Girl Picking Flowers, Glen Noto.(Submitted photo)

MORRIS – The Butternut Valley Arts & Crafts Center (BVACC) presents Working Hands, an exhibition of artwork by teaching artists at the BVACC. This exhibit will be on display May 3–June 27, 2026, with an artist reception opening the exhibit on May 3, 2026, 2–5 p.m.. This is a free event and all members of the public are encouraged to stop by to meet the artists and view the exhibit.

This group exhibit showcases artwork by MJ Brunschmid (quiltmaking), Dee Hazlett (acrylic paintings and silk thread weavings), Bill Henderson (wood sculpture), Glen Noto (folk art painting), Kristin Stevenson (cold wax and oil painting), and Jim Whitaker (broom making). Representing a wide variety of media and styles, the artwork in this exhibition demonstrates the diverse learning opportunities that the BVACC offers.

Whether self-taught or traditionally trained, BVACC teachers have honed their skills through years of work. The pieces in this exhibit exemplify the human imperative to explore the limits of what our hands can do to create functional, expressive, and unique works of art.


MJ Brunschmid

​​Mary Jane (MJ) Brunschmid is a local folk artist who grew up on a fifth generation dairy farm in Otsego County in Upstate New York. Passionate about rural country living, Brunschmid handcrafted useful items from an early age, supplying the Country Store at the Otsego County Fair every year. Quilting is more than a hobby for Bruschmid, whose work embodies this folk artform. In addition to making quilts, Brunschmid was a travel hostess and guide for Oneonta Bus Lines, feeding her love of road trips.

Dee Hazlett

Dee Hazlett graduated with a degree in art from Hartwick College in 1981 with a specialization in tapestry. In addition to working in food service and raising a family, Hazlett took classes with Marilyn Roveland at the BVACC. She has received formal recognition of her work, including winning 3rd prize in the Community Arts Network of Oneonta’s Grass Roots Exhibition in 2016.

Bill Henderson

Bill Henderson has been a casual whittler since he was a child. He received formal decoy training in 1990, learning the traditional North American folk art of carving waterfowl as floating decoys and decorative art. Drawn to whittling in 1998, Henderson enjoys working with simple tools. He is self-taught and continues to learn more about carving through online resources and experience.

Glen Noto

Glen Noto’s artwork reflects his interest and academic background in history. After earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history, Noto taught history and coached sports for decades before pursuing his interest in primitive and folk art painting. Noto took courses with renowned folk artists Janet and Charles Munro at the Seminars in American Culture Hosted by the Fenimore and Farmers’ Museums in Cooperstown.

He draws on his lifelong passion for American history, the Civil War, and baseball for subject matter for his paintings, and is inspired by the beauty of central New York, the prints of Currier and Ives, and his excitement for Christmas. Noto has exhibited his work at the Fenimore Museum and in the Butternut Valley Alliance’s On the Trail of Art.

Kristin Stevenson

Kristin Stevenson is a mixed media artist working primarily in cold wax and oil. Using materials such as ashes, marble dust, graphite, and pigments, she paints expressive, layered abstract paintings that explore themes around memory processing and identity.

Stevenson studied cold wax medium with Rebecca Crowell at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ireland; oil painting with Timothy Joseph Allen in Rome, Italy; and woodcut printing with Peter Rockwell in Rome, Italy. She received an NCFE certificate in art and design (ceramics) from Bristol City College in the UK; and most recently worked with beloved local ceramicist Elizabeth Nields in Upstate New York and master printmaker Rhea Nowack at SUNY Oneonta.

She has shown her work in the US and Europe in solo and group exhibitions, and in regional and national juried shows. Her work has been published in a literary magazine and can be found in many private collections around the world.

Jim Whitaker

James D. Whitaker grew up on a farm and has been a broom maker for 35 years. He is a plant science graduate of SUNY Cobleskill, and holds a BA from SUNY Oneonta and an MA from SUNY Albany. He has worked at The Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown and Hanford Mills in East Meredith, and has done demonstrations at other museums. He lives in Morris and continues to research the history, folklore, and popular culture of broomcorn.

For more information on the exhibit, visit bvartscenter.org or email info@bvartscenter.org.

- Information from the Butternut Valley Arts & Crafts Center (BVACC)