Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Tuesday's Treasures - Lune Artisan Jewelry

Pin It This week I'm featuring a fabulous jewelry artisan, Keirsten Giles. Keirsten has some beautiful pieces for sale in her shops on etsy and artfire including these:


Let's get to know Keirsten better....



1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?
Well, of course there isn't just one thing, but what pops into my mind right away today is that I usually "march to my own drummer", i.e., I pay the most attention to my own "inner voice" (or I try to) for every decision I make, and this is becoming more and more the case as I get older. If something doesn't feel right, or I think it will divert me from a direction I am wanting to go, I don't do it. (Or at least I don't do it for very long!) Oddly enough this has always been something I've had to work at; my inner voice is often kind of quiet and hard to distinguish from other influences.
2. What role does your family play in your art?
My boyfriend is my best cheerleader--he lets me know regularly that he's proud of my work and what I'm doing to market and sell it, and he's willing to help with whatever I need. My mom is one of my best customers, and she and my stepdad let me know all the time that they believe in me and love my work. It's a great confidence booster to know they're behind me. They even bought me my first Dremel!
3. Where do you live and what is it like?
I live in a small resort town in northwest Montana called Whitefish; it's surrounded by towering mountains, glacial lakes and endless green. The lifestyle is pretty laid back, and most people come here for the lifestyle and scenery. Our summer playground is Flathead Lake, which is about an hour south of Whitefish by car. We try to spend as many weekends there on our boat as we can. We live extremely simply, in a very small house that keeps us from accumulating a bunch of useless crap, and we like that. I love small houses.
4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught?
Couple years ago I was frustrated that I couldn't find the kind of jewelry I wanted to wear. It seemed that everything I found was characterless and mass produced. I started making some pieces for myself and quickly realized I didn't know what I was doing. I signed up for Tammy Powley's email "Crash Course" in jewelry making on about.com, and started practicing those techniques. I found other instructions here and there online too. I found I really liked it, and had a lot of ideas. Too many ideas for just me to wear, so I decided to give it a go selling it and took the plunge in December of 2008, designing a little collection of pieces and opening shops on Etsy and ArtFire. Every technique I use I have learned either from online instructions, looking at other people's jewelry, or occasionally video tutorials.
5. How long have you been working at your craft?
Well, I'd been dabbling in jewelry making for about a year before I decided to get serious at the end of 2008. So I guess it's been about two and-a-half years.
6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general?
Oh, everywhere. Nature of course--that's really plentiful around here. But sometimes I'll see somebody wearing an outfit and I'll love the color palette; or a plateful of colorful food will inspire me; or a building, or an oily puddle, or a photograph, or even a feeling I want to capture. I once designed a necklace around the carpet at the gym where I work out.
7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?
Well, I'm kind of a practical sort with an analytical bent, so my advice would be to research the crap out of the practical aspects of whatever you want to do. If you are hoping to make money at it, or at least practice your art without it being a financial drain, figure out how you're going to make it work. Is there a market for your art? Where is it? How much does your art cost to make? Can you get your money back out of it? How long will that take? Do you have the cash to invest in it? Can you afford to spend that cash right now? How much time can you give it right now (not just the creating part, but the selling/business part too) based on your other commitments? Scale it appropriately to where you are in life; starting small is OK--just get your bearings, and don't put too much pressure on yourself. Treat it as reconnaissance! A little intelligence gathering sortie--and if it snowballs into a full-fledged business, well, right on!! Talk to other artists, find out what this kind of commitment entails. Choose a selling venue that suits your personality, and when you're confident with that, start pushing your boundaries. "Follow your heart" and all that is fine advice, definitely do that, but frankly your heart is going to need help with things like pricing, marketing and record keeping.
8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on?
Tools. 
Check out Keirsten's work at the links below:


Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Tuesday's Treasures - Maybeads

Pin It This week's feature is Lauren Mazursky. Lauren creates adorable critters out of glass. Here work is amazingly life-like & adorable at the same time. Her critters put a smile on my face every time! :-) I mean, who wouldn't smile when looking at these:



Let's get to know Lauren better.....
 
1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?
In terms of my beads - probably "kid-like".
 

2. What role does your family play in your art?

My kids will give me bead ideas and critiques (they go pretty easy on me, although once my daughter picked up a cat focal I'd made and she made it talk and say "hello, my face is too small for my head."). My girls are all to happy to give the "rejects" homes in their bead collections, though. My younger daughter is a bit of a promoter for me, too - she wears the chokers I make with my beads on them. She also gives them as gifts. In terms of the business part of my art, my husband is my photo sizer and business card maker, so he plays a large role. He's a printer, so he does the graphics for my cards and prints them.
3. Where do you live and what is it like? 
I live in a northwest suburb of Chicago. It's a pretty typical suburb. My kids walk to school. We have great neighbors. It's just right for us.
 

4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught? 
I learned lampworking in a beginner class at TLD Design Center in Westmont, IL, about 40 minutes from my house. I have since taken one more class that involved incorporating new things onto beads, like silvered ivory, murrini, copper and wire mesh. My critters are mostly self-taught. I learned a couple from tutorials (penguins and cows), and the rest I just kind of made up on my own. They're always evolving, though.  

5. How long have you been working at your craft?
About 2 1/2 years. 
 

6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general?
Lately I'm inspired by dogs. I'll see someone walking their dog and I just want to get to my torch to see if I could make it into a bead. 
 

7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?
Keep on practicing your art, and find something that makes it unique. But be sure it's also something you enjoy doing. 
 

8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on?
Wow - I'd love to invest in the set-up for an actual studio. My torching area is pretty basic, and I stand up to torch. I'd love to work it so I can sit and have a larger supply of gas and have everything more organized. And I'd also buy some more exotic types of glass.

You can see more of Lauren's work at:
Etsy


Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Flowers On My Mind

Pin It So I didn't get my mother's green thumb and a gardener I'll never be :-( but I'm lucky to have great natural lighting in my house or my indoor plants would die as well. ;-)

What I can do though is make GLASS flowers! And they last a lifetime without watering!

Here are 2 sets I just uploaded to my Etsy and ArtFire shops. Tell me what you think.


Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Tuesday's Treasures - Andrea Designs

Pin It




Andrea Wagner is an accomplished knitter and crocheter. I love her use of color and texture in her designs!

Let's get to know Andrea better....

1. If there’s one thing that defines you, what is it?
 Being positive.

2. What role does your family play in your art?
My husband is really supportive of what I do. Sometimes he could be the hardest critique. That helps me to really put my feet on the ground. But he lets me be. We just moved to Indiana. This is a new house and it has a basement the size of the house( 3 bed, 2 bath) minus the 2 car garage. The whole thing is my studio, that I am preparing, including the floor and walls, to my liking.

3. Where do you live and what is it like?
A month ago we moved from El Paso, Texas to Batesville, Indiana. Love the place. It's a small town with about 6,000 people (El Paso is about 600,000 inhabitants) 60 miles away from Indianapolis ( El Paso was to the East  800 miles about 8-10 hours driving to Dallas, driving to the West about 4 hours to Albuquerque, NM, and about 5 hours to Phoenix, AZ), and 50 miles away from Cincinnati, OH. It is a lot of green. Across our cul-de-sac is the woods. I am in love with the place.

4. Where did you learn to craft or are you self taught? 
I learned to knit in High School using two needles and crochet. When I was in my  first year of college my cousin gave me  classes on the knitting machine. I started making a sweater. From the basics I was able to self teach how to make skirts, dresses, pants. Later on I got a job as a Singer machine instructor. I was trained to use the different tools the knitting machine has and how to use them when preparing a garment. I provide that information to my students for them to create sweaters, baby dresses etc.
 When I got married and came to the States, my husband got for me as a  wedding present, a knitting machine. The thing was so simple. I could not work with it. That was 22 years ago. During the time I did not work I still  crocheted some dollies, but I was missing my knitting machine until I got a new one like I used to have. I was already working in my daily job as a Call Center supervisor, and I was dreaming to have a small business to run from home using my knitting machine to create shawls, baby clothing, and scarves. The first scarf I made using the knitting machine I did not like at all. I was looking for a product that will be good looking and soft to the touch. I bought several yarns in the internet that I liked, but they were not to be used in my knitting machine. Then I started to use my two needles again and I was able to create amazing scarves and ponchos for  my customers. Unfortunately I never took a photo of them. Now I am able to dare to try new thing like painting, love to making greeting and business cards, jewelry, and always open to learn new things.

5. How long have you been working at your craft?
More than 10 years.

6. Where do you receive your inspiration, in general?
I receive my inspiration from everything that is around me, nature, people, situations, places, the nature in general.

7. What is the best piece of advice you can give other artists?
Never  give up. The first time you fail doing or creating something, keep trying. That is not a  failure, that’s called  experience, if we learn from it.
 I have three step I always follow if I don’t get  things right the first time:
1. 5 minutes of feeling sorry for myself or probably getting upset
2.Thinking what I could change. If not possible, look for new alternatives
3. Chin up and continue working in the new project
 
8. If you won a thousand dollar craft shopping spree, what would you spend it on?
Yarn, Yarn and more Yarn, some beads, probably another knitting machine, I have already two, and more yarn…
 
Here are some links where you can find Andrea's wonderful products:

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Tuesday's Treasures - the Fire Divas - Part II

Pin It To reiterate from last week.....

The Fire Divas were created by a group of friends with a passion for creating lampwork beads. The Fire Divas' main objective is to work together to promote each other individually and as a Team on this big world wide web. Our members have shops on etsy, artfire &/or 1000 markets.

So,  now that you've met some of my friends and teammates, let's meet the rest! :-)

Karen Klomparens:
Lara Lutrick:
(Her shop is on vacation so I've shared a sold listing of hers)

Lauren Mazursky:

Laurie Ament:


Lea Avroch (me!):

Lori Bergmann:

Melanie Graham:
Patrice Shepherd:






Sonja McClung:




Susan Lambert:

Susanne Folin:

Tera Belinksy-Yoder:

Theresa Ehlers:

Hope you enjoyed the eye candy! Search for Fire Divas Team on etsy and artfire for more glassy goodness from us all!