Saturday, November 12, 2022

One More Day to Go!

Meet Christine Seeholzer from Sacred Space Studios LLC...

I am an artist focused on using art as a modality for healing myself and others. I mentor students as an art teacher for St. Paul Lutheran School, but I also teach art lessons for the City of Avon Lake where I live with my husband, three children and adorable dog. 

I have been painting seriously since pursuing my undergraduate fine art degree at Bowling Green State University about 20 years ago. This will be my first time participating in an Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show.  
What inspires me to create... The personal stories we carry with us have meaning and interest to me, especially as they relate to our relationships with others we love, and the divine. 

How I got into my craft.. As a six-year-old child, I was hospitalized for Pneumonia for about a week. During that time, my parents did not allow me to visit the play room, and instead, a kind nurse brought me art supplies to pass the time. I have been hooked ever since. 
How I discovered my talent.. In junior high art class, we were required to complete sketchbook assignments. I enjoyed the assignments and spent hours working on pencil sketches from life.  When my instructor saw my progress, and she saw the different angles and close-ups, she assumed I was using a lightbox and accused me of cheating. That's when I knew I was onto something. 
My creative process.. I enjoy researching a topic or concept and then finding images that mash up to support the essence or content of the topic (like an illustrator) and then find appropriate reference images to work from. From there, I arrange a composition on canvas with a rough pencil sketch and then either create a complicated pencil drawing and fix it as an under drawing, slowly building painting layers on top, or paint alla prima using colors that fit the mood of the painting. I always paint to music in my home studio, preferably in the morning with natural light spilling into my home studio. 
My five year goal..  I hope to be regularly participating in the Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show, as well as creating healing gallery experiences centered around my book, Rise: An Affirmation Journal from Your Higher Self, and meeting interesting people through commission portrait work, and continuing my summer teaching experiences for Avon Lake. 

The message behind my work..  Life is a beautiful journey supported by the divine.

Meet Summer Holmes from HolmesMadeArt...

My name is Summer Holmes. I’ve been creating things all my life. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that, at the urging of my friends and family, I opened an Etsy shop to sell some of those creations. Along with me, some of my adult children and my sister also sell their creations. 

My daughter named the shop and we are HolmesMadeArt. Together we have everything from wall art to novels and reversible bibs to jewelry. Personally, I do mostly mosaics. Mosaic wall art, mosaic jewelry, you name it. I work with multiple mediums but my favorites are stained glass and vintage dishes. This will be my first art show with Avant-Garde and I’m very excited. I just started the fairs this season since I started my business during the pandemic. 


My creative process can be pretty jumbled. I have a general idea or see something that inspires me and the spark is lit. It grows into a flame as i think about it and plan in my head. Sometimes this all takes place in seconds and I’ve started working on the project, putting other things aside. Sometimes, it can take weeks to get to the creating part. For example, I’m working on two projects right now that demonstrate the two ends of that time spectrum. I took a photograph of a design on a carpet in the Bangalore, India airport while on vacation and instantly knew I wanted to recreate it in mosaic. That mosaic is done. In a box is a mosaic that looks great in my head! However, the process of transferring it to the substrate has been… well, not happening. I’ve laid out several designs with the tesserae I want to use and nothing looks good. As it was taking up a precious station in my workroom, I finally swept everything into a box and put it aside. That mosaic has to swirl around in my brain for a while longer. 


My goal for HolmesMadeArt is to have it be viable enough that I can quit my day job and just make art all day long. Slowly but surely, we are building our shop’s reputation and getting more and more sales and commissions. So, God willing and the creek don’t rise, that goal will be reached by our fourth anniversary, June 23, 2024.  

