Like me, Canadian jewelry artist Cheri Bourque, has Fibromyalgia. "It has been my best friend and worst enemy for 12 years," she says. "It is my best friend (when) it makes me get things done ASAP because I never know what tomorrow will bring. It is my worst enemy (when) my tomorrows are filled with pain and fatigue," she explains. Instead of giving up or giving in, she pushes through and manages to follow her heart, creating simple modern jewelry from beach glass. Much of her inspiration comes from the West Coast. "I haven't always lived in Victoria. I grew up in Northern Ontario next to Lake Superior (also very beautiful), but I always wished that I lived near the ocean." Now only half a block away from the beach, she doesn't take it for granted. "I design what I want to wear," she admits. Although she has been a crafter for quite some time, she started Swept From The Sea Designs professionally 3 years ago. "I owe my crafting addiction to my mother who introduced me to crocheting 15 years ago," she jokes. "Running an online business takes time and requires tons of patience. I find that advertising outside of Etsy the key to making progress." Please check out her shop: http://sweptfromthesea.etsy.com/ and website: http://sweptfromtheseadesigns.com/
Monday, March 16, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: sweptfromthesea
Saturday, March 14, 2009
My Latest Finds From The Grocery Outlet...
Like everybody else out there I prefer to eat well - even on a budget. Many of you know one of my favorite stores is the Grocery Outlet. Here are just a few of my recent finds there...
POM iced coffee - just .99! They normally go for $3.49
Paul Newman's spaghetti sauce for $1.99 (my favorite to use as a pizza sauce) - usually $2.99
Seeds of Change orrganic chocolate bars for .99!
Hagen Daazs Butter Toffee Pudding icecream for .99
You just can't beat that. If you haven't checked it out, I highly reccomend that you do. GO, I LOVE you! :-)
-Wendy Baylis
Dharma Designs
http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com
Friday, March 13, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: DanaLaymon
North Carolina native Dana Laymon has a full time job, but hopes to eventually make her art her career. Like many artists, she finds inspiration in nature. "Cute married couples in love" are also a source, she admits. Her laid back, ethereal style creates windows in time - immortalized in photographs - although her favorite pictures are candid glimpses of people. "I've been doing photography ever since I was young, but really became serious about it about 6 years ago," she explains. "I realized I wanted to do it for a living." By day, she's a wedding photographer - and by night, an artist. "I take my camera with me everywhere I go." Please check out her shop: http://danalaymon.etsy.com/, Blog: http://danalaymon.blogspot.com/, and Website: http://danalaymon.com/
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Meet Etsy Soap Maker & Artist: DirtyAssSoaps
This sushi looks good enough to eat, but it's actually soap...
Hip 29 year old artist Alison Kowalsky is a New York native, who recently transplanted to Boston. She fell in love with soap making at 18 when her friend Amber got her a kit as a gift. "It included some glycerin melt & pour soap, soap fragrances, colors, and molds," she explains. "She invited me to make some soaps with her and I was immediately hooked!" Soon, she was making soap with her Mom and her passion grew from there as she experimented and learned the ropes of her craft. She no longer purchases the supplies from a craft store. Instead, she focuses on organic handmade materials - and an amazing sense of humor and fun - to create her whimsical designs, which often look like junk food or toys. "When I want to make soap, I usually start out in a restaurant or grocery store," she says of her creative process. "I look at food and how it's displayed. Even if it's someone else's food, I will probably stare at it and make some mental notes." She brainstorms with her boyfriend, too. "The best thing we've done for the business is to cover the dining room table with trace paper. We draw, doodle, sketch and write notes, jot numbers and math equations. After trying different ways to solve the problem of making the soap at hand, we pick the best one. We make it, photograph it, and put it online." She started with prefab molds, but progressed to making a lot of her own. "Trial and error is my friend," she jokes, "and if I didn't make the mistakes, I don't think I would have gotten as far as I have." All of her soaps are vegan - free of animal fats, milks, honeys, and insect dyes - even the fried bacon design. She started her Etsy shop two years, unsure whether they would be a big hit on-line since a big draw to her soaps is the scent. Eventually she listed her Cupcake and Cheeseburger soaps - and the rest is history. "There's a lot of Etsy love going on, and I love doing trades with people for awesome stuff," she admits. Please check out her shop: http://dirtyasssoaps.etsy.com/ and website: http://dirtyasssoaps.com/
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: Yeshela24
