"When we are in the midst of making something, in the actual creative act, we know we are who and what we are because we forget our public reception for a minute. We become the art itself instead of the artist who makes it. In the actual moment of making art, we are blessedly anonymous. Even when done in public, the act of making art is a private act. Creativity is always between us and our creative energy, us and the creative power working through us. When we are able to stay clearly and cleanly focused on that, then we are able to do very well."
~Julia Cameron, the Artist's Way Every Day
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artists. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Discover This: The Midnight Orange
I am truly honored to feature D. Antonia of Buffalo, New York, as the next indie artist featured in the Discover This series. Her work is beautiful beyond words, and I owe her a huge amount of gratitude for agreeing to participate. I am the proud owner of one of her amazing clay creations, and it's a piece I will surely cherish forever. So without further adieu, I present to you The Midnight Orange.
Description of work: I am a sculpture artist and my aim is to capture the spectrum of human emotion, from bright to raw.
Q: How long have you been creating your items?
A: I have been creating all my life, but found my specific niche in polymer clay at the beginning of 2009.
Q: How did you get started?
A: I struggled through a period of the blackest darkness last year and dredged through emotions that made every good thing in the world feel foreign to me. I hated talking to anyone about it because I genuinely sensed that this new and unsettling me made everyone uncomfortable and left them longing for me to be myself again. I got very tired of people expecting me to heal on a timeline, and trying to remedy my pain with blanketed cliches. Those around me tried to fix me, and really I knew that I just needed to feel what I was feeling and allow myself to move past it when I was ready. I couldn't relate to my family and friends. I couldn't relate to anyone. I got my hands on a block of clay one night and was shocked and startled at the very simple form that emerged. It was the epitomy of my ache. Somehow it made me feel better, like there was one thing in the world that I could relate to when nothing else could comfort my unease. I made dozens more of them, and they brought me a sense of catharsis. I finally got the courage to list them in my shop, aware of the possibility that although uncomfortable to look at, someone else may experience that place just prior to healing as well. I listed one in the evening, and when I woke up it had sold and my buyer wrote to me telling me that she works with abused children and planned to use the piece in sand tray therapy. I could not describe how this resonated in my core, and the healing that this knowledge brought me. I launched an entire collection called In Some Dark Place and have been humbled beyond compare at the sentiments of acceptance and healing that people have expressed over these pieces. It very much makes me feel that the pain in my experience and darkness of my journey was worth it by what it has been able to do for other hurting hearts.
Q: Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
A: I am inspired by a myriad of things. Sometimes it is a matter of expelling emotion, sometimes I hear a sound and can see it translate to shape and feeling. Color inspires me. It really depends on the moment.
Q: Do you sell your items? If so, where?
A: Right now I am solely based on Etsy.com, and my shop can be located via themidnightorange.com
Q: Do you have any formal training, or are you a self-taught artist?
A: I am self-taught, so trial and error has been it for me. At this point it is not likely I would pursue an art degree (not for lack of interest, but time and resources) but a business degree would be very beneficial for me and my fingers are crossed that this happens.
Q: Please supply a short paragraph of why you think someone would benefit from purchasing your designs.
A: If I may, I would rather provide testimony from a client. "D. Antonia does amazing work that helps people heal through times that no one should have to experience. She has no idea how much she helps those that have experienced loss heal through these pieces. Things like these are all we have to remember them with."
Q: If there’s anything else you’d like to share with readers, please enter it here.
A: I know I talked a lot about the heaviness of my artwork, but I did heal through that period of my life and my work evolved into more light-hearted pieces as well. It has been a journey, and my goal at the end of it is that any emotion conjurable can be found captured in my clay.
The Mouse Whisperer
Description of work: I am a sculpture artist and my aim is to capture the spectrum of human emotion, from bright to raw.
Q: How long have you been creating your items?
A: I have been creating all my life, but found my specific niche in polymer clay at the beginning of 2009.
Q: How did you get started?
A: I struggled through a period of the blackest darkness last year and dredged through emotions that made every good thing in the world feel foreign to me. I hated talking to anyone about it because I genuinely sensed that this new and unsettling me made everyone uncomfortable and left them longing for me to be myself again. I got very tired of people expecting me to heal on a timeline, and trying to remedy my pain with blanketed cliches. Those around me tried to fix me, and really I knew that I just needed to feel what I was feeling and allow myself to move past it when I was ready. I couldn't relate to my family and friends. I couldn't relate to anyone. I got my hands on a block of clay one night and was shocked and startled at the very simple form that emerged. It was the epitomy of my ache. Somehow it made me feel better, like there was one thing in the world that I could relate to when nothing else could comfort my unease. I made dozens more of them, and they brought me a sense of catharsis. I finally got the courage to list them in my shop, aware of the possibility that although uncomfortable to look at, someone else may experience that place just prior to healing as well. I listed one in the evening, and when I woke up it had sold and my buyer wrote to me telling me that she works with abused children and planned to use the piece in sand tray therapy. I could not describe how this resonated in my core, and the healing that this knowledge brought me. I launched an entire collection called In Some Dark Place and have been humbled beyond compare at the sentiments of acceptance and healing that people have expressed over these pieces. It very much makes me feel that the pain in my experience and darkness of my journey was worth it by what it has been able to do for other hurting hearts.