Meet Lauren Dulay from Charming Dinosaur Gifts...
My name's Lauren and I've been making space-themed gifts and ornaments for about 5 years. My items range from earrings, tarot cards, full ornament sets of our entire solar system, and much more. I've been selling them online for a while but this is my first craft show. 
I began creating these because I wanted these items for myself and once I made one, I started making more because I liked it so much. It snowballed into an emporium of planet-based merchandise! 
I love to come home from work and sit down to paint planets. It's become a cozy time where I unwind with a cup of decaf coffee, an audiobook or music playing in the background, and my cat sleeping somewhere nearby. I love packing up my ornaments into their boxes with tissue paper and seeing the end product. It's very rewarding to me. I hope I continue to make these, and I hope to add more products to my business as the years come. I hope my customers enjoy my products as much as I enjoy making them and I look forward to seeing everyone at the show!

Meet Edward Loomis from Edward Loomis Photography...
Hi! My name is Edward Loomis, I am a lifelong Clevelander, graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in Business Management, and now a photographer of all things Cleveland.  I look forward to sharing my talents with you, through my photographic prints and framed art.

This began as a hobby a few years ago, and now is a main focus of mine. This will be my first show with Avant-Garde.  I have been in different shows in the past, and look forward to experiencing Avant-Garde's shows.
What inspires me to create.. Usually I wait for the creativity to hit me, I never force it.  If it happens, it happens.  If it doesn't, it doesn't...yet.

I got into this hobby when I helped a friend photograph a wedding.  The rest is history.  I realized that photography is a way to explore my city and surroundings in a tangible way.  I can not only explore, but have something to take away, create, and share with others.

I dabbled in photography for a while, until I started getting compliments from friends and even strangers, on my work.  This inspired me to enter a couple of bigger shows, where I realized that people actually enjoy my work.  This was a big confidence boost, and my work and breadth of knowledge in the photographic arts world continues to grow.

Inspiration hits me at different times, for different reasons.  I can't really explain it.   I am constantly striving to be the biggest critic of my own work, and continually produce quality art that others want.  If I can say that I would proudly display my work in my own home or office, then I can bring my offerings into the larger community.  
I will grow this business to a larger scale, recognizable name and brand, that Cleveland-based businesses, institutions, residents, past residents who are homesick (totally understandable,) and fans will rely on and trust to provide art and inspiration for their slice of the built-world that we must inhabit.  People spend a lot of time indoors, and everyone has blank walls.  If I can bring inspiration and oft-overlooked details of our city, to the otherwise routine indoors spaces we frequent, that is my goal.

The message behind my work is to look at things in a different way.  It's an overused phrase, but we really need to stop and smell the roses, amidst our increasingly busy lives.  If you don't have the time to visit those 'roses,' I can bring them to you in the form of my art.  Details matter, and can inspire us.  I enjoy that inspiration.  I enjoy conversation-starters, and images that draw us to something deeper, through my unique perspective.
2022 Rocky River Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sat. Nov. 12 (10am-4pm) & Sun. Nov 13 (11am-4pm)
Rocky River Memorial Hall (Next to Rec)
21016 Hilliard Blvd.
Rocky River, OH 44116
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN

Thursday, November 10, 2022

Rocky River Vendors Coming to Town!

Meet Hope and Heather from A’rlette Designs..

Our names are Hope and Heather, Sisters and best friends, and we are happy to share our passion for home decor with you! ! We take custom orders and would love to make your home as cozy as can be! 

We have been crafting for about 2-3 years but started investing more time and doing more shows this past year. This show will be our first Avant-Garde show.

Our inspiration comes from our daughters; Scarlett and Charlotte, cousins since birth and best friends for life. 

How we got into our craft.. When the pandemic started I stayed home with my 3 little ones,for Mother’s day I got my Cricut. I started out by making smaller things and eventually moved up to bigger things. 


How we discovered our talent.. Eight years ago we had a 75th birthday party for my grandma. I did most of the decorating and center pieces.  I got tons of compliments and really wanted to continue this journey. 


Meet Noah Faler from Faler & Schmidt...

