Lehman's Country Life

daffodil wood carving and carving tools

I am sure many of you have been enjoying the spring flowers.  I know I have!  In Kidron, Ohio the lilacs are in bloom and we are still seeing the last of the beautiful daffodils.  The delicate daffodils and flowers in the photo above though are made from wood, believe it or not.  The photo does not convey the paper thin realism that I got to see in person.  I was quite impressed!  Rod Hardy shared with us his woodcarving skills during a demo on Sat. May 2 in the Buggy Barn at Lehman’s and brought a whole assortment of floral and wildlife carvings for us to enjoy.   Included in the photos above are some of the woodcarving tools that Lehman’s carries and that Rod uses to create these beautiful pieces.   You can see he also has some beautiful  bird wood carvings.  I especially enjoyed a tiny hummingbird eating nector from a flower Rod carved.

Floral and Wildlife Wood Carving Demo

I am helping Lehman’s schedule area artists and crafters to line up  interesting demos for the whole year.  We certainly want to invite Rod back along with a wide assortment of other talented artists and crafters.  We know from experience that visitors to Lehman’s are a creative, hands on kind of person so it is our pleasure to share this with you!  One of the perks of doing this is then we get to hear about what you do with the ‘work of your hands’!  That is so refreshing in todays busy world.  Thank you!

Floral and Wildlife Wood Carving by Rod Hardy

To see the schedule for upcoming demos please visit the Events tab at the top of this page.  To read more about the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild demonstrators visit the OACG web site here.

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Want to see pictures from Jay’s birthday at the store?  Visit our Facebook site or click here to view!

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Young Colt Mural in the Buggy Barn

My name is Sue Steiner and I am the artist painting the farm animal murals in the Buggy Barn.   A couple years ago I painted the outside farm animal murals and now I am working on adding to the murals in the Buggy Barn,  an authentic century old post and beam structure used by the Amish to store buggies and house animals.  The buggy barn in the store was dismantled on the farm and reconstructed in the store.  My job has been to add the ’animal’ element to the barn.   Jay Lehman has been busy adding antique farm implements and tools in the buggy barn just as you’d expect to see in the real thing.   It is becoming quite an interesting place!  I particularly enjoy seeing the young kids faces when they see the animals.

On many Fridays from 10-2:00 you can find me working on the latest mural.  As I am nearing completion of the young colt painting (pictured above) I have begun to tally votes for the next farm animal to go in the Buggy Barn.  I’ve been asking people to leave comments here or to give me their vote when I am in the store painting.  Some of the suggestions I’ve recieved have been barn cats, piglets, goats, calf, mouse, oxen and llama.  Popular vote has been the sheep goes in next.  You can see my rough sketch with chalk below the roosting chickens as I am beginning to plan out what I will paint.

rough sketch of ewe

I am letting you determine what goes in after I complete the sheep so if you want to register your vote now is your chance!  Feel free to say any of the animals already mentioned or one of your own choosing.   I am game for what you all decide- provided it makes sense that it would be seen in an Amish Buggy Barn!

To see when I am scheduled to paint again click on the Events tab on the top of this page.

Thank you!

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This week visitors to Lehman’s will be treated to some fun, free and informative demos in the Buggy Barn.  In keeping with the start of the growing season the demos will have a gardening theme as people  gear up to plant gardens and take advantage of the newly expanded garden room at the Kidron store.

Friday’s Demo 10:00am – 2:00 pm

Feline Garden Fantasies by Contemporary Folk Artist BZTAT

Artist Vicki Boatright, known as “BZTAT” (pronounced bee-zee-tat), specializes in whimsical drawings, paintings and prints of cats, dogs and other companion animals.  BZTAT will create a painting of a cat frolicking in the garden in her unique, contemporary style as part of her demo.   Her use of bright colors and uplifting themes are a hit with all ages so be sure to stop by! 
Life is an Adventure!
BZTAT
Vicki Boatright
Art Adventures Studios

Saturday’s Demo 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Ron Hardy will share some of his garden themed art as he carves daffodils and other spring flowers in wood.  As many of you know Lehman’s carries a wide assortment of wood carving tools so if inspiration hits after you watch Ron you can find the right tools to try this on  your own!

To see upcoming demos and special events please click on the Events tab on the top of this page.

