Creating with Color!

Meet Amy Pierce from Birds on a Wire Faux Floral Designs...
Hello my name is Amy Pierce Birds On A Wire Faux Floral Designs. I am a native Clevelander...I have been a floral designer for 35 years. I have raised two children as a single mother and love and enjoy my three grandchildren! 

How I got started in my craft.. When I was a child, I would help my mother plant flowers in our yard. I think that started the whole love for creating and designing. My mother was a huge inspiration to me in many ways! I still love to design gardens and have lots of color around me. Plus, I can cut from my gardens and enjoy some fresh flowers in my house as well! My two dogs love to follow me around when I work in my yard!
 
All these years I have been creating and designing for all kinds of venues, weddings, parties, all holidays, special events, etc...I have even had the opportunity to design arrangements for: Joan Collins, Tom Hanks, Phil Collins, Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue...which I was able to attend that event as well. I had many good years and great experiences in this field of work! 

I have a job now that gives me more time to be creative on my own...it's been a long winter and that outlet has been very helpful! So much color around me to design with, when it was so cold and grey out! I came across sola flowers, which are hand made flowers...they are made from a soft wood- Sola Wood is an entirely natural paper product derived from the tapioca plant. I also use...parchment flowers, faux succulents, craspedia, moss, seashells and other materials I find to be textural and colorful. 
 
I love working with so much color, it brings me joy and inspires me to keep creating! I get a lot of great feedback from people that have purchased my floral designs, they seem to love all the colorful choices and it brings them joy as well.

Where do I see myself in five years?...Still designing and hoping it brings inspiration to others with an itch to be creative themselves! I love coming up with other designs and creations that people can enjoy! I also enjoy living life to the fullest and spending time with my family! 
 
This is the first Avant-Garde Arts & Crafts Show I will be in and I am excited to be a part of this talented group of Artisans!!! 

Meet April Hardin from Kanyon Creations...

My name is April and I'm a stay at home mom with two boys ages 7 and 5 months. I've been crocheting since I was 8 or 9 and I was taught by my sister who learned from our great grandmother.This will be my second Avant-Garde show!

My inspiration comes from my children. I've always loved arts and crafts. All the girls in our family all love drawing, painting and crocheting. A few years ago after only making blankets, I started watching You Tube tutorials on hats. Once I realized how fun they were to make I kept going! The rest is history! 

My creative process is basically envisioning a child wearing the items and what I want them to look like. The goal is too make the items adorable, while also functional in keeping them warm!

My five year plan is to continue to build out my online business and continue attending craft shows. The message behind my work is that children are a true blessing and I truly enjoy making things for them to wear and enjoy!

Meet Bill Winter...

My name is William Winter but I prefer Bill. I am retired from the heavy equipment , engine, transmission and marine business. I am the father of two, the grandfather of two, and one on the way! I live in Rocky River with my wife Donna and Max my dog.

I have been working in wood most of my life in various home owner building projects and minor artistic attempts. It wasn’t until my retirement that I seriously started working with wood for various furniture pieces, canes & other odds and ends.

This will be my first art and craft show. My wife and daughter have urged me to show what I create, especially my wife Donna, she told me we are running out of room in the house for any more pieces!

My inspiration to create comes my love of wood, it’s texture grain patterns and colors. No two pieces are ever the same they are each unique. My father was my true inspiration, he was a very talented wood worker. He was also a carver of animals and birds that won many awards. I do not have the carving talent but really enjoy what I do. The first table I made was from a slab of wood left in the garage from the previous owner of the house. I noticed the beauty of the grain in the wood, and made a table as a Christmas present for my wife. From then on I was hooked!

My wood creations are made of fallen timber or reclaimed lumber. I do not use nails or screws on any of my furniture, all joints are glued and doweled only. On some pieces I incorporate images of animals that are wood burned in to the piece. I do not try to remove all the blemishes in the wood. I want piece to show the textures from age, insect damage and saw marks made while rescuing the piece. The legs are made from fallen branches and are draw knifed to remove most of the bark. All work is done by me.

I once asked my Dad how he knew what to carve, and he said the wood will tell you what it wants to be. I never understood that until I really looked at the piece of wood; not with a builders eye but with an artists eye!

My five year plan.. To be honest, I do not know where this will take me! My only hope is that people would enjoy what I have created and be remembered for it!

Meet Cody Brooks from Cody's Sugar Shop...

By day I'm a programmer creating lines and lines of code... by night and on weekends, I love to explore delicious ways to bake and the art of decorating. I see it as a great creative outlet. I love learning something new and challenging myself to get it just right. It's so motivating to see others enjoy something I've created as much as I do. Bakery just makes people happy.