Teryl grew up in the oceanfront town of Marblehead, Boston. "I was born in Salem, which had the history of the persecution of women healers," she explains. "I felt the pain of that suffering strongly as a child. My heart wanted to heal it." She also had an early passion for art. "We had tourists that came through the town in droves every summer and my first experience of selling my art was making sculptures from beach stones and then selling them to tourists," she says. By nine she had raised enough money from her work for a trip to France, where she spent time at the Ecole Freinet school, "which was created for the children of Filmmakers and Artists." Her time there was well spent. "We made art in the forest, created fetes(skits), created large sculptures, ate from a garden there at the school, skinny dipped in icy cold water each morning to awaken for the day, bathed in the sun in the afternoon. Quite an awakening from Boston puritanism," she jokes. "I learned that art could be integrated with nature and every moment of life. Art was not a compartmentalized element." At 19 she travelled the world on her own for 18 months: China, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Israel, Greece, and Turkey. "I came home turning 21," she says. "I had surrendered my journey, listened to my heart and let it guide my journey." She worked in villages, taught English, and became a part of every community she visited. Upon her return she went to college, which is where she met her Tibetan teacher, "a cave dwelling yogi that had escaped persecution in Tibet and carried his (own) teacher out on his back." She says, "He taught through his presence rather than trying to impress externally. His purpose was to help other refugees and that was the only reason he had left the cave and his meditation." Awed by his dedication and resolve, she quickly started her own efforts to sponsor refugees. After Grad school she returned to Asia for meditation retreats in the sacred places she visited 12 years before. "On this journey I lived in Bali and shot much of the Lotus series seen on my website." Along the way she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but never let it get in the way of leading a full and happy life. She has triumphed over her illness, depending on her spiritual Faith and art to see her through the tough times. She reminds her fellow artists to "encourage each other." Please check out her shop: http://yeshela24.etsy.com/
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: innerlightarts
While Kristena sells her beautiful jewelry and art on Etsy, it was not always her primary site. She has also been very successful on Ebay, but with the site's downfall - and Etsy's uptick - she is focusing more on Etsy these days. "I am...rebuilding my Etsy (shop) and my http://www.innerlightarts.com/ site," she explains. A professional artist, she has also been a teacher for over 30 years. "I studied with shamans for years and taught basic & advanced shamanism and had a private practice for years," she says. With two degrees - one in fine art and the other in psych/communications - and a love of drawing, she has created many spiritual pieces, such as the one pictured above. In her work "you will see lots of images of powerful women." She uses humor and fantasy in her works to create joy and promote inner clarity. "I love supporting women making art," she admits. "A life long dream of mine was to design women's clothing, so I started http://www.sunheartclothing.com/ and am now designing and sewing small collections - which I am going to sell on Etsy." Please check out her shop: http://innerlightarts.etsy.com/
Monday, March 9, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: NotJustaVase
Four years ago Brian remodeled the bathroom and decided to paint art for the walls. "I ended up painting three canvases that I was really excited about," he says. That planted the seed for his foray into painting and digital art - and few weeks ago he opened his Etsy shop after a friend recommended the site. "I have always been interested in using my creativity," he admits. "I have spent the bulk of my adult life working in retail as a visual merchandiser." He has also been an avid photographer and began playing with Photoshop a few years ago. "All of this is like evolution and it leads me into this phase of my life." He finds a lot of inspiration in mid-century design. "There is so much from that era that I absolutely love: architecture, graphic design, interior design, fashion, and the advances in technology also shaped so much of the design aspects," he explains. "I like the clean and simple lines represented with this era of design. I also think that Asian influenced art is a great compliment to this. Especially the bold rich colors." Still working full time as a merchandiser, he follows his artistic passions on his time off. "It is a hobby now, but eventually I hope to make it more...I am getting my feet wet with Etsy and long term I hope to open a little boutique to sell my art along with vintage items, small home accessories, and tabletop items." He reminds us all to "believe in (ourselves) and (our) art." Please check out his shop: http://notjustavase.etsy.com/
Friday, March 6, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: metalwork
Aside from creating beautiful zen inspired home decor and furniture from copper, Tom Petrilli is also a roofing contractor. Most of his art displayed on Etsy was created in the slow winter months when work as a roofer slows to a screeching halt. "On most projects we have scrap metal left over, it always bothered me to see these shiny beautiful pieces of copper crushed and sent off the scrap yard, so I started making little things out of the remnants," he explains of his artistic beginning. "It started with really simple stuff like ashtrays (event though almost everyone I know has quit), birdhouses (they are all vacant and I can’t figure out why), and useless but lovely little boxes," he jokes. "I would give some of the stuff to clients if they paid their bill in a timely manner, some people really liked it, but I think most of the time my