Meet Kerri O'Connor from Les Trois Fleurs and Diviniteez...
I have been an artist since a child. I had a
grade school art teacher who taught me how to shade drawings. It caught fire
and haven’t stopped since. I have been formally trained and certified as an
energy worker for over 20 years now. So when I create jewelry, I energize it
with the highest possible energy and thought I can draw. That is what makes my
work special and unique. I started selling on
Etsy about 4 years ago. This will be my
third Avant-Garde show.
I come from an artistic family. My
grandmother was a seamstress and milliner. My father was a sign painter back
before the days of the “billboard”. My three other sisters are all creative in
the sewing, crafting and graphical artist fields. My mother was a decorator.
Growing up, I begged my grandmother to teach me
how to sew like she did. She would always say, “Just do whatever you think is
right. Trust yourself”. Eventually I did. I started out with sewing and later
moved to porcelain doll making and now jewelry. I will restart my doll making
when I retire.
For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted
to have my own boutique. I recently had a bookstore/gift shop in a metaphysical
center. About a year ago, I closed the store to sell online. My time was just
too splintered between a full-time job, a brick-n-mortar store, and online
selling.
My creative process is different.. I am an energy
worker. Jewelry (or any creative project) is how I use and express what I have
been trained and certified to do with the healing energies. Some people work
through massage, polarity therapy, or other techniques. I invoke healing
energies into my creative works. It is both healing for me and intentionally
meant to be healing for the eventual wearer of my jewelry.
The message behind my work is find what you love
to do and be happy while you do it. Spread it like wildfire all around you.
People naturally respond to and are lifted by love, laughter and happiness.
10. Add any photos or information you
specifically want added. You can find Kerri’s work at:
Etsy Shops:
www.etsy.com/shop/lestroisfleurs
www.etsy.com/shop/diviniteez
www.etsy.com/shop/trunksale
Meet Dawn Hansard from Bead for Life...
My name is Dawn Hansard and I am a Community Partner Volunteer for a great organization called “BeadforLife.” www.beadforlife.org. As a passionate advocate, I speak and work on behalf of the many women of Uganda, Africa, whose mission is to become self-sufficient by creating handmade jewelry made from recycled paper and Shea Butter products.
These impoverished women, from a worn torn country, go through extensive training to learn about Health, Hygiene, Nutrition and Business Skills to be able to physically and financially care for their families. In addition, I am a Medical Social Worker and Licensed Minister.
I have been volunteering with BeadforLife for several years but only for a year as a Community Partner Volunteer. This is my first Avant-Garde show and I'm very much looking forward to being a part of it!
The message behind our work is that everyone can be a philanthropist.
Meet Patrice Messer from Bygone But Not Forgotten...
I
am a treasure-hunter who has been blessed with fortune again and again. Such valuables include my beloved
husband, the charming retired racing greyhounds we have rescued through adoption
over the years, and my rewarding career as a language arts teacher. I adore all
things feminine and whimsical and have always found beauty in antiquity. I
especially love color, texture, and pattern found in fabric, jewelry, glass, and
china. It is now clear to me that my crafts are a natural marriage between my
loves.
I have been creating plates,
pedestals, and platters using rescued,
upcycled, and repurposed vintage glass, ceramic, and china elements as well as vintage cameo necklaces for a year. This is my first show, and I am really excited to have connected
with Avant-Garde!
Creative thinking is a trait I get from both of my parents and
extended family on both sides, but it is of course truly a gift from God alone.
When I was a young girl, my paternal grandmother gave me crochet
lessons and my mother taught me to cross-stitch, showed me how to knit, and
took china painting lessons with me. I always saw the two of these prominent figures in my life involved in a
myriad of crafting projects--my mom even once made me a dollhouse for Christmas
complete with all the furnishings! Today she is a jewelry and paper artist,
photography enthusiast, and most recently is discovering her talent with
watercolor, a talent she must get from her own mother who learned that she was
a painter later in her life.
I can remember in the 1970’s when my aunt, a horticulturalist,
painter, and a seamstress who designed my wedding gown from a magazine picture,
would open her home each winter to a group of artist family, friends, and
neighbors to sell their crafts long before there were any actual craft shows,
pioneering the way for me today. My cousins and I would watch in awe knowing
that we too would be artists. My mom will be with me at the show in September,
and I am hoping that same aunt and those cousins can attend this, my first show.
Doing this allows me to have a purpose to produce my art since I
have already exhausted gift giving. Put simply, because I love the creative process so much, this allows me
to continue to create without it all piling up in my “studio” (AKA my
basement--LOL). Also, there is
satisfaction in knowing that customers are choosing to own my pieces over giving items to
friends and family as gifts and hoping they truly want and like them.
My creative process... I collect individual pieces that become my palette and then I
coordinate and repurpose them. Sometimes the hunt involves serendipity: being in the right place at the
right time. Other times it
involves a leap of faith: purchasing a treasure that I have no idea how I will
use but being struck by beauty and believing it will have a purpose; it always
does!
Overall, I most love the process of creating: treasure hunting--treasure
hunting-- treasure hunting (thanks dad!), collecting, coordinating, and constructing. The message behind my work is: Timeless and beautiful treasures
always have a place and a purpose.
On a side note, I will be donating all profits from the 2012 East Side Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show show to Stella Maris Cleveland http://www.stellamariscleveland.com/ Be sure to look for the sign on my table!!
Check out these featured vendors at the first ever 2012 East Side Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. This eclectic show will feature up to 120 of the most talented artisans and crafters. A portion of the show's proceeds will be donated to the North East Ohio Make-a-Wish Foundation. This non-profit organization grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.
2012 East Side Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Sunday, September 23, 2012, 1:30pm-6:30pm
Terry Macklin Entertainment & Event Centre
6200 Enterprise Parkway
Solon, OH 44139
Visit us on:
