This past weekend the Arts In RI peeps were out in full force. PhriendlyK8 and Malcom Studio were at the Providence Sustainability Festival, while HeatheryJeany, CrookedMoonMosaics, PinkLemonadeBoutique, DesignsByWendyT, and me (juliebcreative) were at the Providence Rotary Street paiting Festival. While it was quite chilly in the shade, we all stayed warm by goofing around the whole day and meeting great people.
While not every show can be a financial success, I like to think of the other things I got out of doing shows like this. The best of all, of course, if spending time with the Arts In RI members who I consider very close friends. We always have a great time and I love getting to know everyone better. Second of all, I love meeting so many new people. Some people who stop in my booth are people who know me from Etsy, but others are just discovering our work for the first time and it is a priceless thing to be able to talk to someone face to face about your art. I honestly believe people appreciate the work more when they know the face behind it.
Here are some pics of the fantastic (and widely varied) set ups for our booths: Also, notice the silver car that was directly in front of our booths for the first couple hours of the show!
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Hi everyone! I'm Diana of D. S. Brennan Photography, an art photographer and part-time wetland biologist. I dig nature, interior design, gardening, cooking, travel, reading, and of course art!
I'm excited to introduce a new series to the Arts in RI blog... "Seasonal Bliss". Once a month for the next six months Arts in RI will be hosting a giveaway - a free desktop wallpaper inspired by one of my favorite things about the season. (For personal use only, please.) To download your gift, click the image below to open it in a new page, then go to the file menu and "Save Page As" or right click and "Set as Desktop Wallpaper".
This past weekend I went apple-picking at one of the numerous orchards I am lucky enough to live near. I love this time of year - the crisp dry air, the crisp juicy apples... It makes me feel truly blessed to live in Rhode Island.
Love apples? Check out these items from Arts in RI members...
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Recently, I was informed that I was accepted into the Twist show in Northampton, MA. SO exciting! Only problem? You only get a 6 foot table to display your stuff on! I am used to having a 10 foot by 10 foot area with 2 tables and 3 grid-wall panels. A 6 foot table is a MAJOR decrease in available real-estate!
Inspired by HeatherJeany, I decided to build my own stair-type display in order to show my small paintings. Here is a pic of her cool display:
I wanted something that only took up only a portion of my table space so that I could still show some larger 12 by 12 paintings on the table lying flat.
There was a LARGE used piece of thick foam-core at work that has sat there for years. It had silver spray paint on it, adhesive from it's initial use and was all banged up. For some reason it was never thrown away, but I'm glad it wasn't because it made such a great display. This is 12 inches deep, each stair is 3 inches deep to accommodate my 1.5 inch paintings, and each stair is 7 inches high...making it a grand total of 24 inches high.
What do you think?
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Happy Valentine's Day! Our month long contest of love has concluded and a random drawing of all the posts (and there were 264!) was completed and Ronnie Tucker of Biddy Brain Workshop has won the gift basket! Congratulations to Ronnie and thank you to all who entered. We thoroughly enjoyed showing you our Valentine themed products and explaining a little about them. We hope you enjoyed reading about them and we invite you to come visit us again. We have lots of cool things planned for our blog to keep you glued to your computer.
Ronnie is a talented artist herself, so we think she will very much appreciate the talent that has gone into her winning basket. Here's a little peek into the prize which has a retail value of $175!
Lining the basket which is actually a Valentine themed hat box is a gorgeous raspberry scarf handwoven by our newest Arts In RI member Carol of Lodestar Woven. Color, texture and wearability all wrapped up in one fabulous scarf. Words can't begin to describe this particular handwoven masterpiece, but I'll try to give you an idea of just
how lovely it is. The use of novelty yarns gives you the treat of 5 different textures and over 10 highlight colors. The rich raspberry background is enhanced by numerous pastels. The scarf measures a very generous 80" in length and 6" in width. Tucked in behind the scarf is a gorgeous print from our team leader Julie of JulieBCreative called Grandma's Bell. Julie's grandmother owned a bell collection and she painted this as a tribute to her memory; a sweet woman who gave her family every ounce of love in her heart and died peacefully at 95 with her entire family at her side.
Resting comfortably on the scarf is a little set made by 2 artists but goes together so well I just had to have them share the same box. Kim of KimVGlass has created a borosilicate glass pendant in a drop shape in the flame of her torch in rich neutral earth tones. It matches perfectly with a sweet pair of gemstone and sterling earrings made by Wendy of Designs by Wendy T. There is also a keychain made by yours truly of The Venerable Bead. It features a lampwork glass bead made directly on the shaft of a vintage skeleton key. On the key hangs a brass puffy heart charm and the key hangs from a vintage brass split ring. There is also another pendant made by Linda of A la mode from her big dot series. It's called Blades of Grass and it is lightweight and fun to wear. It boasts a deep color and beautiful high quality wood grain appearence. It makes a simple statement while adding a big fashion bang to any outfit. Finally there is a sweet wristlet sewn by our very own Lisa B of Pink Lemonade Boutique. Handy and stylish it will carry all your essentials in style. Patchwork coordinates with linen and features a zip top. Wonky patchwork piecing features whimsical prints in juicy oranges.
What a fine prize. I am so jealous! Congratulations Ronnie Tucker! Happy Valentine's Day!
