This will be my third Avant-Garde show and I'm looking forward to experience the first two-day show!
I grew up in Avon and have been in Chicago for the past ten years as a freelance mixed media artist. I recently returned to the area and I am enjoying getting plugged into the art and craft community in the area. I will be going to England this April for an art fellowship and I am very much looking forward to expanding over there while still maintaining my shop Peripeti.
I have been making art for about 15 years but fell into
making candles. It started as a way to make gifts for friends and family and
just began to grow. I love every aspect of making them, so I feel very blessed
to be able to continue making them and to be expanding.
Creating is something that I have always loved, but what I love about
the art and candles I’m making is that they are more personal and for the home.
I think the home is so personal and intimate, and I love
creating pieces that are meant to compliment that environment.
How I began my business.. I had worked with galleries and exhibits previously, but sort of
fell into the craft shows when my candles began to grow into a business. I’ve
really enjoyed it, it’s a great community of friendly people who are pursuing
their passions and enjoy seeing others succeed as well.
My creative process is experimenting and problem solving which might sound odd
when talking about creating, but to me they are the same thing. Whether it’s
mixed media or candles, it takes a willingness to try new things. It's also important to be open to learn from the past. There’s always that tendency to get ‘bound
up’ in a piece and be afraid to move forward. But, if I approach it like an
experiment or how I would in solving a problem, it frees me up to make
mistakes, which I’ve found moves my work ahead faster than anything else.
I’m currently in shops and have an online shop and I am looking to expand
both locally and internationally. The US is the largest soy producer, soy
candles mean more domestic jobs and local resources. I’m excited by all the
possibilities and hope to be able to grow while maintaining a local presence!
Meet Kendall Felt From Kendal Painting & Unique Finishes...
I am a self-employed painter/artist, who does medium and high-end faux finishes, as well as wallpaper installation and removal. This is my twentith year in business. I have been selling my designs for about five years now.
I’ve shown my hand-crafted scarves & jewelry at three Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows, thus far. I get my inspiration at night, in bed, designs come into my head while staring at a darkened ceiling; then it’s time to get out of bed and start a drawing.
I started this as a hobby several years go, I would make simple pieces and give them to friends for birthday and holiday gifts. Many people said I should sell my pieces since they were so lovely. My talent is in my genes, I grew up learning fine art at the knees of my mother, a talented artist from California.
My creative process is simple, I see shapes in nature which stems to me seeing a design in my head, then it goes onto paper. From there, I then attempt to mold it with my hands. In five years, I hope to I see my designs online, reaching out to millions of daring women.
The message behind my work is this: “Only dead fish swim with the stream…” You are ‘one-of-a-kind'; dare to be different; dare to display the uniqueness that is you.
Meet Jody Lanham From Designs by Jody...
I was born and raised in Wooster,Ohio, I am about to retire from my job of thirty years working for the State of Ohio at The Ohio State University and Wooster City Schools. I have three grown daughters, one is a US Marine, the other two are the mothers of my most precious grandchildren!
I have been making jewelry and designing other kinds of decorative craft items seriously for about six years. I began doing crafty things for fun many years before that, since kindergarten I imagine! I still like to make things and decorate for fun or for my own pleasure, but I spend most of my creative time making things to sell.
Almost anything inspires me to create. Mostly nature: sunsets and sunrises, water, sky, trees and flowers, animals and so much more! Shapes, textures and colors, feelings and moods help mold my ideas. For me there are no rules in my jewelry creation except that I make only what I would wear myself. Also, although it's not a rule, no two pieces of my jewelry are ever alike. Not even the same design or color. They are all just different, period.
There is no real process to my creative generation of wearable artwork, but there are methods that eventually lead to production. I love to go to bead shops and just browse through the individually-selectable stones and glass. I sometimes get a vision when looking at the beads. Sometimes, I just buy pieces I like and hope they work in pleasing combination at some point. I also like to glance through beading magazines and look at other jewelry, particularly artisan-made. My favorite happenstance is my messy beading setup. I will look at the beads scattered about and their pattern. From there, proximity will suggest a combination that generally ends up in a final and usually a quite pleasing result.
My work says that what is inside is what matters, and if one can bring that to the surface, expose it to the world, that takes courage and confidence. It also says also that it is ok to be different and to try new things. It is not so much the jewelry wearing that makes a person beautiful, but rather the person wearing it that brings out the beauty in the jewelry.
2013 West Side Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday & Sunday, March 23 & 24, 2013, 10:00am-5:00pm
Rocky River Memorial Hall
21016 Hilliard Blvd.
Rocky River, OH 44116
For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com
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