My interest in art started as far back as I can remember. From drawing and painting to mosaic stained glass and now ceramics. My love for pottery began in high school when I took all the ceramic courses my school offered. I got on the potters wheel, and the world around me simply paused. 


Forming clay with your hands to me is creating in the purist form. 

As a potter, my signature style is still being devolved as I explore more techniques and grow. 


Six months ago I made a huge life changing decision to quit my job and pursue my dream of being a potter. I now teach classes out of my home pottery studio and love the freedom to be able to create everyday. 


Having a pottery shop, where I display my work in a gallery like setting, and teach classes would be my five year goal. I’m excited to be on this journey of life!


Meet Edward Loomis from Edward Loomis Photography... 

My name is Edward Loomis, I am a lifelong Clevelander, graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College in Business Management, and now a photographer of all things Cleveland.  I look forward to sharing my talents with you, through my photographic prints and framed art.

This began as a hobby a few years ago, and now is a main focus of mine. This will be my first show with Avant-Garde.  I have been in different shows in the past, and look forward to experiencing Avant-Garde's shows.

What inspires me.. Usually I wait for the creativity to hit me, I never force it.  If it happens, it happens.  If it doesn't, it doesn't...yet.


I got into this hobby when I helped a friend photograph a wedding.  The rest is history.  I realized that photography is a way to explore my city and surroundings in a tangible way.  I can not only explore, but have something to take away, create, and share with others.

How I discovered my talent.. I dabbled in photography for a while, until I started getting compliments from friends and even strangers, on my work.  This inspired me to enter a couple of bigger shows, where I realized that people actually enjoy my work.  This was a big confidence boost, and my work and breadth of knowledge in the photographic arts world continues to grow.

My creative process. Inspiration hits me at different times, for different reasons.  I can't really explain it.   I am constantly striving to be the biggest critic of my own work, and continually produce quality art that others want.  If I can say that I would proudly display my work in my own home or office, then I can bring my offerings into the larger community.  

My five year goal.. I will grow this business to a larger scale, recognizable name and brand, that Cleveland-based businesses, institutions, residents, past residents who are homesick (totally understandable,) and fans will rely on and trust to provide art and inspiration for their slice of the built-world that we must inhabit.  People spend a lot of time indoors, and everyone has blank walls.  If I can bring inspiration and oft-overlooked details of our city, to the otherwise routine indoors spaces we frequent, that is my goal.

The message behind my work is to look at things in a different way.  It's an overused phrase, but we really need to stop and smell the roses, amidst our increasingly busy lives.  If you don't have the time to visit those 'roses,' I can bring them to you in the form of my art.  Details matter, and can inspire us.  I enjoy that inspiration.  I enjoy conversation-starters, and images that draw us to something deeper, through my unique perspective.

You can view photos of my work at: https://www.instagram.com/edwardloomisphoto/.


Meet Kirk Allen from Kirk's Pencils...


I’m a self-taught artist and have been drawing off and on since I was a kid. Showing off my work, started out very hard for me. I like art because you can do something different than just everyday stuff. I'm a father of five, and a grandfather to nine, and being creative is a daily task...

I have been drawing since I was 13, and professionally for 7 years. This will be my 6th Avant-Garde show!

 What inspires me?  Life, and the opportunity to leave something behind once this life is over. My grandparents also are the ones who got me into my craft.

How I discovered my talent.. My neighbor was an artist that made grocery stores' price tag sign advertisements and that just fascinated me!!!
My creative process? Very messy work that turns into something nice.

My five year goal is to really do this full time as an illustrator

The Message behind my work.. Everyone loves a hero!!!
2022 Rocky River Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sat. Nov. 12 (10am-4pm) & Sun. Nov 13 (11am-4pm)
Rocky River Memorial Hall (Next to Rec)
21016 Hilliard Blvd.
Rocky River, OH 44116
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
Visit us on:
LINKEDIN