Artist of the Month

By Hannah Pollock Where a homeowner may see a mess to clean up, Steve Strouse sees an opportunity to create meaningful art. He finds his canvases in what many consider to be disposable fallen trees, transforming them into boxes, kitchen tools, clocks, and more. Strouse is a woodworker who shares Centre County’s history through salvaged…

Over the past 31 years, the Central Pennsylvania Youth Orchestra has been a place for young musicians in the region to come together and seriously develop their skills. By bringing in talented players from all around Centre and surrounding counties, the program—which was established with the support of the Penn State University School of Music…

Page Powell was in third grade when her grandmother gave her a great gift—teaching her how to sew. Sewing became Powell’s passion, and she has spent the past eight years honing her skills. Now 16, she has turned that passion into a small business, Lazanya Sunwear, whose name in part pays homage to her late…

By Carol White It’s summer. In Centre County. And there’s music in the air. That means the Penn’s Woods Music Festival is back in full force. “Penn’s Woods has been an important part of our community since 1986,” says David Frego, director of the School of Music at Penn State. “It is a joy to…

From azaleas to zinnias and all the genuses and species in between, flowers have always attracted Emily Rickard. She adores the textures, the colors, and the glorious scents. Pocketful of Posies, her one-woman floral business, allows her to work with exotic blooms every day. “Weddings are my specialty,” says Rickard, “I’ve done other events too,…

Mike Jewell doesn’t waste a minute. If he did, there’d be no time in his jam-packed life for the wood art he so enjoys. His wife, Jennifer, supports this interest. She sees it as a stress reliever to help him manage his demanding schedule. Mostly a “scroller,” Jewell hand cuts with a scroll saw (a…

The larger-than-life sculptures by Miller Welding Services on West College Avenue came to be through the spirit of Christmas. Bob Miller and his employees got the idea for these sculptures about 25 years ago, with the concept that they were supposed to be Christmas presents. The first sculpture they made was the rocking horse in…

Steve H. Broadnax III always dreamed of making it to Broadway. Broadnax, an associate professor of theatre and professor in charge of MFA Acting at Penn State, grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. He fell in love with the theatre at a young age. He earned his bachelor of fine arts from Webster University, St.…

“If you put the music first, good things will happen.”  That is the mantra Mark Lusk, professor of trombone at Penn State, preaches to his students all year long. To illustrate how he practices what he preaches, he kicks off each semester with a faculty recital.  “[The mantra] doesn’t mean that music is supposed to…