Officially, Cody's Sugar Shop is a little over three years old. I've always enjoyed baking and had the inspiration to pursue it as a business over 4 years ago when I did my first wedding and learned how to make fondant that actually tastes good. What a blast that was!

I enjoy trying new things and that sense of accomplishment it brings. I'm often inspired by colors, flavor combinations and textures/shapes, especially as they appear in nature. I firmly believe texture and flavor are as important as pretty decorations. Decorations capture the eye and flavors and textures capture the heart, mind and tummy!

I got into baking as an outlet for creativity, to learn something new, and to work toward build business of my own. One day I casually asked my husband what business he would like to own if money was no object.  He immediately said bakery. When I asked him why, he said because bakery just makes people happy.  I knew then this was the direction to put my energy into! Baking has become so much fun for me that it's almost therapeutic!

How I discovered baking... Actually from my first attempt at buttercream, which was a near disaster. It tasted fine, but looked horrible!  I was determined to get it right though...and I eventually did. Once I discovered what making something from scratch tasted like, and that I could actually do it, I was hooked. I started researching how to make more things from scratch like marshmallow fondant (yum!), cake pops, decorated cookies, and on and on...!

I enjoy reading recipe books like they are novels, searching online for inspiration, which doesn't always come from food, and sharing ideas with my husband who is a natural at flavor combinations. My process can differ depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. If it's something new, then I like to take a little extra time to experiment. I'm fortunate to have lots of family and friends who enjoy being my taste testers and advisors.  I'm grateful for their honesty,  encouragement, and support.

Where do I see myself in five year? An actual store might be nice! I would like very much to have built up my business enough so that having been a programmer by day will be a fond memory. There are a variety of options as to where my business can grow to. While I believe in setting goals I also believe it's critical to be flexible enough to be able to adjust your goals as needed. Most of all, I want to be able to maintain the same level of motivation and excitement to create as I do now.

The message behind my work is that I make fresh, made-from-scratch delicious treats to be enjoyed as part of any occasion, or just when you want a little something special! After you've tasted made-from-scratch, the other kinds of bakery (boxed, or mass produced) loses its appeal, really! Maybe it's that funny taste from the chemicals or preservatives in them! And of course... enjoy the sweet life and chose made-from-scratch from Cody's Sugar Shop!

For more info:
Email: Cody@CodysSugarShop.com
Website: www.CodysSugarShop.com

2015 Rocky River Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sat. March 21st (10am-5pm) & Sun. March 22nd (11am-5pm)

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:

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Taking a Talent and Making it a Business

Meet Eric and Sue Farschman from E&S Creations...

Eric and Sue Farschman are the curator’s of E & S Creations; which offer’s funky hand painted chairs, tables, coat racks and beaded jewelry boxes. Both Eric and Sue enjoy spending time together visiting antique shops and flea markets looking for that unique piece of furniture to turn into funky art. They have been doing the funky artwork for 6 years now.

In their spare time, they both love to travel; they have visited places such as Amsterdam, Hawaii, New York City and in 2008, took a month vacation to tour Europe. During their travels they loved visiting the many cultural centers. European churches are out of this world. Paris and Prague were their two favorite cities and they are now planning a two week tour to Italy. The couple are both avid golfer’s and enjoy golfing with friends and the camaraderie.  

Where they get our creativity from... Eric’s mother and brother are both very talented artists. Eric has dabbled in art his whole life, within the last 6 years he’s again made art an important part of his life. Sue’s creativity started when they redecorated their home, this has blossomed into different avenues of craft creativity.

How they got into their craft.. Sue along with her two daughters’ have for years enjoying attending weekend craft shows. Viewing all the artistic talent within the community brought about her own idea’s which helped to spark an interest. 

    

Their creative process... Eric usually uses a visual reference for his work and allows it to take the artwork to whatever’s end he is happy with. Many times Eric will start with a simple shape or idea and just continue working it until he is satisfied. He is NOT fast but persistent.   

Sue begins her beaded jewelry boxes by starting with the centerpiece and then color coordinates the beads to match or contrast the centerpiece. Sue also enjoys creating her own holiday and greeting cards.  

 

The couple's favorite artwork is their own dining room table and chair set that is very unique and all salvaged from used furniture stores and flea markets. The set is definitely a conversation piece, as each section of the table matches the chair at that setting. This was the first piece of funky artwork that Eric and Sue produced which sparked his furniture painting and eventually lead them to begin a massing and inventory to get into this field.  

The message behind the couple's work is don’t be afraid of color and have fun.

