Flatbush-Based ‘Art & Craft’ Show Returns This Sunday At PS 139

This Sunday, the annual Art and Craft show by the Flatbush Artists returns at P.S. 139 at Argyle Road near Cortelyou Road. This year, the show features more than 20 artisans and artists — many living and working right in the neighborhood.

There will be a diverse selection of wares and fine art, including handmade jewelry, homemade jams, porcelain and stoneware ceramics, hand-dyed silk scarves, fine art and photography, wooden pens and boxes, hand-spun woven fabrics and more treasures.

The fair’s founders, Ditmas Park husband-and-wife team CJ and Adam Segal-Isaacson, created the event “so that Ditmas Park would have an elegant fine art and craft show of its own,” writes CJ Segal-Isaacson.

CJ has been a jewelry artisan for 16 years, during which time her work has evolved from wire and beads to a sculptural style using traditional metalsmithing techniques, patinas and “flame paint.” She also works extensively with silver, bronze and copper metal clay.

“I always loved to work with my hands,” said Segal-Isaacson, who started making jewelry after taking her daughter to a bead store and becoming entranced by the material. “I started with stringing beads and quickly branched out to wire-jewelry making, then learned how to solder,” she said.

“It’s wonderful to work with metals. We think of metal as hard and impenetrable, but it’s highly malleable. There’s something incredibly satisfying about hammering and shaping metal, it flows more than one would think.”

Just in the last six months, Segal-Isaacson taught herself how to rivet metal. “There’s always trepidation and then a thrill when you get it,” she said.

Now, she integrates wire, metal, and metal clay techniques into her work. Metal clay involves working with microscopic metal particles in an organic binder that burns away in a kiln and looks like a solid piece of metal — after many more steps that include sanding, drilling, and polishing.

Her jewelry prices range from $10 to $600, with patina pieces starting at $25 dollars and going up to $60. On Sunday, she’ll have many smaller silver pieces in the $60 to $100 range.

Check out the diverse array of artists on their facebook page here, and come out for the show this Sunday at PS 139.

What: Flatbush Artists’ Art & Craft show
When: Sunday, May 7 from 10am to 5pm
Where: PS 139 Schoolyard on Argyle Road just north of Cortelyou Road.