Meet Cynde from Cynde Designs...
After working in the interior design industry for 10 years, I decided to pursue a career in something that was more hands-on creative. Previously, I had attended Cuyahoga Community College and received my Associate of Applied Business Degree in Interior Design and returned to Kent State in pursuit of a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. My concentration was in Jewelry/Metals, though I enjoyed working with other materials such as textiles, ceramics and glass. I really responded to classes in sculpture and jewelry/metals that encouraged the use alternative materials. I have always been inspired by artists that transform ordinary every-day materials into works of art, and much of my work is a result of that inspiration. I graduated from KSU in December 2010, and have been putting together my home-studio and currently have my work in three galleries/retail stores. I’m now starting to sell my jewelry direct through art and craft shows.
I think I was born with a creative gene as I recall holding crafting sessions for my friends when I was a youngster. I enjoyed making something from nothing and teaching others how to do the same. I’ve always enjoyed art, music, and theatre from a young age.
My work is very often inspired by the materials I choose to use and the techniques I learned while attending KSU. Sometimes, I will sketch ideas and other times I just allow the material to decide what shape it will take. My creative process is an evolution that changes as I manipulate the materials to see what they can and cannot do. For my senior show, I worked in 35mm negatives. I chemically altered them which changed their color, then I cut and shaped them. Combining them with either sterling silver or hand-made copper chain, I created unique, one-of-kind pieces of jewelry.
Meet Joy & Hannah from Love Designs...
Hannah and I are stay at home Moms...Hannah Forster, my sister, has a newborn baby girl, Emma and a 3 year old boy, Aidan and I (Joy Bennington) have three boys...Joe 12, Ethan 9, and Liam 5. We love that we can design and create while also being home with our children. We hope to be able to open our own Handmade store one day...but, for now we are Mom's first : ) Your children grow so fast and before you know it...they are out doing their own thing so we plan on enjoying every minute of it! It is such a blessing to be a Mom.We are inspired by nature, pattern, color, and of course by other artists of all kinds. We got started making jewelry when a family friend showed us how to make a simple bracelet out of gemstones and beads. We fell in love with the idea of creating something beautiful that you can wear everyday and is also affordable.
Along with our Love Designs Boutique on Etsy, we also have a beach glass store called Glass Sparrows and a custom bridal store called Christa Marie Boutique. Oh, and Love is our maiden name : ) Hannah and I are sisters, out of five children...and I am older than Hannah and she is the baby of the family. During the winter season we also create Eco Friendly T Shirt Scarves and we recently learned how to crochet so you will be seeing hand crochet scarves, fingerless gloves and hopefully soon...hand crochet hats! We were also just featured in the November 2011 edition of Cleveland Magazine on their Style page!
Meet Jennifer from Upcycled Glass by Jennifer L. Worden...
What really drew me to glass was watching a PBS show when I was in high school about Dale Chihuly and his glass blowing studio. The things they created totally blew me away. That put the glass "bug" in my head. It wasn't until my husband and I purchased our home 11 years ago that I was able to work with glass. I started with stained glass mosaics. After a few years of making mosaics (and nearly covering every surface in my house with glass pieces), I decided it was time to expand. I bought a small kiln and started by fusing commercial flat glass. I enjoyed making jewelry but the glass was so expensive that I was afraid to experiment. I had a friend give me a cobalt blue bottle glass and she told me that since I work with glass I should make something out of it. That first bottle started me on the path of working exclusively with the recycled and re-purposed glass. The recycled glass has given me the freedom to experiment and I have learned from not only my successes, but also my failures. I love being able to show people the beauty in old glass.
I get ideas at random and inconvenient times, like while I'm driving. So i try and keep that thought until I can safely write it down. My work always evolves from that original idea. I take my original idea, create it and then expand on it. Nature is also a great inspiration for me. The architectural shapes of coral, ferns and fungus are referenced in some of my art pieces.
I got started selling when I had people commenting on the glass jewelry I would make and wear. Someone asked if I would make a pendant for his wife for Christmas. That gave me the confidence to start selling at shows and to branch out into creating art pieces.
Meet Susan from 11BoldStreet...
Now a polymer (clay) artist, I spent 27 years in the architectural and structural design fields, and retired from that world in 2007. I live in Toledo, with my husband of 32 years, a dog, two parrots and uncounted fish in our backyard water garden.
I've always been "artistic/creative", but to specifically address my obsession with polymer, I saw Nan Roche's "The New Clay" in the early 90's and was immediately intrigued. I bought some Sculpey, the only polymer available in my part of the world at the time, and tried a few simple projects. Then, when I picked it up again a little over five years ago, all of the new brands, books, tools and the overall explosion of the polymer community took my breath away.
Coming from an architectural/structural design background, most designs are worked out in my head before I start. A majority of my pieces have depth and dimension, and I try to work that out ahead, regarding what needs to be done at what step. Some serendipity usually occurs during actual implementation :)
Over the past year, I've started to work with metal clay and metal wire. My overall goals is to integrate more of both into my polymer designs. I'd like to improve my metal working skills, in general. I'd also like to approach some local galleries and boutiques, and maybe even the Toledo Art Museum about carrying my pieces!
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 supports 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.