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Original Oil Painting By Sue Steiner

Check out the Events Calendar on this page to see the schedule of local artisans sharing their knowledge and skills in Lehman’s Buggy Barn as demos.   We are fortunate to have a wide variety of local, talented folks from the Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild who welcome the chance to talk with visitors to the store on topics of interest such as environmentally ‘green’  activities, farm related arts and crafts,  pottery, wood carving, farm animal art, rural landscape oil paintings and gardening.

This week Devona of Clevernesting will be back with her garden themed crafts using recycled items normally thrown away.  Last week she shared with us seed catalog art, plastic grocery bag woven baskets and coffee bag seed starter pots.  You’ll enjoy her enthusiam as she shares her wealth of ideas and tutorials on how to make the most with the least using commonly found items!
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Sorry about the email! We didn’t have all our ducks in a row before we hit ’send.’ We apologize and have all the links listed here below.

• Thoughtful Living Part VII – The Equinox: Equal Light and Darkness
• Three Feet High and Risin’
• Easy Steps to Enjoyting an Annual Garden
• Growing Tomatoes, Part III: Dealing with Juveniles
• Happy 80th Birthday, Jay Lehman!

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We are gearing up to begin another round of arts and crafts demos at the store in Kidron in the Buggy Barn from now until the end of the year.  The founder’s of Clever Nesting along with other Ohio Arts and Crafts Guild members will take turns doing demos in which they share with you their skills, knowledge and crafts.   Colleen and Devonna have a refreshing way to get people enthused about recycling.  Read on to get a glimpse as to what they do….

“Colleen and Devona are passionate about conservation and creativity. They enthusiastically want to share this lifestyle with others, hence, the Clever Nesting website was developed in early 2009. At Clever Nesting you’ll find posts about crafting techniques, full craft tutorials, and links to other great crafting resources. There are design ideas for the home and techniques for the garden, many of which reuse and repurpose items often thrown away.  Plus, read artist interviews who also share the Clever Nesting vision…a world where people do more with less.

Off the web Clever Nesting is active in the Greater Akron, Ohio community spreading the creative and repurposing spirit by hosting local events and teaching craft classes and demonstrations.”

To see dates for demos please click on the Event Calendar on this web site.  Clever Nestings demo this Saturday  they will be doing ‘Recycling Crafts using a Gardening Theme’.  You can expect to see seed catalogue paper crafts, plastic grocery bag basket weaving, and recycled coffee bean bags seed starter pots.

For more Artists Profiles go to: http://www.oacg.blogspot.com

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I was reading an online magazine article last week that left me with an urge to reach through my computer monitor and shake the “Senior Editor” while yelling “what’s the matter with your head?” at the top of my lungs. Obviously an overreaction. I’m alright now.

The article was partitioned into a dozen small examples of “mistakes”, each authored by a professional home improvement type, with the idea that impartial sharing of errors can help you and I avoid doing the same. Ok, I can go there; and genuinely appreciate folks taking the time to share information. The truth of the matter is that, while I don’t generally have a problem with jumping in with both feet, I do have an aversion to acquiring first hand experience with potential home improvement pitfalls like . . . electrocution. It seems reasonable and I pay attention when reading things that include the phrase “a very bad idea”.

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Spring  is  a day away  and here at Land’s End we are busy as ever. Bill held his garden forum in February and it was very successful, About 50 people both current and new gardeners  gathered together and shared information and experiences. Since then he has attended two  more related events and has been asked to speak at another. Just when  I thought he was slowing down  he is getting busy in a different way.  Although he no longer feels like growing vegetables to sell, he is always willing to share knowledge he has learned.

Our goats have all freshened and Myda , my pet goat , has two cute little does. Myda was estactic as last year we didn’t breed her. She almost drove us crazy blatting when the other goats had babies. Sara had two bucks one which was shaggy like a mountain goat. Rachel had one large buck who arrived with horns popped out and as big  as a three week old kid! No wonder she bellered so when giving birth.All I can say is better her than me although I did feel for her.  Poor Hannah birthed prematurely and her only kid died. It is a sad reality of farm life sometimes.
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There’s a two-lane highway at the end of our driveway. And, after almost eight years, I still haven’t made up my mind as to whether or not proximity to the pavement is a good thing.

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