Meet Tracey Spalich from Baegz...

I have been married to my husband Tim for 24 yrs this September with a son named TJ who is 23 yrs old and also very artistic in music and graphics. He helps mom in some of the behind the scenes stuff. I love all things artsy especially when I am out thrift shopping and come across a great original watercolor. My favorite relaxing time is when I sit down with a cup of tea and a book at night and say "ahh." I have always been artistic but just within the last couple of years have I expressed this in sewing and fabric art.

I have been crafty for as long as I can remember. At 6 or 7 years of age I was making perfume with my neighbor friend out of rose petals and water. I was always coming up with some way of making something.

I get my creativity from everywhere, I am always looking around me. I also like to see what others create via Twitter and Facebook or at local craft shows. This helps to encourage me and keeps me motivated. It also helps to take classes just to get those wheels turning.

I got started in my craft when I took a sewing class with a friend to learn quilting skills. It was the best thing because it taught me about detail and patience. I truly respect quilters. Eventually, I was doing custom orders for friends and acquaintances and I was limited on what I made, so I decided to let freedom reign and go for it. I started doing shows with a friend and found I had sew much fun (pun intended). I love people and being able to communicate with the customer about the process. I also like discussing the background on the fabrics used in my creations. This helps people to connect to it as a special item, and not just as another purse in their collection. 

For my crafting process, I have learned to do rough sketches and make notes of my ideas and then put them together to figure out what I am doing and where to edit. I also started making mock ups of projects that are more difficult or that are new to me.

My goal with my business is to keep learning and eventually have my items in specialty stores, and create fabric collections that will be used by others to create great things. I hope to achieve a name that people recognize as creative and new with a little bit of Tracy personality in it.

The message behind my work is to let your personality shine through and make people smile.

Meet Allie Zajaros from Allie's Sweet Tooth...

My Name is Allie Zajaros, I am a single mother of 2 little girls! I love that I get to do what I love and stay home with my girls! I love to bake, if i am not baking I am thinking of the next cookie or cake I am going to attempt! Cookies are my canvas and I love to create new designs for all occasions! I can turn anything into a cookie!

If I am not in the Kitchen I am playing and taking care of my girls, Kailyn is 5 and Brynn is 3. They are my light and everyday with them is a blessing!

I get my artistic ability from my mother, I give her full credit, She is able to look at something and draw it or paint it on the spot! Now, I cannot do that with pen or paint, but I can with icing! She always is there to help me create something new.

I have baked for a long time but never as a career. As more people started seeing my work I realized I wanted to try it as a full time job and thankfully it has taken off! After I was on my own with my girls I hated to go to work all the time, so I talked to my dad who pushed me to put my work up on Facebook, Ever since I have been in my kitchen!

My creative process starts by getting to know my customer and their needs for their occasion no matter what it may be. I then do research on characters or themes if I need to, then I start to pull all my ideas together into sets of cookies that match their expectations perfectly. I focus on them and what they need so that when they receive their order they are happy!

One of my favorite sets that I created were my Dr. Seuss Cookies, I did them for my daughters Pre-K class when they were focusing on him for the week. The joy in their eyes was well worth the time I had put into those cookies! 

My goal is to continue to grow! Continue to make people happy, and to do what I love!

I want everything I do to come from the heart, to be handmade and homemade!  I will never use a projection or trace on images. Each cookie I do will never be the same but I think that is important. I don't want them to be uniform, I want them to be special. I believe that because I do the cookies by hand and from the heart, people see that in my work.

I have been baking and decorating for years but Allie's Sweet Tooth on Facebook and www.AlliesSweetTooth.com was born mid 2011!

Check out these featured vendors at the 2012 West Side Summer Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature over 170 of the most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to the Cleveland Animal Protective League, for animal rescue.

2012 West Side Summer Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, July 29, 2012, 11:00am-6:00pm

Wagner's Country Inn

30855 Center Ridge Rd. 

Westlake, OH 44145

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com

Visit us on:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

LINKEDIN

Sneak Peak at Some of Our 2012 Winter Vendors!

Meet Anne Barach from Empty Knits..

I'm 24 years old and grew up in East Tennessee. In 2009 I graduated from Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, with a bachelor's degree in religion and one in French and Francophone Studies. I'm married to a wonderful guy, a native Clevelander who's currently in grad school at Case. We live in Little Italy and hope to make our life in the neighborhood.

I think much of my creative drive is inherited; I come from a family full of artists, musicians and other creative types. I grew up with English-professor parents, and art was just a part of everyday life in our family. I couldn't imagine living without it.

