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Chester County Press

Holiday gifts with an artistic touch

12/05/2014 10:33AM ● By J. Chambless

The Oxford Arts Alliance is packed with holiday gift choices.

By John Chambless

Staff Writer

The Artisan Gift Shop at the Oxford Arts Alliance seems fuller than ever this year, with a nice array of handmade gifts you won't find anywhere else. There's jewelry, ornaments, clothing, ceramics, candles, notecards and original art that will be perfect for someone on your gift list.

If you want to splurge a little, there are several very nice oil still life paintings by Sarah Jayne, but at the lower end of the price scale, you'll find some fun clay whistles by Emily Hutchinson that are great cartoonish fun – and you can play a tune on them.

There's a display of works by Karen O'Lone Hahn featuring her trademark cows, but also some pottery pieces. Cheryl Gross has a table full of original jewelry made of vintage bits that have been reimagined in interesting ways. In a similar vein are cloth bookmarks topped with antique jewelry pieces that would be a great stocking stuffer for the book lover on your list.

Ki Crittenden has several wonderful pottery and ceramic lamps and vases that have proven to be very popular in past years.

If you're looking for clothing, you'll find hats and scarves for people, as well as a table full of accessories for your favorite chihuahua.

Among the hand-painted ornaments, the melted snowman in a glass ball is just pure fun. You won't be able to resist. And speaking of fun, the indoor snowball battle kit – 12 white yarn balls in a painted snowman bucket – is just brilliant.

The Artisan Gift Shop continues at the Oxford Arts Alliance (38 S. Third St., Oxford) through Dec. 23. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours on Fridays until 8 p.m. Visit www.oxfordart.org for more information.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, e-mail [email protected].