NEO East Side Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

What Makes a Jeweler!

Meet Elayne Brown from Elayne's Stuff...
My name is Elayne Brown, I am going to be 66 in November. I have lived in the Cleveland area all my life. I have two children, Nick and Staci. I have worked at Thistledown Race Track for 27 years.

I have been doing crafts for some time now. I do cross stitch, crocheting,etc, then about two years ago, I got started with the beading. Surprisingly, this is my first show, I've never been in any craft shows before!

I got started doing my craft because I always I have to have something to do! I can not just sit and watch tv. To date, I have refinished my kitchen cupboards, painted my house inside and out. Yard work (got the best yard on the street). It is always something.

I got started selling my items when people saw the things I make and would ask me to make them something. I have a lot of beaded bracelets and sets and figured it's time to try a craft show. Plus, I've got to clean out my house!

Meet Connie Sky from Sky Design...
My name is Connie Sky, with Sky Design. I create jewelry and our motto is Made with Love. For 10 years I was a Corporate Trainer which included both Communication and Leadership training as well as Technical Training. From there, my career migrated into Human Resources, and worked in payroll and benefits. It is a more conservative role, with no room for creativity.

I began making jewelry in the Summer 2012. It evolved into a small business, by participating in Art Shows & Festivals. I am working on establishing vendor relationships with both domestic and international retailers. Our web-site is www.skydesign.info and our goal to have The Sky Collection on-line beginning January 2013!

I am currently scheduled for my first three Avant Garde Art & Craft Shows in Solon, Westlake and Akron, OH in 2012. Unfortunately, I have to miss the Columbus, OH in November 2012 show because I am taking my Mother on a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas! She has never been on a vacation, so this will be a very special trip for both of us.

I believe some people are born “gifted”, that is they can sing, draw, dance or they are mentally brilliant at math, science, technology, or medicine. My gift is creativity. Often, I feel like an “idea generator” where ideas come along so fast I can’t possibly implement all of them! For me ideas are like hot stars from the sky and landing everywhere! Finding your passion is the best place to find your creativity. What do you love? I love jewelry and that is my passion!

I have always been interested in carpentry and home improvement projects. HGTV anyone? However, my measuring and cutting skills have much to be desired! I also tried crocheting and discovered that my blankets were always crooked because I couldn’t remember the number of stitches in each row. A square blanket would turn into a triangle by the time it was finished! I’ve tried a number of other hobbies, such as drawing, painting, sewing and even cooking (dreadful). Nothing stuck. I even wrote a book on dating when I was single called “Dating, The Interview”. We tend to like and are passionate about things we are good at! I personally started collecting earrings and wondered if I could make them for myself. After experimenting and taking a jewelry making class from Denise Newman at Isle of Beads in Cleveland, I found that I was actually “good” at making jewelry! EUREKA!

After showing my jewelry to friends & family, they suggested I participate in some Art & Craft Shows. That lead me to participating in the Avant Garde shows and to begin searching for additional retail venues as a way to grow my small business.

My creative process is similar to developing training materials, I use the ADDIE system. Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate. At the end of the day, I must review what worked, what didn’t and what can I do differently or better next time? That goes for Trade Shows, Vendor Relationships and Jewelry Designs. If I make a mistake, I own it and make it better!

Independence and the creative freedom are my top priorities. I am thrilled with the process of shopping for beautiful beads, gems & stones. I enjoy putting together an interesting array of styles, shapes, sizes and colors. Mostly, I love the seasons, holiday themes, bridal and other special occasions. I like creating beautiful jewelry that can be photographed and passed on to future generations. The value is sentimental. To say it was my Mothers necklace or my Grandmothers earrings creates heartfelt memories.

Sky Designs are Made with Love. My son Sean (now 26 years old) used to ask me to make him Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches. I would say, you are a teenager now, I think you can make it! He replied “But Mom, you make it with love!” And that is my motto for Sky Design – Made with Love.

Life is an interesting journey which has many roads to take. People who know me well would say most often, I have take the road less traveled and it has been an amazing journey. I am one of the “crazy ones” best summed up in the text found in a poster that was originally an Ad Campaign for Apple.

The Crazy Ones!

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

View photos of Sky Design's work at their web site: www.skydesign.info

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

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardes hows.co m

Visit us on:

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Friday, August 24, 2012

Introducing our First Ever East Side Show Lineup!

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

Blog: www.lestroisfleurs.wordpress.com

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!!