Calling all artists! Our HOLIDAY POP UP Art Shops will be November 16th this year. Shopping will be outside and we hope to have Good Little Eater and Red Barn Coffee join us as usual. We will be offering a Free Making Activity inside and Stillwater Farmers Markert will also be onsite. Interested artists can sign up NOW!
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Prairie Arts Center partners with the OSU Museum of Art, the OSU Museum of Art Advocates, and OSU's Department of Art, Graphic Design, and Art History to host free professional development workshops and retreats for Oklahoma educators on a variety of special topics. We strive to provide regional K-12 educators with the pedagogical tools, inspiration, resources, and support to bring elevated visual art curriculum into their classrooms. It is also our hope to give teachers the opportunity to relax, reflect, and learn from one another. Be on the look out for our next professional development workshop!

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Come visit us for Pottery Seconds Sale! The Prairie Arts pottery studio staff, students, and instructors are hosting this fundraiser to help support the center. Proceeds will go towards supplies for youth classes, equipment, and our scholarship fund. Pottery seconds are either glaze experiments, flawed in some minor way, or overstock, and will be offered at bargain prices. We will also have several ceramic pumpkins for sale as we always do during this time of the year.  Pottery Seconds can be affordable home decor additions or early holiday gifts! This event is one day only in the parking lot in front of Prairie Arts Center.

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Join local fiber artist, Vicky Berry, in creating a "community quilt" that will tell a story of Stillwater and bring community members together in artistic collaboration.  Inspired by the work of quilter, Maria Shell, Berry is inviting community members to participate by making a block for the quilt with imagery from their own Stillwater story- a favorite place, a memory, a symbol of meaning. These brightly colored blocks will be joined together by Berry and volunteers from the Cimarron Valley Quilter’s Guild to form a large quilt with the word STILLWATER surrounded by 76 community squares. Participation does not require sewing experience, only the desire to be creative in community and contribute individual memories and meaning to the collective!

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A 100 Day Project is a commitment to doing something every day for 100 straight days. 100 Day Projects are profoundly personal and powerful. You choose the area of your life that you'd like to work on. You decide how much time you are able to give. You make the rules.

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2026 Arts Festival Banner1

 

The Stillwater Arts Festival is a community celebration of the visual arts that brings together a diverse range of local and regional artists at the Prairie Arts Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The 2026 Stillwater Arts Festival will take place April 17–18, 2026.

This year, our annual spring community exhibition draws inspiration from OSU Museum of Art’s Guild Hall: An Adventure in the Arts, which highlights more than 127 years of work united by a shared sense of place and artistic dialogue. In response, we invited local artists and community members to create works inspired by Stillwater, then passed those pieces on to others as creative prompts. The result is a chain of artworks in conversation—connected by shared colors, textures, landscapes, and interpretations of place.

Inside the Prairie Arts Center, guests of all ages can participate in free, hands-on art making activities throughout the weekend. In addition, festival goers can take part in Raku Firing ($10 per bowl). Prairie’s pottery studio instructors and students have created bowls for visitors to glaze using the ancient raku technique. Instructors will be on hand to help participants choose glazes and firing materials and to guide them through the firing process.

In addition to festival activities at the Prairie Arts Center, visitors can explore special programming throughout the Stillwater Cultural District, including offerings from OSU Museum of Art, Block 34, Stonecloud Brewing Company, Stillwater Public Library, and Stillwater History Museum at the Sheerar. Local food trucks will be on-site, and the Stillwater Farmers Market joins us on Saturday morning.

This event is made possible through the generous support of the Stillwater Arts Council, Oklahoma State University, Visit Stillwater, and the City of Stillwater. Their continued dedication helps ensure the festival remains a valued community tradition.

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Regional Artists
Brittany Friedel, OK
Hand-fabricated, metalsmithed, and beaded jewelry made with .925 Sterling Silver, 14kt Gold Filled, lapidary cabochons(some collected, some made by me), semi-precious stones, glass, and pearls.
 Don Tran, MO
Don Tran, MO

Hand stitched with colourful silk threads on black cotton. I started by drawing outlines of image with gel pen, then the shading or blending of colours, I just create from mind while I hand embroider

Larry Tallent, OK
Larry Tallent, OK

Handmade sterling silver and 14k gold jewelry with natural stones.

Jeremy Jackson, KS

We use a variety of metals (primarily silver) to hand fabricate or cast our jewelry & then hand select unique gemstones and curiosities from nature to showcase in the handcrafted creations.

Kerry McNickle, OK

Ceramics are an outlet for the creative mind. Using various techniques to portray that creativity, I am a hand builder who uses my talent to create pieces of pottery that can be used in everyday life…

Erin Thomas, OK

My work is created with fine point pen and watercolor, often juxtaposed on vintage library materials and focuses on the nature found in Oklahoma to further illustrate the book titles on the papers.

