Feature
Sherry Young’s stained glass
A Santa in Ann Marie Ziegler’s collection
A Hanukkah menorah in Gene Tweraser’s home
AT HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Residents Rally to Share Warmth & Joy of the Season from a Distance The holidays are a big deal at Butterfield Trail Village, and residents look forward to decorating their homes, reveling with family and friends, and observing time-honored customs and traditions. Nine months into the pandemic, however, and it’s clear the holidays will be different this year. We talked to three Village residents who shared how they plan to celebrate Christmas, their passions, their loved ones and beliefs this season – from home.
Sherry Young Stained Glass and the Holidays Go Hand-In-Hand Through art, Sherry Young expresses what her heart is saying. And making art at the holidays is a family tradition for this BTV resident and fine artist. “At Christmastime, our family comes together to celebrate by reading the Bible about the birth Sherry Young of Jesus,” Young, a BTV resident since 2015, said. “We also love to give gifts that we’ve made for each other. It’s something we’ve done for years. Even now that our children are grown, we still open presents on Christmas Eve. And we still encourage our family to make gifts.” As a commissioned artist, Young’s forte is oil and acrylic painting of still life, portraiture and animals – and creating gorgeous stained glass. Her work includes 18 custom, stained-glass windows at Rolling Hills Baptist Church in Fayetteville where she and husband Jim are members. Commissioned by members of the congregation, each 21”x21” stained glass creation carries a personal or religious message.
6 BUTTERFIELD LIFE
NOV + DEC 2020
For many residents at the Village this year, the pandemic has eliminated much of the holiday hecticness that comes with shopping, baking and wrapping. For Young, it means the stained-glass classes she teaches at the BTV Art Studio are on hold. Instead of making new stained glass this season, she’s revisiting a personal collection of ornaments she made last Christmas at the Art Studio. “Decorating at Christmas is something I do for me,” said Young, who recently retrieved the collection from storage. “I chose to make the angels (in the collection) because of the role they play in the nativity story – and because they make me smile.” Placing a stained-glass ornament near a string of lights on the Christmas tree, or near a window where it catches the sunlight adds a touch of magic to your home. “That’s one of my favorite things about stained glass,” Young said. “If you hold it up to window or near the light, it really illuminates the true beauty of the glass.” Being at home during the pandemic hasn’t dampened Young’s creative spirits. She has a room converted into a small art studio, but there are only so many walls in her and Jim’s home. “I’ve resorted to painting on rocks,” Young said with a smile. “I told my husband I’ve run out of wall space, so now I’m turning to the ground outside.”
