Artist of the Week!

Today we have a fabulous fabric artist. Jen Eskridge of http://www.reannalilydesigns.com/ Jen makes adorable outfits, fantastic bags and gorgeous quilts.

1. What brought you into your chosen craft or art?
I started sewing when I was about 8-9 and started quilting my senior year of high school. There was something very theraputic about working with fabric and creating. It led me to abandon my college major (environmental engineering) and pursue a degree in Apparel Design. My parents weren't thrilled, but it turned out well 10 years later.

2. Do you have a favorite piece that you have created?

My favorite tool is the Seamingly Accurate Seam Guide. It has so many functional uses for all levels of sewing. My favorite design is the Army Cube purse. Its got a different kind of shape, it holds TONS and its very well received by my customers. Along with commission sewing work, I have a line of quilt patterns and my favorite pattern is the Floating Bubbles Quilt. The design is not traditional, yet is easy to make using very traditional methods.

3. What would you tell someone who would like to venture into creating?

For someone wanting to create & create for money- I'd tell them to be prepared to hear the word "No". For every YES you'll get about 20 "No". And although, it is discouraging at first - please keep creating. It only takes that one YES to get you to where you need to be. Be confident and move forward. Secondly, I had an art professor in college tell me that you should never feel self-concious or on-the-fence about your work. You should be confident. If you don't love your creative work, no one else will. Pretty smart guy.

Thanks to Jen for being Artist of the Week! Be sure to visit her shop and also check out her blog.
---------------------------
Artist of the Week will be taking a week off, next week. We will be on vacation, but be sure to check back April 14th to see who the next featured Artist is!

Make Mine Mini!

Mini dragons that is! I decided I wanted to see if I could possibly make my KW-style dragons smaller. So instead of my normal 6-10 ounces of clay I set out with simply 3! It was nerve wracking for sure, and honestly gotta say I'm glad I no longer have my acrylic nails!!! This little blue guy is about a third the size of my earlier dragons. I used Swarovski rhinestones for the eyes rather than beads. I forgot to put wing holes in, but I can easily drill them in later. So whatdya think?

Easter Eggs

These eggs (there are 2 pics each for the 2 eggs I made) were made using a tutorial from PolyClayPlay, They are loads of fun, and I can definitely see this techinique being used in many different ways! i would love to do more, but sadly not enough time before this Easter. But there will definitely be some for next year!!! (oh yeah and can you jsut see the Christmas ornaments that this technique will make!!!! I can!!!)

Meet Lelah!

Lelah is a little over 2 weeks old, but her wings just finished drying and she is ready to fly...or well she would be if she wasn't so tired! This little gal just can't seem to wake up. I sewed her a little golden pillow to rest on. She was very grateful for it too.

3/26/09

Here it is Thursday already. My how time does fly. Today spent painting...nothing fun like pictures, but a big meeting room in a cheery buttery pale yellow. My friend and I got 3/4s of the room painted. I gotta head to bed early tonight, as we are meeting tomorrow at 9 to finish the job. Urgh, I am so not a morning person, so I will most likely be stopping for some java before hand. I don't drink much coffee, but like it when I have something I need to do in the mornings. Thankfully we should be done by lunch time. Hopefully I can get some more sculpting done. I have some Easter things I need to get up on my store...um like NOW. LOL Last night I made 2 filigree Easter eggs following the tutorial from www.polyclayplay.com I made one open work...which btw happens during a 'magic' step! ;-) And the other is a solid one. I will take pics tomorrow and share. I had hoped to make more, but well as close as we are to Easter and knowing full well that I will be on vacation the week prior, well it seems kinda pointless. Oh well there are plenty of other holidays coming.
Oooh and it looks like I will be doing a 2-day craft show in May. So I am very excited about that. But man oh man I need to get busy. Hopefully I can start making a dragon or several smaller pieces a day from now till the begining of May. (except for my weeek at Disney!) Hopefully that'll go well!
Well I think I'm off to go soak in the tub. So y'all have a good night. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Deborah

Middle of the Week Already!

Can you believe it? Maybe it's just me but time really seems to be flying. Today I actually got some crafting done in between loads of Laundry. I have had a dragon waiting for wings for over a week now. I finally got her wire 'framework' done, as well as painted the fabric for her wings. So tomorrow I'll do the next steps and hopefully by Friday she will have wings and be ready for her debut. After that I made a couple of 'filigree' easter eggs. One needs to be baked tomorrow but the other is done...well almost. I am in the process of making it a hollow 'openwork' egg...and it'll take a couple days for the magic to happen.
I'll do some more claying tomorrow morning, but tomorrow afternoon I'd be painting. Nothing fancy, we are painting one of the meeting rooms at my husbands unit. But when I get home it'll be back to the clay...I want to make some more Easter eggs. Oh and I have a couple custom pieces I need to make for a friend.
Well it's late so I'm off for now, until tomorrow.
Bye,
Deborah

ARTIST of the WEEK!

Today's artist of the week is actually a chef! I hope you enjoy learning a little about Nicole of Nicole's Homemade Treats on etsy.
1. What brought you into your chosen craft or art?
I have been baking, cooking and making candy since I was a child. My Nonnas (grandmothers)taught me everything they knew and I enjoyed every minute I spent with them. On any given day we would make homemade pasta, bread or candy: the aromas that filled the house were enough to make you salivate!

To this day I try to make as many things from scratch as I can. I find that even when my days are hectic and I don't feel that I can do anything else, just making a simple batch of cookies relaxes me and brings back all the wonderful memories I have of my Nonnas.

All my family and friends are constantly trying to get me to open my own cafe/bakery, but I don't feel that it is a good idea, especially since I have young kids. Selling my "treats" to local restaurants/stores and having my Etsy shop are perfect for me at the present time.

I have the best of both worlds, I am a stay-at-home mom who is able to make goodies to share with others!

2. Do you have a favorite piece that you have created?
Since I make cakes, candy, granola and pastries, I don't consider them "Pieces." However, my homemade (organic) granola is my favorite item. I made up the recipe myself, use only the best ingredients possible, using organic products whenever possible. My granola is very versatile: you can eat it plain (it is great when you
are on the go), add milk to eat for a bowl of cereal or mix it with yogurt for a satisfying, yet healthy meal.

3. What would you tell someone who would like to venture into creating?

A.) Keep it simple.

B.) Do what you like & like what you do.

C.) Trust your instincts.

D.) Always use the best ingredients/products you possibly can.

E.) Don't make promises you cannot keep.

F.) Always say, "Please," and "Thank You."


Pictured Above Are: TOP RIGHT: Nicole's Homemade Organic Granola, TOP LEFT: Almond Turtles BOTTOM RIGHT: Milk Chocolate Coconut Clusters BOTTOM LEFT: Milk Chocolate Peanut and Pretzel Bark

I hope you will take a few minutes to visit Nicole's shop! nicole also has a blog that you can visit to learn more about her.

Thanks Nicole for being Featured ARTIST of the WEEK!
Deborah