Mark Carter
Hand forged metal items for home and business. Ranging from wall art to gates and railings.
Tandi Memmott - OK
Tandi Memmott - OK
My pieces include both functional and nonfunctional stoneware fired to cone 6. Finishes include oxide washes, underglazes, and cone 6 glazes.
Tandi Memmott - OK

My pieces include both functional and nonfunctional stoneware fired to cone 6. Finishes include oxide washes, underglazes, and cone 6 glazes.

Margaret Aden, AZ

I explore structure, attachment & light with sheet & wire using an adapted basket weaving technique and solve questions of relational attachment & scale. Each piece hand fabricated from…

Leah Kenton-McGaha, OK

Hand and digitally drawn anthropomorphized cats based on famous paintings and photographs, laser-engraved on wood and hand-painted with acrylics and enamel paints

Karen Nixon, TX

My abstract artwork features acrylic paint and mixed media on canvas, wood, or paper. Depth and dimension through use of charcoal, texture and collage invites viewers into an immersive experience.

Daniel/ Jorge Schemel/Fernandez, TX
Daniel/ Jorge Schemel/Fernandez, TX

Each piece is individually handcrafted. Our wooden cases go through 7 different sand paper sizes to get a natural finish. We find scraps of materials from furniture places to minimize waist.

Miki Oliver, TX
Miki Oliver, TX

I create glass panels ready to hang. I use many different types of color and textures to create one of a kind art to et the light shine.

 Tim Robbins, AR

Original fine-art photography. Images are digitally captured, artist-edited, and produced as archival pigment prints using professional printing processes.

Jennifer Croy

My acrylic paintings are usually described as whimsical. I love bright colors and subjects that make the viewer giggle. I’m a kid at heart & inspired by the love of God and the beauty of His…

Annie Honn, KS

Annie has been working with blown glass for about ten years, focusing primarily on vessels and fine drink ware as well as one of a kind seasonal items utilizing cane/murrine in her designs.

Angela Bonavida, OK

I use several different clays to hand build functional and whimsical pottery.

 Ron Van Den Bussche, OK

I am a woodturner who specializes in segmented turning, often creating very detailed patterns using a variety of domestic and exotic woods for the patterns.

Maranda Loughlin, OK

Maranda Loughlin's work is centered around creating handmade ceramic jewelry that is rooted in place. Her earrings hold a variety of different styles including: wind chimes, boots, and statements.

Paul Punzo, KS

Utilizing India inks, stencils, spray paint and linoleum block print to create vibrant prints.

Chole Walch, AR

My abstract mixed media uses glass, resin, dye, and acrylic on wood panel to mimic crystals and evoke cosmic atmospheres and aerial landscapes shaped by fluid motion, depth, and layered texture forms.

Ron Walker, OK
Ron Walker, OK

I create unique ceramic pieces using a variety of techniqiues. Including locally sourced clay, raku firing, sagger firing and cone 6 stoneware. Techniques in clude wheel thrown, slab built and coil

Wilhelmina Stocker, OK

Acrylic paint on canvas using layered brushwork and blending techniques to create depth, texture, and vibrant color.

Zi Li, OK
Zi Li, OK

Hand-thrown clay works, inspired by nature and Asian aesthetics, celebrating the beauty of modern life.

 Kayla Ausmus, OK

Pokeberry Paper paints colorful nature inspired pieces of art, on handmade/recycled paper she creates in her home studio.

Sherri Arthur, OK
Sherri Arthur, OK

Fused glass and hand painted glass jewelry.

Jacquelyn Riggs, OK

I cut, hammer, form, stamp and solder sterling silver into creative, simple and elegant earrings, rings and pendants. I set semi-precious stones in sterling silver and sometimes use gold to accent .

Matthew Montgomery, OK

I use a Canon R6 MKII mirrorless camera with a standard 25-15 mm and a 150-600mm telephoto lens to take my photos. The photos are printed on archival paper and coated to extend the life of the photo.

Michael Walker, OK
Functional art work such as pens, bowls, cutting boards, utensils, etc.
David Krone, OK

Acrylic on canvas, and prints of original work.

Steve Chalson, TX

My work is inspired by discarded skateboards, wood off-cuts, and fallen trees. I combine these into inventive, Zero-Waste Art pieces that are often infused with my love of Mid-Mod & Pop Art.

Kristin Schillaci, NM

Analog Medium format slide film capture, shot on 1970s Bronica. Limited edition archival pigment prints on fine art paper, printed by artist. Unstaged unaltered images. Cohesive academic body of work

Myah Runyon

I am a linocut printmaker. I hand carve original designs into rubber linoleum and hand print these designs on art prints, greeting cards, tote bags, book marks, and t-shirts.

Fred Imhoff, KS

Hand blown glass sculpted in the flame of a torch

 Michael Allen, OK
Fine art archival photographic prints (framed and unframed) signed by the photographer
Kathy Shann
Kathy Shann

Jewelry metals, inlay work

David Billen, OK

Art photography consisting of large format to small canvas, custom framed prints, matted prints. Wildlife, cityscape, farm related, etc... All photos taken within the state of Oklahoma.

