Talk About Oak Harbor: Quilt paintings on display

The 37th Oak Harbor Apple Festival is almost here. The banner is up, and the chamber and the village are putting everything in order for the busy weekend.

As I write this, the weather is gorgeous. The weather is expected to be cooler and partly sunny for both days of the festival.

Regardless of what happens weather-wise, many folks return annually to Oak Harbor for this very popular event.

One person who recently moved back to Oak Harbor and will present her artwork to the public for the first time is Rhonda Bensch Bledingmaier. She rented space in the Community Market VFW Hall on Main Street. Her creations are beautiful renderings of quilt blocks. However, they are painted on wood.

I visited recently to view her creations and to learn what inspired her to paint.

She told me when she returned to the family homestead she noticed how very white the barn was and that an old woodshed needed to be painted. She thought about painting sunflowers on it. While pursuing her idea about painting sunflowers, Bledingmaier came across “Barn Art” on Pinterest. This intrigued her. As she read, she learned another Ohio woman named Donna Sue Groves began the modern movement of Barn Quilts.

Bledingmaier learned more about this type of painting. Although she does not quilt, both of her grandmothers did and her mother, Phyllis Bensch, is well-known in the area for her quilting skills. Bledingmaier decided she would try to create a painted quilt block after talking to the woman who painted the quilt design on her barn in Millbury.

Her first creation now hangs over the door of her parents’ barn. It is called The Farmer’s Daughter. Her next creation hangs on the red barn just across the road. This is a star pattern done in red, white and blue. Both are eye catching.

Bledingmaier was painting other 2-foot-by-2-foot designs to show and sell at the Apple Festival. She has an apple design, several types of stars and corn and beans. Each piece is created on plywood that is framed on the back for durability. There are at least seven coats of primer and exterior paint on each design. For someone wishing to special order a design, Bledingmaier has a book with over 5,300 quilt designs.

For more information, The Farmer’s Daughter Barn Quilts can be reached at 267-625-3864 or at rhondabensch@gmail.com.

Harvest Fest slated at Millbury Community Gardens

This weekend is busy for many areas other than just our Apple Festival. The Millbury Community Gardens located on the property of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ on Main Street in Millbury is hosting a Harvest Fest.

LindaHartigan’s column appears each Wednesday. Call her at 419-898-1645.