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Arts In RI team members decided to creatively challenge one another to embrace the season of love with Valentine themed products. Between now and Valentine's Day we will share some of these "lovely" designs with you here on our blog. Let us know how you feel about our art by leaving a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a random drawing for an Arts In RI gift basket featuring goodies from many of our shops. (one entry per person per post. In other words you can enter once every time we post a new product!!!) Be sure to check back on the blog on Valentine's Day as we will announce the winner that day. Entries will be accepted until midnight February 13th.
All great loves grow over time... they start out as saplings and then blossom into beautiful relationships with deep roots. Juile Beck of JulieBCreative painted this cute little painting for our challenge. It's her first painting of 2009 and we are so honored! Julie says of her creation: "The colors are super rich...deep crimson reds and brown, with slight hints of purple in the shadows. The sky is a complex layer of pigments...first the warm hue of unbleached titanium white with a wisp of pure white. On top of that is a thin layer of robins egg blue making the sky an interesting play of color." Give your sweetie a little gift of art! It is painted on high quality linen canvas and it is 6 inches by 6 inches by 1.5 inches deep.
Are you lucky in love? Tell us how you feel about Julie's beautiful painting in the comments section and you will be entered to win a basket of handmade goodies from the Arts In RI artists! It's that easy! Leave a comment every time we post a new Valentine product for multiple chances of winning and check back here on Valentine's day to see if you have won!
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Our third installment in our collaboration journey is a mixed media piece done by Julie Beck of JulieBCreative and Kim Vredenburg of KimVGlass. Julie attached one of Kim's electroformed skeleton keys with a large glass cabochon to her painting. The theme of the piece is the education of children using the key set against a beautiful rural and rustic scene. We asked Julie and Kim about this project.
Please tell us a little about yourself and what kind of art you make.
Julie: I am an acrylic painter. I am happiest when I'm sitting in front of my easel, painting away while the day slips by...although I normally paint at night...so I guess it's "as the night slips by". My paintings range in all types of sizes, but I like to work in either square canvases, or very horizontally long canvases, bold colors, and nostalgic and/or rural imagery.
Kim: Up until last year I taught elementary school but once I retired I was able to devote more time to my glasswork. I've been working with glass for over 20 years, starting with stained glass and eventually lampworking. There is something so intriguing about melting glass in a flame and seeing what one can create with it!
Can you tell us how you got started on this project and how it has evolved?
Julie: After Arts In RI decided that we were going to do collaborations, I went through all the people participating and landed on Kim. She has skeleton keys that are flat on the back so I knew it would be a simple process to attach to a painting. She started out by making the key, and lucky for me, she had me make decisions along the way. I got to choose colors for the glass, from a selection of keys, as well as which glass cab I wanted when she was done. All those decisions ultimately led me to what color scheme the painting was going to be.
Kim: When the Arts In RI team members were discussing doing collaborations, I remember thinking that there wasn't one member that I couldn't envision working with. They are an extremely talented group of artists! That being said, I was thrilled when Julie contacted me about collaborating with her.
What inspired you about your partner's art?
Julie: I've used skeleton keys in the past for still life subjects, but I liked the blue patina she had on some of her work. Also, her use of color is really vibrant. I stick to bold vibrant color for the most part, so it seemed a perfect fit.
Kim: I love Julie's style, her subject matter, and her use of colors!!! I hoped that combining her work with mine would produce a fantastic mixed media piece....and I think I was right! :-)
How did you ultimately decide to make what you did?
Julie: I sketched out my idea before I started. Once I had the idea down, Kim made the key, and I got to work!
Kim: When Julie and I first started discussing integrating my glass into her work, I just KNEW I had to do an electroformed key. I was positive that it would meld very nicely with Julie's style and subject matter.
Can you give us some insight into your brainstorming process?
Julie: I started with the sketch and an idea. Kim and I talked over the idea and what the look and feel was going to be. We agreed on this type of scene...so the brainstorming process was the catalyst.
Kim: We used Etsy e-mail system and "talked" via Convos until we were able to meet in person. When we met, Julie brought her sketchbook with her and drew out various alternatives. Our project started to take shape at this point.
Did this collaboration stretch your creative limits?
Julie: Absolutely! I normally stick to bold earth tones, but Kim's colors for the key pushed me into a less explored color scheme. It sounds like it's not a difficult thing but in reality, it takes a lot of reworking and layers to get just the right color to match.
Kim: Did this stress me? Yes :-) I wanted to make the perfect piece for Julie and the glass doesn't always cooperate. Did it stretch me, definitely! The color scheme that Julie and I decided would look best with her work incorporated some colors that can be difficult to work with in borosilicate, and not some that I work with regularly. So, I was stretched "technically".
Were there any roadblocks or setbacks?
Julie: Surprisingly no!
Kim: No, this was a totally fun experience!!
Did you find this to be a rewarding experience and why?
Julie: This was a really great challenge and I am already on the lookout for next 3D item I can use in a painting. It not only forced me to work with different colors, but also got me thinking in a whole new dimension.
Kim: Absolutely! When I'm working alone in my studio I can feel a bit isolated (which is not necessarily a bad thing) and it felt good to expand outside my glass world!! It is really great to work with someone so creative!
Julie has created a time lapse video of her painting this work of art here
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Also, notice the silver car that was directly in front of our booths for the first couple hours of the show!
Also, notice the silver car that was directly in front of our booths for the first couple hours of the show!
Arts In RI
