Sugarloaf comes to expo center

Anyone who could use an aesthetic day-trip should consider visiting the Sugarloaf Crafts Festival this weekend at the Dulles Expo Center. More than 300 nationally-known artisans will display and offer original paintings, sculpture, ceramics, pottery, handmade cutlery, commemorative photographs, spices, gourmet foods and more.

Among the artists will be Susan Loy and Jeff Williams.

Loy has served as "Artist -on-the-Lawn" for the White House. Her paintings are in the permanent collection of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington.

For his distinctive art deco paintings, Williams has been selected as the official artist of the 2009 Kentucky Derby.

Loy specializes in "Literary Calligraphy" paintings, a combination of classic texts from Shakespeare, Thoreau, the Bible and other sources with illustrations that describe the text. A single painting may require weeks or months to complete.

“I began studying calligraphy at the very end of my graduate studies in art history and literature at Ohio State,” Loy said about her medium. “It was a magical moment for me; the minute I picked up a calligraphy pen, it was like a magic wand. I knew immediately what to do. I remember like it was yesterday thinking, ‘I'll letter the literary classics and create modern mandalas.’"

Using experiences as inspiration, Loy is now lettering the U.S. Constitution.

“I had occasion to refer to the U.S. Constitution after being stopped by the highway patrol in random traffic stops three times during a nine-month period following 9/11,” she said. “I found that the Fourth Amendment protects ‘the right of the people to be secure in their persons... against unreasonable searches and seizures.’”

Loy has a copy of the Constitution in her studio. “I fell in love with the words to the Preamble which reveals the foundations of our democracy,” she said.

Loy and her husband Ron Ayers exhibit at about 43 shows per year combined, most of which are in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. They also exhibit in Florida, Michigan and Vermont.

The Dulles Expo show will kick off Loy’s twentieth season with Sugarloaf. “I exhibit at all the Sugarloaf shows because I think they provide the best combination of quality and variety,” Loy said. “These shows feature artists and craftsmen, where you can actually talk with the persons who make the beautiful items. The shows give American consumers a chance to kick the cheap-import habit and purchase quality items from real American artists.”

Like Loy, Jeff Williams also has a passion for creating art. “I have been an artist for as long as I can remember,” he said. “Since childhood, I never imagined any other career.” Starting out as a graphic artist painting in his spare time, Williams quickly discovered his paintings sold as fast as he could complete them. Soon he began receiving commissions and painting became his profession.

“I am a figurative painter,” explained Williams. “I am inspired by the Art Deco period. Having five older sisters, I love painting women of that period with all of their elaborate fashions and accessories. I also use a lot of metallic leafing as well as textured backgrounds in my work.”

Williams’ paintings are sold almost entirely through galleries in Virginia, California, Florida, and South Carolina. In December 2007, Williams exhibited in The Society Nationale des Beaux-Arts Show at the Carousel Du Louvre in Paris, France.

Williams participated in a Sugarloaf show last month in Atlanta where he lives. “It was a great way to exhibit my work to local clients, as I am not represented by a gallery there,” he said. “Since I was very impressed by the professionalism of the way the Sugarloaf Show is operated, and since I have never exhibited in this area, I thought it would be a great way to expose my work to people in the D.C. area.”

The show will run Friday from 10a.m.- 6p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The Dulles Expo Center is located at 4320 Chantilly Place Center, Chantilly. Cost for entrance is $8.00 for adults, free for children under 12.

Susan Loy’s work can be seen at www.literarycalligraphy.com, Jeff Williams’ work can be found at www.jeffwilliamsartist.com. Find out more about Sugarloaf at www.sugarloafcrafts.com.