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Have you ever sat on a masterpiece? The Wellsboro Art Club is auctioning off over 40 chairs that have been beautifully and uniquely redone by local artists! We had the opportunity to speak with the President of the Art Club and two of the artists.

Expecting to receive only 20 at the most, there are now 40 finished chairs that have been submitted! These chairs will be auctioned off at the Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center at 7:00 pm, August 26th, in order to raise money for the “Jane Wetherbee Art Scholarship.” Jane is a living member of the Wellsboro Art Club. Anyone can come at 6:00 pm to preview the chairs! It is a live auction so bidders must be present. The evening’s auctioneer will be local resident and photographer Bob Blair.

There are multiple reasons why these chair are so special. Each chair is as “individual” as the artists. There have been chairs submitted by 23 artists, 21 club members, and two friends of the Wellsboro Art Club. Some of these chairs had to be restored back to prime condition after being discarded.

We then heard from Holly Hoover about her inspiration for painting her sunflower chair. She wanted to incorporate the carving that was already a part of her chair. The next artist we spoke to was Mary Wise, a former Home-Economics teacher in Milton. Inspiration for Mary’s chairs came from quilt patterns.

The artists pictured above are Janet Gyekis, Sharren Hummel, Kathleen Schnell, Wanda Short, Holly Hoover, Mary Wise, Suzan Richar, and Eileen Wilson. Also, many of the chairs are displayed around Wellsboro. Enjoy being able to stroll around town and take a peek at all the original chairs! Other than the Penn Wells Hotel, below are the other locations you can go to see the chairs.

Northwest Savings Bank
Patty Wilson

Shabby Rue
Mary Wise

Needles Quilt Shop
Gloria Sharretts

Senior Creations
Yvette Finkele

Timeless Destination
Janet Gyekis (folding chair)
Helga Swedrowski
Suzan Richar (one orange stool and one black stool)

In My Shoes
Max Johnson (stool)

Dr Lee’s former office
Lillian Van Campen

Garrison’s Men’s Shop
Sharren Hummel

Deane Center
Suzan Richar (white)
Sue Singer (Beltseat)

Indigo Wireless
Susan Richar (cat chair)
Helga Swendrowski (red-green)
Melina Mover (green)
Annette Cleary (child chair)

Gmeiner Art & Cultural Center
Mary Domarew (bench)

Green Free Library
Suzan Richar

Penn Wells Hotel
Mary Wise (green)
Yvette Finkele (pastel)