Frances Halley is a graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and is a member of the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators, the Folk Art Society of America and the Guild of American Papercutters. She has a keen interest in American Folk Art and is a self taught artist. Her work has been shown at the Cantellops Gallery at LaRoche University, the Martha Gault Gallery at Slippery Rock University, the Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery at St. Vincent’s College and North Hills Art Center Gallery. She has also taught classes on Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Art and on Grandma Moses at the Center for Lifelong Learning at LaRoche University.
In 2017 her cut paper piece, Old Economy Village, won an Honorable Mention Award in the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators exhibit entitled Art of Facts; Uncovering Pittsburgh, at the Heinz History Center. She enjoys illustrating in cut paper and calls the Exacto Knife her paint brush. She also enjoys creating German Fraktur style pieces in gouache, watercolor and ink. Frances also enjoys participating in community theater as an actor, director, prop master and set designer. In February 2023 she was welcomed as a board member for Community Theater Players in Ben Avon, Pennsylvania. She lives in Ross Township, Allegheny County with her husband, John and their dog, Lottie.
