Harper College’s annual Arts and Crafts show took place on Saturday, November 12^th. The event was $5 to get in, and located in the M building on campus. The majority of the crafters were local residents and were not attending Harper. The Craft Show attracted people from all over the area to come take a look at what crafts the artists had to offer this year.

The whole M building was bustling throughout the afternoon that the Craft Show took place. There were crowds of people blanketing the steps and parking lot outside the building, and there were no spots left for anyone to park in the lot. After stepping inside the building, it was even more noticeable how much traffic the show brought in, as there was a long, winding line just to enter the show.

Inside the show, the artists and their crafts filled the tables with every craft you could imagine. There were paintings, caramel corn, posters, and even cake, all flying off of the tables. There were both regular crafters who had been showing their work at Harper’s craft show for years, as well as brand new crafters who had never shown their work there before.

Surprisingly, there weren’t many Harper students attending the Craft show at all. The people seen at the show were mostly either families or older people.

 Even more interesting, as well as creative, was the fact that many of the shoppers at the Craft Show view it as a way to get their Christmas shopping done early. The craft show is a great place to find gifts that are special and irreplaceable. With so many different crafts at the show, there’s at least one to make each person on your list happy.

Local Palatine residents and early Christmas shoppers Colleen and Eileen Door picked up unique handmade stocking stuffers, including hair clips and coasters. Eileen commented that “there are certain crafters you look forward to seeing year after year”. The experienced craft show goers know exactly what to look for when browsing Harper’s show each year.

It seemed to be a very successful year for the craft show this year, as almost every person that entered walked out with at least one item that they purchased. The majority of the business seemed to come from regulars that look forward to the show every year.

Local resident Terry Bakanec completed some of her Christmas shopping at the show, and commented that the show was “very crowded, they’re doing very well this year”.

Harper’s Art and Craft show has become a tradition for many of the local residents in the area, it is not only a school gathering, but a community gathering as well. Shoppers look forward to finding new and exciting gifts each year, and from the looks of it, are always happy with what they find. If you’re ever low on ideas for Christmas gifts, you might want to stop by.

Artist Jasper Johns died of a heart attack earlier this morning in his home in Sharon, Connecticut at the age of 86.

Johns had become one of the most accomplished living artists of this century; President Barak Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. He had also been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Johns was known for being versatile, succeeding in painting, sculpting, and printmaking.

His most well-known piece of artwork is Flag. This piece had been praised throughout his career, as it disrupted the art world at a time when Warhol’s Abstract Impressionism and Pop Art style was popular. From his unique style of art, Johns was said to be one of the founding artists of the style Neo Dadaism.

After creating Flag, Johns struggled with self-conflict with his career, as he ended up destroying all other pieces of artwork he created before Flag.

Johns was very active in the art community during his life. He worked on multiple collaborations with fellow Neo Dada artist Robert Rauschenberg, as well as Pop Artist Andy Warhol. Johns founded the Foundation for Contemporary Arts in 1963.

Johns’work is known for being extremely popular within the art collector’s community. His highest selling piece, False Start, sold in a private auction for 80 million dollars in 2006. White Flag, sold to the New York Museum of Metropolitan Art for 20 million dollars in 1998.

Johns funeral is being held this Saturday in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia.