Feb 6, 2013 2 min read

WAYNESBURG – Valentines Day’s “many ways to say it with love” is the mid-winter theme at Artbeat Gallery, 52 E. High St., Waynesburg.

The gallery is keeping its doors open from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday to showcase new works, some still warm from the pottery kiln. Next door, Grandma’s Attic also is staying open with more potential presents, and around the corner on Church Street, Fischer’s Antiques is inviting the public to bring in family keepsakes for a free appraisal for an impromptu Greene County Antique Road Show evening.

“Shed the cabin fever and explore new works by many of our artists, while enjoying some wine and treats and stimulating conversation,” gallery co-owner Linda Winegar said. There is something for everyone on your Valentines Day list, from greeting cards and $5 soaps to one-of-a-kind turned wood vessels, fused glass and custom furniture. New bracelets, necklaces and earrings have been delivered, along with hand-turned wood pens, paintings, pastels, prints and photographs.

“We’re also featuring some new assemblages by sculptor Kyle Hallam of Jefferson,” Jim Winegar said.

Hallam has worked in clay for more than 25 years and is known for his brightly colored terra cotta pots, wall hangings and sculptures. For the past six years, recycled materials such as cardboard, tin cans, fabric, old books, broken toys and rope have been added to his palate.

Thanks to grants from the Sprout Fund, Community Foundation of Greene County and private donations, Hallam designed and mentored a recycled materials arts and crafts program at Greene Arc in Ruff Creek that helps develop work skills, concentration and creativity. His own recycled work is brightly colored, stylistic and sometimes mosaic, but it always manages to capture Hallam’s playful eye for beauty in the throwaway objects of our time.

For more information and to view some of the art that will be on display, visit artbeat-gallery.com. Some of Hallam’s recycled art can be seen at facebook.com/artbeatingreene.