04/07/2026
You're invited! On Sunday, April 12 from 4-6pm we are hosting a New Artisan Reception to welcome our four newest members. Enjoy light refreshments and help us in welcoming: fiber artist, Louise Slayton; painter, Kris Stewart; fiber artist and painter, Marie Sakellarion; and assemblage artist Kathy Kemp to the Walpole Artisans Cooperative located at 52 Main Street in Walpole, NH. might like to know. There is free parking in and this event is free to attend. Photographed here from left to right: Marie Sakellarion, Kathy Kemp, Kris Stewart, and Louise Slayton. You can learn more about these artisans below:
Louise Slayton:
Louise creates her own knitting patterns and makes wearable art in the form of hats, fingerless gloves, cowls of various sizes, headbands, and leg warmers. She also weaves heirloom overshot patterns to create functional art, such as table runners, hand towels, placemats, and potholders.
Louise moved to Westmoreland in 1970 with her husband and young daughter, later to be joined by a second daughter. Louise worked as a social worker at Cedarcrest and then Maplewood. Music has always been an important part of her life - singing in the Keene Chorale, of which she was a founding member, for 40+ years, playing guitar and leading sing-alongs in the school when her children were young, and later at Maplewood. She values the variety and quantity of musical performances in the Keene/Brattleboro area. She also sold her creations at Country Artisans back when the Colony Mill was a shopping center for unique gifts.
Kris Stewart:
Kris creates original paintings and offers prints of her work on coasters, matted prints, and note cards. She is an oil painter in love with color and texture. Kris tries to use them both generously in her work to evoke a sense of "being there" within her viewers. Primarily self-taught, she has also trained with several well-known artists such as Qiang Huang, Dave Santillanes, Carol Marine, and Hugh Greer, among others. She studied art at Ohio Wesleyan University, and, while living in the Santa Fe area, was represented by galleries in Old Town Albuquerque and Madrid, NM. Kris has also received multiple awards from juried shows throughout the country, including one sponsored by the National Audubon Society. Kris now lives in Surry.
Marie Sakellarion:
Marie creates original acrylic paintings, both on canvas and on treasure boxes. She also makes warm fleece-lined, wool mittens from repurposed sweaters. Marie’s creative journey began nearly 40 years ago with a passion for Decorative Painting and Folk Art. She brings her unique touch to a wide variety of surfaces such as canvas, wood, metal, and fabric. Marie's subject matter reflects her deep appreciation for the natural and domestic world, with works that capture landscapes, animals, plants/flowers, and even detailed home portraits.
Marie has called New Salem, Massachusetts home for the past 26 years. Balancing her artistic pursuits with a full and dynamic life. She worked in the biopharmaceutical industry, and managed a long-term Buddhist meditation retreat center---each experience enriching the depth and spirit of her creative work.
Kathy Kemp:
Kathy creates assemblage artworks using time-worn wood, industrial remnants, and found objects. By bringing these experienced materials together in new relationships, she builds modern compositions that explore balance, contrast, and quiet tension. Antique hardware, salvaged wood, and other overlooked materials often find their way into her work, where their textures and histories help shape the final form.
Before turning her full attention to art, Kathy spent many years working in geriatric healthcare, where she developed a deep respect for resilience and the stories carried by age. That sensibility continues to guide her creative process as worn and discarded objects are given renewed presence and purpose.
Originally from Massachusetts, Kathy now lives in Westminster, Vermont. She studied design at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and exhibits her work throughout New England.
On Sunday, April 12 from 4-6pm we are hosting a New Artisan Reception to welcome our four newest members. Enjoy light refreshments and help us in welcoming: fiber artist, Louise Slayton; painter, Kris Stewart; fiber artist and painter, Marie Sakellarion; and assemblage artist Kathy Kemp to the Walpole Artisans Cooperative located at 52 Main Street in Walpole, NH. We hope you'll join us!