Daniel Fager-George, MO

Original art that is placed on an actual dictionary page that can be up to 150 years old. The art relates to the words on the page. I have originals, prints, wearable art and triptychs.

 
 
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Vendors
 
 
Gosney Creative

Pin-back buttons and framed prints made from recycled book illustrations and original designs.   

Alchemy Arts
Alchemy Arts

We grow herbs and flowers, distill the plants to make hydrosols and essential oils. Those are used as ingredients for beard oil,  salves, hydrosol wellness sprays and essential oil roller…

Caricatures by Dorinda, LLC
Caricatures by Dorinda, LLC

Caricatures drawn live in black and white or color with professional markers.

 
 
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Conversations with Place and Each Other: A Stillwater Artists' Salon
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This year, our annual spring community exhibition takes its inspiration from OSU Museum of Art's current exhibition, Guild Hall: An Adventure in the Arts. This exhibition features works spanning over 127 years of production, all by artists inspired by the East End of Long Island, a place known for its extraordinary light, coastal landscapes, and a vibrant and supportive community of artists. There are many styles, mediums, movements and artistic visions represented but what binds them together is place. And bound as they are by place, they are also bound to one another, artworks influencing artworks and artists conversing, sometimes across time, with one another about their craft and their love of place.

So, in conversation with the exhibition, we decided to see what would happen when we asked local artists and community members to make works inspired by Stillwater. And what would happen next if those first artworks were passed on to act as inspiration for another group of artists? Which works would be in conversation? Which artists would share a spark about Stillwater- the same color, or texture, a shared view of the landscape, or a just a feeling? 

Artwork by pastel artist Jude Tolar. 

 

 

 

 

Arts Festival Website Image 1980 300 px3

Art Making Activities 

 

fYW8ngWQFriday, April 17th

12:30pm - 7pm Screenprinted Tattos
Prairie staff will once again be inside with an array of temporary tattoo options for all festival goers. We use temporary, non-toxic ink.
 
3pm - 7pm Raku Firing ($10 a bowl)
Prairie's pottery studio instructors and students have been making bowls for you to glaze using the ancient technique of raku. Instructors will be on hand to help you pick glazes, firing material, and to guide you through the experience. Raku pottery is not food safe.
 
1pm - 7pm FREE Art Making Activity
Festival goers will have the opportunity to spend time with this year's community exhibition, Conversations with Place and Each Other, and create one or more trading card size, mixed media artworks that respond to the themes and works in the exhibition. Participants are encouraged to leave one of their works behind to be included in the exhibition! This project will be attended by OSU Museum of Art and Prairie Art Center staff members and is free for all and beginner friendly.
 
 
 
 
 
Saturday, April 18thIV5A14341
 
11am - 5pm Screenprinted Tattos
Prairie staff will once again be inside with an array of temporary tattoo options for all festival goers. We use temporary, non-toxic ink.
 
11am - 5pm Raku Firing ($10 a bowl)
Prairie's pottery studio instructors and students have been making bowls for you to glaze using the ancient technique of raku. Instructors will be on hand to help you pick glazes, firing material, and to guide you through the experience. Raku pottery is not food safe.
 
10am - 5pm FREE Art Making Activity
Festival goers will have the opportunity to spend time with this year's community exhibition, Conversations with Place and Each Other, and create one or more trading card size, mixed media artworks that respond to the themes and works in the exhibition. Participants are encouraged to leave one of their works behind to be included in the exhibition! This project will be attended by OSU Museum of Art and Prairie Art Center staff members and is free for all and beginner friendly.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arts Festival Website Image 1980 300 px5
 
 THANK YOU  

A Heartfelt THANK YOU to Our Incredible Supporters!

This festival simply would not be possible without the generosity and dedication of so many people, and we are so grateful for each and every one of you.

A special thank you to The City of Stillwater, Visit Stillwater, and the Stillwater Arts Council for guiding and supporting us through the entire process of the festival. The City of Stillwater helps set up the festival around our space and works hard to spread the word to the community. Visit Stillwater equally supports getting the word out about the festival and provides grant funding that helps us cover marketing materials and food for our artists. Together, their partnership and commitment year after year is the reason this festival has continued to thrive for so many years.

We are so grateful for Mitchell Alcala, who generously volunteered his photography services across both days of the festival. His beautiful photos capture the spirit and energy of the event, and we are lucky to have his talent behind the lens preserving these memories for years to come.

A delicious thank you to Hideaway Pizza for donating lunch for our artists on Saturday, and to HTea0 for keeping everyone refreshed with tea throughout both days — your generosity means the world!

To all of the artists who donated artwork to our exhibition this year — thank you for sharing your creativity and passion with our community.

And last but absolutely not least — a huge thank you to the students and instructors here at the Prairie Arts Center. You stepped up in so many ways, and your support and enthusiasm make all the difference.

Without all of you, none of this would be possible. THANK YOU!