Gallery Ten artists reunite

The event reunites 12 artists who exhibited the now-closed Charlene 's Gallery Ten, which was located at the site. Several of the artists provide demonstrations.

Joe Hernandez of Illinois, who initiated ArtFest in 2000, is returning to demonstrate firing raku pottery. Ray Kapfamer of Madison will paint pastels, and Chris Meissner of Milwaukee will demonstrate the cold-wax method of encaustic painting.

Other participating artists are Anne Nikolai Kloss of Waukesha, with her beaded jewelry; Norm Knott, Rockford, Ill., rhinestone-encrusted assemblages; Kris Franzke, Milwaukee, mosaics; Denny Moutray, Gills Rock, photography; Shannon Molter, Milwaukee, books, bags and dog bowls; Dee Santorini, Rockford, Ill., raku pottery; Mark Haberle, West Allis, oil paintings; Marcia Nickols, Door County, paper collages; and Sue Donohoo of SooHoo Designs, Baileys Harbor, wearable art.

New at ArtFest this year is the food tent provided by Bayside Bakery and Cafe, serving sandwiches and made-from-scratch bakery. Box lunches can be made up to order.
Gills Rock Coffee will be open for extended hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering specialty coffee drinks and showcasing its first-prize-winning Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie. The coffee shop also features the artwork of Nickols inside.

Door County Advocate photographer Tina M. Gohr visited the festival Saturday and captured the images above.The price of gold touched $1,420 an ounce last week, a 3?-month high, as escalating tensions in the Middle East, volatile currency markets and renewed demand for jewelry in China and India pushed prices higher.

Gold has rebounded 15 percent to $1,396 an ounce since sinking to $1,212, its lowest level in almost three years, on June 27. A gain of 20 percent or more would put the metal back in a bull market.

Gold’s resurgence follows a rough ride this year. It slumped 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2013 as the economic outlook improved and inflation remained subdued.For many years prior to that, Beads factory, like hedge funds, bought the metal as a way to protect their investments against rising prices and a slumping dollar. They feared that the Federal Reserve’s stimulus program could cause prices to rise. But inflation remained subdued and that reduced the need to buy gold. Also, signs in January that the dollar was strengthening diminished the appeal of owning gold.

Then in April, the bottom fell out. A proposal that Cyprus sell some of its gold reserves to support its banks rattled traders, prompting concern that other weak European economies might sell and flood the market.

Gold plunged by $140 an ounce, or 9 percent, on April 15 as investors unloaded their holdings. That was the biggest one-day decline in more than 30 years. While the price of gold is still down 17 percent this year, the metal is on the rise.One of the reasons people buy gold is that it offers an alternative to more traditional financial assets, says Mike McGlone, director of research at ETF Securities, a provider of commodity-based exchange-traded funds. When financial markets get jittery, investors often buy gold because it is considered one of the safest assets that can easily be converted to cash.

As the stock market soared this year, by as much as 20 percent, investors had less need to hold gold. That has changed in the past four weeks. The S&P 500 index has lost 4 percent since reaching an all-time high of 1,709.67 on Aug. 2. Traders are concerned about when and by how much the Fed will pare its stimulus, a major driver of the rally.

Strife in Egypt and Syria has also reminded investors that it’s a dangerous world out there: wars can spread and oil prices can spike, hurting economies and stock markets. Investors want to return a little insurance to their portfolios these days.

The Fed appears close to reducing its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases, and that has stirred up currency prices worldwide, particularly in emerging markets. Investors had previously borrowed in dollars at low rates and then invested in faster growing economies in Asia and Latin America.

When customers of Plowsharing Crafts bring home an intricately carved statue or a blanket bursting with color, they are not only making the world a prettier place, but a better place, as well.

“I think it makes the local community look at how they are consuming,” manager Kelly Rae Ramoser said. “They learn that how they spend their money really matters. In general, we really don’t think about how we spend our money and where it goes, and that is such an important part of what we do.

Since 1985, growing out of a missionary project through the St. Louis Mennonite Fellowship, Plowsharing Crafts has provided the St. Louis/Metro East area with handmade craft items from the Third World, providing income to skilled artisans around the world by marketing their products.

This “fair trade” strategy creates opportunities for socially marginalized producers, supports safe working conditions, combats the exploitation of child labor, and provides fair and equal pay for artisans, helping build trust and a sense of community that reaches across borders and oceans.

“The committee at our church was aware of the Fair Trade organization, Ten Thousand Villages, and were looking to do a project in the community,” executive director Rich Howard-Willms said. “This was very much a step of faith; I came in with no retail experience, just the interest and agate beads. We are very pleased with how it has grown through the years.”

“I got plugged into Plowsharing while I was in college,” she said. “My boyfriend and I visited every time we were in the Loop, and he bought his Christmas gifts there.

“I live in Edwardsville, so I am a part of this local community. I love the idea of getting my area involved in fair trade, and I really enjoy getting to know the faces that come in day after day. I am the only paid employee. Everyone else donates their time.”
Artisans who create the sandals, wall decorations, and more are paid 50 percent up front, allowing them funds for materials, time and to feed their families, and then the remainder is paid upon completion of the products.

“People often ask us how much of the money goes to the artisans,” Ramoser said. “We tell them not one penny, because they have already been paid and received the benefits. That makes us very different from the (corporate mindset). These artisans do not have to wait and rely on us to sell the product.

“We are very passionate about what we do. Our volunteers believe in what we are doing here as well and can talk about it to our customers, which is important. Education is also key to what we do.”

Plowsharing Crafts is in partnership with Ten Thousand Villages, the oldest and largest fair trade organization in North America, as well as other vendors such as SERRV, Global Crafts, Bright Hope International, UPAVIM, Mountcastle International, Venus Imports and Equal Exchange.

Read the full products at http://www.bestjewelrybeads.com/!