Monday, August 16, 2010
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Lady Nin's Art Contest
Be sure to sign up for Lady Nin's latest art give away!!! Sweet little Ceramic Teacup Napkin Rings by Cindy Houot!
No purchase necessary!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Susan Miles of Maple Hill Goat Milk Soap Joins Lady Nin's Art FestivalMeet Susan Miles of Maple Hill Goat Milk Soap
Hi! I'm Susan Miles. I live in Freeland Washington, on the south end of Whidbey Island, with my husband, Steve, and our two great little boys. We love the relaxed, rural lifestyle of our beautiful island - and being so close to the water at all times. Whidbey Island's strong community spirit is an important part of our lives.
We currently have four dogs (new border collie puppy,) an old cat, and now eight Alpine dairy goats. We originally bought dairy goats as a way to make our own goat cheese. It didn't take long to have more milk and cheese than we can drink, eat and give away.
I started making goat-milk soap as a way to help my friends and family who suffer from eczema and dry skin. With my chemistry background, I was drawn to soapmaking. When I learned that I could make a natural, moisturizing soap with my extra goat milk (which helps to make skin HEALTHY,) I knew I was meant to make it and share it.
The very first Maple Hill goat-milk soap was "unscented oatmeal." My friend's daughter used it, and she said it was the ONLY soap that has ever helped minimize the blemishes on her face. Since then, many people have shared their similarly-great experiences.
I had another customer come up to me at the Greenbank Farmer's Market . She had red, peeling, irritated, almost-raw hands. She bought one of my soaps, and a month later after only using my soap, she came back: Her hands had healed so much!
I will always carry an unscented soap for those who want it. I also have many all-natural soaps. For others without sensitivities, I have many wonderfully-fragrant soaps which will surely delight you!
I want you to experience how great your skin can really feel with my special goat-milk soap!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Krista Jefferson of Wild and Whimsical Art Joins Lady Nin's Art Festival!
Meet Krista Jefferson of Wild and Whimsical ArtI think one of the most wonderful things about art is the ability to bring joy to those who see it. That motivates me to strive to make my pieces unique and uplifting. One of the comments I hear most often about my work from people is that it just makes them feel happy. Happiness is a simple but powerful thing and I feel very fortunate to have the ability to bring a little more of it into the world. Which is why creating art is my passion! I have found great pleasure exploring different creative outlets ever since childhood. In school I took every art class available and have immersed myself in books on a wide variety of techniques and mediums ever since. Once it got to the point I was creating more than I had friends and family to gift them to, I started doing shows in 1998 as Simple Heart Crafts. As my style and designs evolved so did my business and in 2004 I began operating under the name Wild & Whimsical, which seemed a perfect fit to the eclectic and fun spectrum my work encompasses.
About the Artwork All of the designs are my own original creations. Many start from carefully thought out drawings in my sketch book, while others seem to come to exist faster than my mind can guide my hands. I paint in a variety of styles, from traditional Rosemaling, to children's designs, folk art, abstract, Asian and more, but always having my stylized and whimsical feel come through. I work only with professional quality acrylic paints and protect each finished item with several coats of a water based sealer. I use a bold and vibrant color pallet on much of my work and like to embellish many of my pieces with unexpected elements like shells, stones, beads, and corks, to make them truly stand out from the rest.
"Art Washes Away from the Soul the Dust of Everyday Life" ~Pablo Picasso
Click here to view Krista's Work
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Vicki Hamilton, NW Potter Joins Lady Nin's Art Festival
Meet Vicki Hamilton of Millennia Antica Pottery. I have been making pots for many years and successfully built my reputation as an artist through shows and gallery openings in Northern California until 1999. The patrons who collect my work have brought it to Japan, New Zealand, Australia and many other areas of the United States. After a brief hiatus, and coming to Seattle, I began my work newly in 2000.
My work, particularly the surface decoration, is inspired by the colors and textures found in nature (with my love of Japanese and Italian ceramics as contributing factors). I am passionate about, challenged and delighted by, and fulfilled in my work. Each piece is unique.
I am a Studio Artist at Moshier Community Art Center in Burien, where I do my work and teach classes.
When I first took ceramics and pottery classes many years ago, our instructor took the class to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. I was hooked - I fell in love with Japanese pottery; particularly the folk pottery that was being produced in Mashiko. I learned about Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach, and tried to ascertain what was behind this particular kind of expression - pristine simplicity and poetic at the same time. I learned everything I could about what actually went into the production of a piece of pottery, and I said I would go to Mashiko - and 30 years later, I did. In April 2002, I had the pleasure of accompanying my husband, Dennis, to Japan. One of the things we did there was to visit Mashiko. Shoji Hamada lived and worked there for many years - his home, workspace, kilns and reference collection museum are still there. Visiting there was an extraordinary, and blury experience - I was in tears a good part of the time. Inspiring is, I think, the word I am looking for. In the middle of Mashiko, on April 20, 2002, I was returned to what it was that had me want to be a potter in the beginning - working with all 4 elements (air, earth, fire, water) to create an expression born of the earth and brimming with life.
All my work is functional, to one degree or another, and is fired to Cone 10 (approximately 2400 degrees F) in a reduction atmosphere.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Kristin Love, Pacific NW Painter and Potter joins Lady Nin's Art Festival
Meet Kristin Love, Painter and PotterHELLO!!
My name is Kristin Love and I am an artist and designer residing in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. My father was in the Marines, so I spent my childhood moving quite a bit, and when I flew the coop at 18, I ended up in Boston at the Massachusetts College of Art. I majored in Illustration and Photography and over the past 25 years I have traveled extensively throughout the United States and a dozen foreign countries capturing the diverse traditions of arts and images through my photos, sketches, and journals to use as inspiration in my own designs. I consider myself a painter, more than a potter and it was through a happy accident – KISMET! – that I began to paint on clay. I look upon my clay pieces as a 3 dimensional, geometric canvas, therefore whatever design I draw in pencil on that piece is inspired by its form, and, actually, on numerous occasions I have built a piece with a particular painting in mind. It's a very wonderful and symbiotic relationship between 3D form and 2D image! ALL of my clay pieces are ORIGINAL hand built, press molded or slip cast by me. The only exceptions to this are the wheel thrown pieces which are created for me by a wonderful friend and master potter, Vicki Hamilton. ALL of my clay pieces are bisque fired first to cone 05 so that I may have a solid surface on which to do my paintings. In order to achieve the brilliant colors you see on my finished work I use 3 layers of underglazes when I paint and then, using a teeny, tiny little brush with about 2 bristles, I outline the design with black to really make the images POP!! Since I view each of my clay pieces as a painting, I title each and sign and date it before applying 2 coats of clear glaze and then firing it again to cone 06. I NEVER use decals, stencils or any other prefabricated images, insuring the individuality of each piece and because each is unique, my prices reflect the time I give to each not necessarily the size of the clay art.
I hope you enjoy looking at my colorful art as much as I loved creating it!! My work is a celebration of the eclectic, colorful, and passionate world we all live in, and a joyful salutation to the artist in all of us.
Click here to visit Kristen's work: in Handcrafted Ceramics & Pottery at Lady Nin's Art Festival
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