Please Be Kind
Q: Where do you get your inspiration for your designs?
A: I am inspired by a myriad of things. Sometimes it is a matter of expelling emotion, sometimes I hear a sound and can see it translate to shape and feeling. Color inspires me. It really depends on the moment.
Q: Do you sell your items? If so, where?
A: Right now I am solely based on Etsy.com, and my shop can be located via themidnightorange.com
Q: Do you have any formal training, or are you a self-taught artist?
A: I am self-taught, so trial and error has been it for me. At this point it is not likely I would pursue an art degree (not for lack of interest, but time and resources) but a business degree would be very beneficial for me and my fingers are crossed that this happens.
Q: Please supply a short paragraph of why you think someone would benefit from purchasing your designs.
A: If I may, I would rather provide testimony from a client. "D. Antonia does amazing work that helps people heal through times that no one should have to experience. She has no idea how much she helps those that have experienced loss heal through these pieces. Things like these are all we have to remember them with."
Bottom Be Near
Q: If there’s anything else you’d like to share with readers, please enter it here.
A: I know I talked a lot about the heaviness of my artwork, but I did heal through that period of my life and my work evolved into more light-hearted pieces as well. It has been a journey, and my goal at the end of it is that any emotion conjurable can be found captured in my clay.
You Make Me Gleam
Friday, March 12, 2010
Dear Etsy
If you’ve spent any time lurking in the Etsy forums recently, you may relate to these faux threads.
NOTE: This is a purely fictional blog post; any resemblance to persons or events real or imagined is, quite simply, a matter of opinion. So there.
Dear Etsy: I cheated on you last night with Ebay.
Dear Etsy: There’s a reseller in my soup. Please remove it ASAP.
Dear Etsy: Do these jeans make me look fat? It’s all your fault if they do.
Dear Etsy: I want 6 months’ notice whenever any of the Admins change their socks.
Dear Etsy: That seller is being mean to me. I’m telling my Mom.
Dear Etsy: Please post a thread at 8:00 a.m. Monday-Friday advising what color shirts the Content Team is wearing. I really need to know this.
Dear Etsy: Yes, I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they’re not really valid opinions unless they agree 100% with mine. IMO.
Dear Etsy: Life would be much, much simpler if the whole of Etsy, Admins and Community alike, would study and hang on each of the 8000 words written in my thread entitled “This is exactly what everyone NEEDS.”
Dear Etsy: Q: How do you stop a speeding train? A: Throw snarky, liquored up sharks wielding cupcakes and pennies in front of it. Oh wait, no, that's how you cause a wreck.
Dear Etsy: You are not treating the Bacon category with the respect and admiration it deserves. Bacon is greasy goodness at its very best. Any member who does not consume it daily should be forever banned from the site.
Dear Etsy: The sock puppets called. They want their accounts back. I told them to go stick their head in the toilet and wait for that to happen.
Dear Etsy: If I should happen to post a snide comment, please ensure it does not show up in a Google search. I wouldn't want anything I say to reflect poorly on me as a business owner. On second thought, never mind. I just don’t get the correlation between the two anyway.
Dear Etsy: With Negativity’s recent spike in popularity, it should immediately be given its own forum heading. We can’t all be optimists, you know.
Dear Etsy: I get numerous convos daily from spammers and scammers. And don’t even get me started on the convos I get from sellers who scold me for not wearing my big girl panties. This is unacceptable. I’m just sayin.’
NOTE: This is a purely fictional blog post; any resemblance to persons or events real or imagined is, quite simply, a matter of opinion. So there.
Dear Etsy: I cheated on you last night with Ebay.
Dear Etsy: There’s a reseller in my soup. Please remove it ASAP.
Dear Etsy: Do these jeans make me look fat? It’s all your fault if they do.
Dear Etsy: I want 6 months’ notice whenever any of the Admins change their socks.
Dear Etsy: That seller is being mean to me. I’m telling my Mom.
Dear Etsy: Please post a thread at 8:00 a.m. Monday-Friday advising what color shirts the Content Team is wearing. I really need to know this.
Dear Etsy: Yes, I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they’re not really valid opinions unless they agree 100% with mine. IMO.