Sewing, needlepoint, and cross-stitch especially run in my mother's family. My grandmother was constantly working on beautiful counted cross-stitch pieces. Mom taught me to sew when I was little, which might be why I've always gravitated towards textile arts. In college I took three semesters of weaving, and from there I taught myself to crochet and then to knit. Knitting especially stuck with me! I've just recently taken up spinning my own yarns; it's definitely my new love.

Meet Ari Mason from Tiny Sheep..

I started on Etsy this past spring. I've had an unknown chronic illness since May 2010, and I've mostly been resting and seeing doctors over the past eight months. I had been sitting in bed making random hats for a couple of weeks straight when I realized that I could be doing more. My fiancé Brenton and I agreed that an online store would be a great project for me, so I got to work.  It's so much more than a project now!

I took up crocheting in December of 2009.  I taught myself out of a book, and it was extremely tedious. I think most people would have given up after the first hour or so, but I'm a conservatory musician - we're used to practicing for hours a day until we get it just right.  Once you're proficient at something, learning a new step comes much more easily.  I ended up putting my crochet hobby away for a while, but I started working at it again to make some blankets. I had some huge revelations while making a doily from a faulty pattern last winter.  That doily indirectly brought me to where I am today.  Before I knew it, I was making some really attractive pieces.

I try not to look at what's "trendy" too often, because it can really dampen my ideas, or even stop my creative process in its tracks.  I'm not looking to have items that everyone else makes.  If I am looking at the products of another designer, I am looking for inspiration.  I do a lot of sketching, because figuring out the construction of a crocheted item should be well thought-out.  The sketches can only help so much, though - sometimes I'll estimate how the item will work up, but I end up doing things totally differently while I'm working on it.  Once I have a successful end result, I store everything in my head, or sometimes write it out.


Meet Davy Rigsby from The Davy Boat..

My name is Davy Rigsby, I'm 24 years old and I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2009 with a major in Film Studies. I enjoy films, books, fashion, art, and of course, crafts.

My favorite thing I've done is a duct tape chair that sits in my own living room. I got the chair used and just covered it in strips of duct tape. It took about 5 hours to finish (the back still isn't even done!), but it's fun and it's actually comfy and everyone always asks about it when they come over so it's a great conversation piece.

My advice to others..Just do what you love. I have yet to focus on producing a single product, I just make things that I would like to have and hope that others will feel the same way. And if not, you get to keep your awesome creations!

Meet Daniela Fodor from Cecille Creations..

My name is Daniela Fodor. I was born in Romania and I lived there 40 years. I moved in Ohio five years ago with my husband and our daughter aged three and a half years. I am the mother of two boys and a girl and they mean a lot to me.

I finished High School in Romania and there I studied psychology for two years. Psychology is and will be one of the great passions of my life, along with fiber art. I love country life but now I live in Parma Heights in an apartment and I would like to live in a big house in which I can fit my studio.

When I came in United States I met a new world that I knew almost nothing about and had to begin the process of accommodation :) To facilitate this process and try to cope with stress imposed by the change, I learned to make quilts. What I mean is, 5 years ago I did not even know how to use the sewing machine. I started the ABC's of the sewing machine and the quilt, brand new areas for me. In the meantime, I learned many techniques and styles; I started with traditional quilt and today I am envolved with abstract fiber art ,the style that is stimulating me the most. . I had a lot of help from art books and the patience and support from my husband, for which I thank.

When it comes to a favorite piece, it's hard to choose because I have few works that I loved but one of them is my favorite due to applied technique and the outcome. It is a Byzantine religious icon created in mosaic technique, composed of small pieces of 1 / 2 inches of satin assembled with tweezers because it is a slippery fabric, It took me three months to build it but I am happy with the result.

Two years ago I began to dye fabrics, a piece of dyed fabric can send me many messages and depending on my mood, I begin to lay the foundations of a new piece. I do not plan what steps need to be followed but let it flow by itself or spontaneous, always I rely on my intuition. Most of the time I ask myself"what if ...?" the creative process actually begins with this. Apart from the creating process of an art quilt I have an hour each day drawing that is dedicated to draw and to exercise my creativity. In terms of learning process I impose myself discipline because I have to learn fast and I need to accumulate a lot of information that I need  in my creative process.

Check out these vendors this winter at the 2012 Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature 100 of the most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to Stewart's Caring Place, an organization that support families touched by cancer.

2012 Winter Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, January 29, 2012, 10:00am-5:00pm

Wagner's Country Inn

30855 Center Ridge Rd. 

Westlake, OH 44145

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, at info@avantgardeshows.com.