Resident Artists

Valerie Breaux Haaf

Valerie Breaux Haaf has loved art since she was young. Her mother was an elementary school art teacher and they were constantly creating projects together. As a result, Valerie was inspired to become an artist as well as a teacher, and she found the ideal place to pursue her passions when she joined the Banana Factory in 1998.

Valerie first studied painting at Philadelphia College of Art, now the University of the Arts, and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Kutztown University. While studying in Scotland, she also participated in performance art at the Fringe Festival during the Edinburgh International Festival of the Arts.

Inspired by nature and ancient tribal cultures, Valerie works with mixed media that includes everything from collage, printmaking and fibers, to metals such as copper tubing, aluminum screen and wire. These various materials are combined to create two- and three-dimensional series and installations. Most recently, handmade jewelry has also become a passion for the Berks County resident.

Over the past 20 years, Valerie has shown in many regional exhibitions and earned merit and purchase awards. In 2005, she was accepted for a one-month residency in Bethlehem’s Sister City of Schwäbisch-Gmünd, Germany, where she had a solo show and taught mixed media in the local schools.

At the Banana Factory, Valerie teaches mixed media and jewelry classes to children and adults, as well as serves as an instructor in the Banana Factory’s B-Smart after-school program and Holy Infancy School program. She is a resident of Lenhartsville, where she lives with her husband, Kevin, and their daughter, Emilie.

Artist Statement

“I came to the Banana Factory for the arts community and found so much more. For 10 years it has been a part of my life. It is a great place to experiment and experience art.”

-Valerie Breaux Haaf