Dear Etsy: Life would be much, much simpler if the whole of Etsy, Admins and Community alike, would study and hang on each of the 8000 words written in my thread entitled “This is exactly what everyone NEEDS.”
Dear Etsy: Q: How do you stop a speeding train? A: Throw snarky, liquored up sharks wielding cupcakes and pennies in front of it. Oh wait, no, that's how you cause a wreck.
Dear Etsy: You are not treating the Bacon category with the respect and admiration it deserves. Bacon is greasy goodness at its very best. Any member who does not consume it daily should be forever banned from the site.
Dear Etsy: The sock puppets called. They want their accounts back. I told them to go stick their head in the toilet and wait for that to happen.
Dear Etsy: If I should happen to post a snide comment, please ensure it does not show up in a Google search. I wouldn't want anything I say to reflect poorly on me as a business owner. On second thought, never mind. I just don’t get the correlation between the two anyway.
Dear Etsy: With Negativity’s recent spike in popularity, it should immediately be given its own forum heading. We can’t all be optimists, you know.
Dear Etsy: I get numerous convos daily from spammers and scammers. And don’t even get me started on the convos I get from sellers who scold me for not wearing my big girl panties. This is unacceptable. I’m just sayin.’
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Discover This ~ The Curious Pug
I am so excited to present the newest featured indie artisan in the Discover This Series, Alycia of The Curious Pug on Etsy. Located in California, Alycia creates some of the most unique and adorable magnets, cozys, ornaments, and brooches made from felt and clay, and even has a few glass tile creations, too. One look at this shop and you'll be squealing with utter delight! Alycia has officially been on Etsy since November of 09, but has been creating all her life. She's pretty much self taught in her craft, with her only real "training" coming from her mom who taught her how to sew when she was a kid. After graduating from an xray training program in June of 09, she had (and still has) a hard time finding work so she took matters into her own two hands and started up The Curious Pug in November of 09. It keeps her busy, and she says "it's been wonderful having others enjoy my work." What's not to enjoy?
When asked where she gets inspiration for her designs, she says "Basically from things that I think are cute or colorful. And I get lots of ideas that just pop in my head at night as I'm trying to fall asleep." I can certainly relate to that!
Alycia is glad Etsy has given her the opportunity to open her shop since selling her designs "has always been something I've been interested in doing but never got around to because of busy schedules and time constraints. But as of now, I can focus fully on my shop and creating more items for customers." She says a whole new floodgate of creativity has opened up since she started her shop, thanks to the wonderful Etsy community. "Anytime I've had a question or concern the forums would be my number one spot for answers. Everyone has been so helpful and insightful so to them I am grateful."
If you're looking for something unique and different, or maybe even a little quirky, then that is what you'll get from Alycia. So head on over to The Curious Pug and check out all the offerings!
Be sure to follow Alycia's blog for all the latest news.
Special thanks to Alycia for participating in the Discover This Series on the JMO Blog.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Discover This: Wearable Art
The Discover This Series is finally back! This time around I bring you Cheryl F. Cameron of Champaign, Illinois. Cheryl's specialty is hand-painted silk scarves, and they are some of the most beautiful works of wearable art you can find.
Cheryl's been painting for some years, but only started painting silk about a year ago. Having done a little formal drawing study, she's self-taught in painting and researched silk painting herself. With a lot of trial and error, she found out what worked well for her. She says "It's a continual process - I'm always looking around for new ideas and ways to experiment and branch out. It was a natural branching out from painting on canvas. My drawing teacher mentioned that she painted scarves and I thought it was the greatest idea because it merged all the things I loved - painting, fashion, batik and the vast scarf collection I already had. From that point I did research to see how silk painting was done, found a technique that I liked and gradually fine-tuned my method till I felt good about the results." I think anyone who sees her finished pieces would feel good about the results! Cheryl says inspiration for her designs "...are very intuitive. I don't really think when I'm painting, I just go with what feels right in shapes and colors. Also, I seek out new aesthetic influences - in music, movies, dancing, folks you see on the street. Beauty and artistry is all around, and I try to pay attention to that. But trusting my instincts is the biggest lesson I have learned. "
Cheryl's been painting for some years, but only started painting silk about a year ago. Having done a little formal drawing study, she's self-taught in painting and researched silk painting herself. With a lot of trial and error, she found out what worked well for her. She says "It's a continual process - I'm always looking around for new ideas and ways to experiment and branch out. It was a natural branching out from painting on canvas. My drawing teacher mentioned that she painted scarves and I thought it was the greatest idea because it merged all the things I loved - painting, fashion, batik and the vast scarf collection I already had. From that point I did research to see how silk painting was done, found a technique that I liked and gradually fine-tuned my method till I felt good about the results." I think anyone who sees her finished pieces would feel good about the results! Cheryl says inspiration for her designs "...are very intuitive. I don't really think when I'm painting, I just go with what feels right in shapes and colors. Also, I seek out new aesthetic influences - in music, movies, dancing, folks you see on the street. Beauty and artistry is all around, and I try to pay attention to that. But trusting my instincts is the biggest lesson I have learned. "
Cheryl hopes that other people would like her scarves for the same reason she does - they are a great combination of practical and pretty, they're versatile, and add a little spunk to an outfit. Silk especially is nice because it feels good on the skin and is strong and beautiful. She tries to create what she finds aesthetic, and hopes that comes through in her work. In my opinion, it most definitely comes through in her work!! Her work can be found at boutiques and galleries in Central Illinois as well as in her etsy shop. She's also done a few outdoor art festivals.
