Give A Gift From An Artist ► Ann Nyberg's Network Connecticut

Give A Gift From An Artist

Published November 26, 2010

If you’ve never wandered into the Guilford Art Center, this is a good time to do that, around the holidays.

It is chocked full of unique items, all handcrafted, one-of-a-kind-gifts to put under the tree.

Year round, this place on the shoreline in Connecticut, is a place where you can take all kinds of classes from pottery to jewelry making, all taught by master artists in their fields.

Out of all that expertise comes their annual Holiday Sale.

You will find beautifully hand knit items, including beautiful sweaters for the little ones and hats and mittens and scarves too.

There are granite cutting boards from the nearby famous Stony Creek Quarry in Branford, Connecticut, and there are wooden cutting boards too.

There is beautiful silver and woven jewelry and some even made out of vintage soda pop caps, which are among my favorites. They are made by Fairfield County’s Beth Crowell, who has been written up here on Annie Mame. Beth, of Wilton Artisons, used to be on Wall Street and chucked it for the more ephemeral world. You go Beth!

There are more than 200 American artists featured at the Guilford Art Center, many of whom exhibit their wares year ’round.

This is going to take some time to get thru, so make sure you have plenty when you arrive to peruse all of this, you’ll be looking high and low and at all of the items. It will take a second time around to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

There are resin tables and ornaments and there is baked chocolate chip biscotti too from Program Director, Maureen Belden, who, in between bites of her scrumptious goodies told me all about the art center and what takes place here.