Page 19 - 2023 March-April Newsletter

Villager Earns Prestigious Art Distinction

Villager Sue Fehringer from Cross Keys Village – The Brethren Home Community has had a long career as a
mathematician, teaching at Gettysburg High School and Gettysburg College. As much as she loves numbers,
she also has a passion for mixed-media art. At one point, she had been an active member of the York Art Asso-
ciation. However, life gets in the way, and by the time she moved to Cross Keys Village in 2020, Sue had been
on a 10-year pause from participating in the York Art Association’s events.

Because of Cross Keys’ close proximity to York, and with time on her hands at last, Sue decided to enter the
association’s Annual Fall Member Show held in September. She submitted her intriguing mixed-media
piece Crows at Sunset, which features two main layers. For the back, she painted layers of acrylic on Yupo
paper to evoke a sunset. On the front layer of clear acetate, she used Halloween spider webbing and watercol-
ors to create an arborescent texture, with crows done in acrylic. Sue inserted an extra matte board between the
two layers while framing the piece, generating additional dimension. This ingenious use of texture, color and
depth didn’t go unrecognized: out of the 100 works submitted in the event, Sue won Best in Show!

YAA’s Board member Suzanne Stoltenberg remembers: “When Sue Fehringer’s painting won Best of
Show this fall, the juror said he felt each layer of the work was thoughtfully arranged, and the painting was
filled with colors and textures. He loved how she created crisp silhouettes of the birds but used more gestural
strokes in other areas, something professional painters frequently do to lead the eye of the viewer to the center
of interest.”

Not one to brag, Sue simply recalls “For me to win alongside all that talent, I felt very privileged and honored.
It was nice to have that recognition.” As if that didn’t make Sue proud enough, an unknown admirer purchased
the piece.

Closer to home, Sue participates regularly in the art exhibits organized our Life Enrichment team, right here on
the CKV campus. Whether or not she enters another art show, you can bet Sue will be creating more captivat-
ing pieces in the future.