In closing, Cheryl shares that this "has been a fascinating couple of years - realizing that art was very important and finding a way to make it the focus of my life. I’ve been amazed at how helpful and encouraging folks have been - like Jean, offering to feature me like this. Thank you!" Thank YOU, Cheryl, for sharing your work with us!
Silk scarves pictured, from top to bottom:
"Too Much of a Good Thing can be Wonderful"
"Green Leaves"
"Burgundy and Violet Curls"
Please visit Cheryl's etsy shop, Frances Cameron Silks, for more information and pricing on these and all of her currently available pieces.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Get Stoned! First in the "Discover This" Series
I am very proud to present "Discover This," a special series here on the JMO blog where I will be showcasing undiscovered artists that can be found on http://www.etsy.com/ as well as other places on the web.
First up is Marni, a very talented Midwestern artist who describes herself as a "self-taught mixed-media craftsperson. " Says Marni: "I have always loved creating things, from crafts to cooking. I take inspiration from many places, especially nature, to come up with my creations. I'm lucky enough to have a husband that enjoys the same things I do and supports me in all my endeavors." And JMO feels very lucky to have discovered her! Her designs are eye-catching and functional.
First up is Marni, a very talented Midwestern artist who describes herself as a "self-taught mixed-media craftsperson. " Says Marni: "I have always loved creating things, from crafts to cooking. I take inspiration from many places, especially nature, to come up with my creations. I'm lucky enough to have a husband that enjoys the same things I do and supports me in all my endeavors." And JMO feels very lucky to have discovered her! Her designs are eye-catching and functional.
Take these Salt and Pepper Shakers with Purple Glass Gems for instance. Standing approximately 4" tall, they are embellished with violet glass gems, wire, and violet glass beads and would make an elegant addition to any table. They are sturdy enough to be used outside for a picnic or backyard bar-b-que, or inside for that fun dinner party. Marni can also make them in your choice of colors!
Or this Red Stained Glass Candleholder with polished Stone Cabachon. Marni created this asymmetrical candleholder using beautiful red stained glass and a polished agate cabachon. The stained glass sits atop a removeable metal stand that holds a tea light candle. Imagine the candlelight playing off the red glass, creating a captivating visual display! The glass piece itself is approximately 4 inches at it's widest point by 5 1/2 inches tall. Sitting on the stand, it is 6 1/4 inches tall.
And this Stained Glass Planter Charm/Suncatcher with polished Jasper Cabachon is a true work of art! Marni created this unique piece for use in potted flowers, houseplants or small container gardens. It can also hang in a window or from your vehicle's rear view mirror. She took a piece of stained glass, foiled and soldered the edges, and attached decorative wire, glass beads and/or charms. A beautiful polished Jasper Cabachon has also been attached to the glass. Use this piece outside in warmer weather, then during cooler months bring inside to add beauty and charm to the home. The charm is approximately 8” long (including beaded hanger & tassel) and 1 ½” wide. A hand-made wire shepherd’s hook is also available upon request.
And this Stained Glass Planter Charm/Suncatcher with polished Jasper Cabachon is a true work of art! Marni created this unique piece for use in potted flowers, houseplants or small container gardens. It can also hang in a window or from your vehicle's rear view mirror. She took a piece of stained glass, foiled and soldered the edges, and attached decorative wire, glass beads and/or charms. A beautiful polished Jasper Cabachon has also been attached to the glass. Use this piece outside in warmer weather, then during cooler months bring inside to add beauty and charm to the home. The charm is approximately 8” long (including beaded hanger & tassel) and 1 ½” wide. A hand-made wire shepherd’s hook is also available upon request.For more information, including pricing, on these and all of Marni's beautiful creations, please visit her online shop at http://www.madebymarni.etsy.com/. All of her designs would make wonderful and unique gifts for yourself, your friends, or your loved ones.
A special thank you to Marni for allowing me to feature her gorgeous works of art here on my blog.
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