bringing history into the present day. By joining both an innovative or original approach with historical designs, I have created my own unique style and am now ready to play. Looking forward, I would like to introduce metals into my wood working.
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For me, I feel that creativity is in the mind. The actual hands on process of making is more methodical, whereas the invention of the design is my point of joy.
JESSICA GREET / CERAMICIST
I have enjoyed creating in clay from my first clay-camp experience at age nine. Currently I reside in West Chester, Pennsylvania working as a studio potter and ceramics educator.
I received a BFA in Related Arts from Kutztown University, where I began my journey at the potter's wheel. This is also where I discovered my love of a wood-fired surface. The ancient process of stoking a wood fire as the flames lick past the pots' surface has captivated me ever since.
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I am drawn to simple forms with luscious, or intricate surface decoration. Stretching and altering the clay surface provides an endless variety of form. I find joy in creating ceramic pieces of art that get used each day in the home, as well as special occasions with friends and family.
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I work in stoneware clay, hand-thrown on the potter's wheel. Pieces are then taken off the wheel while still wet and altered by hand-building techniques. All of my pieces are functional, and glazed with food-safe glazes. Some of my work is then fired in gas or electric kilns, but the majority are finished by firing in a salt/soda woodfire kiln. This 24-hour, hand-stoking process creates unique patterns on the pots' surface not replicated by any other firing method.
PAULINE MONSON / MILLINERY
Pauline spent her career in advertising, working in the creative world of designers and copywriters. Some years ago, she had the good fortune to attend a beginning millinery course at Moore College of Art and Design, taught by famed Philadelphia hat maker “Mr. Alzie.” Mr Alzie was renowned for his half century of experience making fine ladies' hats, some of which were displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. He was the most generous of teachers, and with his guidance, Pauline started on the path of creating her one-of-a-kind “fine hats for fine ladies.”
Pauline is proud to participate in the Phoenixville cultural community, celebrated for its diverse creativity and generosity of spirit!