gifts would wind up in the back of their garage." Thankfully he kept at it. In fact, a large part of his inspiration came from a classified ad for a lot of old tools. "I love old tools," he admits. "When I saw what the man had to sell I bought everything he had. They were all sheet metal forming machines, cranked by hand, they make curves, beads and edges and they are all at least 150 years old. I wanted to put the machines back to work, despite their age they perform flawlessly." Although it took some time to learn how to use them with the aid of 90 year old books, he has developed quite a knack. Oddly enough, being a roofer has helped him as an artist - and vice versa. "I've been roofing for 17 years, almost every house has a weird little corner or oddly placed chimney that requires a creative solution to keep the building dry. The copper smithing work has made me a better roofer and roofing has made me a better coppersmith." His copper tables are generating interest, so although this is just a secondary job, he hopes to transition over to it one day. "For now this is my job http://www.lyonscontracting.com/ and I’m very happy to do it," he says. As for Etsy, he says the "real payoff is when someone writes to tell me how much they love something I’ve made." He admits that "when I’ve finished a roofing project and the client just gushes about how much they love the work we’ve done, about how beautiful it came out; that is a thousand times more satisfying then getting their final payment." He half-jokingly added, "I still need the check though; I can’t pay my mortgage with compliments." Please check out his shop: http://metalwork.etsy.com/
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist & Potter: SynapseArtworks
The artist behind the hip Etsy shop SynapseArtworks is a 28 year old Salt Lake City potter and illustrator. Brian graduated in 2003 from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with a BFA, majoring in Philosophy. "I haven't been able to produce much art in the last two years since I recently took a job working and studying in the field of ocularistry," he explains of his time consuming job making prosthetic eyes. "It's a crazy, wonderful job I never anticipated falling into, which only about 120 other people in the country do." His shop may not be filled to the brim yet, but his modern take on a sake set struck my fancy right away. He hopes to have a studio up and running soon, where he'll focus on designing functional ceramics. "My more conceptual work, which is very time consuming and fussy, I show at Artisan Gallery in Paoli, WI," he says. "This is mostly inspired by art history and aesthetic theory. On Etsy, I tend to showcase my more functional ceramics work like teapots and sake sets, as well as t-shirts which I do just for entertainment and the fun of graphic design." He hopes to blend the screen printing he uses in his T-shirts with the ceramics in the near future. He describes his style as "tight, tidy, and often geometrical." Influenced by minimalism, his designs often showcase clean modern lines and geometric shapes. "I love all kinds of beverages, and hope to create vessels that elevate their consumption to a more conscious aesthetic experience; one in which there is an interplay between the subtleties of the drink and the art, each complimenting the other." Although his art is not his main source of income he does take it seriously and treats it as a second job. "You can check out http://synapseartworks.blogspot.com/, my horrendously un-updated blog for additional info," he jokes. Please check out his shop: http://synapseartworks.etsy.com/
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Meet Etsy Artist: EasternSunPrintworks
"After a relatively calm life growing up in NJ, graduating from college, and teaching French in junior high school, I moved to Maine and went to graduate school," Nancy says. With an M.A. in French Lit, she set off on a 2 ½ year backpacking trip around the world. "I spent lots of time in the Orient as the quintessential Buddhist tourist, visiting temples and studying meditation. I kept written and painted journals throughout the trip. When I returned, I went to a month-long meditation program at a Buddhist center in Colorado where I met my husband, Tom." They later moved to Florida with their daughter where she started a card and stationary company 25 years ago. "I have a lovely studio in our backyard, surrounded by chirping birds, live oaks, and luscious bromeliads, very near the Fountain of Youth Park, in St. Augustine," she gushes. "I am a very happy, art-making maniac." Her imagination is endless, providing endless inspiration, but she also gleans ideas from "the infinite qualities of color, natural landscapes of many regions, and my love for Tibet." She explains, "The iconography of the Buddhist countries in the Himalayas is rich in imagery and is incredibly inspiring. I find it unbelievably satisfying to make something that I know is going to bring happiness to another being, maybe my neighbor or maybe someone who lives halfway around the world." All of the plates for her silkscreen designs are from hand drawn positives that are printed on 100% recycled papers. "I also use photography to enhance my 'seeing.'" She is also an accomplished illustrator and collage artist. "I’ve gotten a real kick out of being part of Etsy. It’s a supportive forum for artists and has lots of useful tools and guides. There is an inspiring mix of sheer talent, quirkiness, technology, ingenuity, and business savvy." Please check out her shop: http://easternsunprintworks.etsy.com
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