Karen Pace created this beautiful mug and stamped it with a rolling pin. Pace said pottery classes were on her bucket list after retiring from her decades-long career of teaching.
The Spring Creek Artisans annual Christmas Fest is planned for 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday at the Creative Arts Center in Salem (behind the Ozark Natural and Cultural Center on South Main Street).
A variety of handmade items, original paintings, carvings, pottery, baskets, fiber art, stained glass, jewelry and more will be available. Baked goods, jams, jellies and other homemade goods will also be available for purchase.
Tana Kettner, former Salem High School Art Instructor and present teacher at the Creative Arts Center, created these beautiful pieces.
Catherine Wynn
Visit with artists as they demonstrate their crafts, enjoy dulcimer music by Carol Spurlock, a Christmas craft table for kids, and coffee, cider, and cookies.
Spring Creek Artisan Connie Behrick is a potter and currently teaches classes at the CAC.
Behrick worked as an international sales manager and for the University of Missouri before retiring in 2015. She took a pottery class in Columbia, as it has always interested her.
“I fell in love with clay. I am mostly self-taught except for the first intro class I took,” shared Behrick.
Connie and her late husband, Douglas, bought property in Dent County in 2006 after relocating from the state of California. They visited the property often on weekends, and later her children moved from out of state, joining them in Dent County.
Connie delved into pottery and now has two kilns, a potter’s wheel, dozens of tools and more in her studio garage at her home. She makes her own glazes and made pottery mostly as a hobby until recently.
“Finding the center (CAC) has opened up a whole new world for me,” she shared in a recent interview.
Her world really changed after her husband passed away. After attending a creative arts center meeting she began to get involved with the center and now teaches pottery classes.
Each of her pieces have an infinity heart stamp representing her “unending love” for her husband.
As one of the newest Spring Creek Artisans, she looks forward to her second show with the group after a successful Pumpkin Day event in October.
Karen Pace created this beautiful mug and stamped it with a rolling pin. Pace said pottery classes were on her bucket list after retiring from her decades-long career of teaching.
John Hewkin has been a sports fan since he was a kid. He’s played, coached and been a fan of sports. I was a sports writer for 15 years before moving back to Missouri, but to this day you will still find me in my man cave a lot of nights and weekends watching something that requires a ball.
