Art for the Home!

Nicki Thome from NicklebeeDesigns...

I have lived on Cleveland’s east side my whole life and I have my bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Kent State University.  I work full time as an Insurance Services Specialist for mortgage companies.  Not quite fulfilled in my career, I decided to venture out to see what else I could do that would bring more joy to my life.  

I have always had a crafty side and always loved creating and making projects for my home.  About 6 months ago, I decided to try to take this passion for crafting and make it into something more.  I started selling my handmade colorful signs with inspirational quotes and sayings on Etsy and NicklebeeDesigns was born! NicklebeeDesigns came about because my grandpa used to call me Nicklebee when I was younger and I was always helping him with his different projects so it just seemed like the perfect name for my business!

This will be my first Avant-Garde Art & Craft show and I am very excited! This will actually be my very first craft show so I am eager to learn about the ins and outs of how everything goes!  I hope to be able to make it to more craft shows as my business grows!

I find inspiration all around me! I like to find different color combinations for my signs and get ideas for quotes in everything I see and read.  I particularly love rustic décor and love to model signs from old barns and reclaimed wood.  My friends and family are a huge inspiration as well.  They always help me come up with new ideas and give great feedback on my work!

I would love to be able to turn my passion for creating custom pieces into a full time business one day.  My goal is to bring a smile and a happy feeling every time someone looks at their own custom sign!  I love to create these unique signs for wall art and be able to bring that into someone’s home.  It’s amazing to me to see a blank piece of wood turn into something so beautiful that livens up a boring wall or shelf.

Visit my website at www.Etsy.com/Shop/NicklebeeDesigns for more info and to see all of my available signs or to start a custom order for a special sign just for you!

Meet Cristen Magree from Rusty Bear Studio...

I was born and grew up here in Northeast Ohio while spending summers in Western NY state, immersed in the beautiful country life. After attending Kent State University for Earth Sciences, I settled in the Aurora area with my husband, Mark, and started my art business, Rusty Bear Studio. I have been fortunate enough to have both my artwork and jewelry accepted into galleries in Ohio, NYC and Chautauqua, NY as well as producing commissions for people across the country.

My mother has been a prominent local artist since long before I was born so I began to create artwork from a very young age. I continued to challenge myself with new techniques after my academic career and, at the age of 25, began to develop my business. Now, at 30, I continue to push myself with new techniques, mediums and commissions and I enjoy every minute of it.

This will be my third Avant-Garde show and I am very much looking forward to the newest location added to the show line!

I have a passion for science, geology and the outdoors, which I try to convey through each piece of artwork I create. I am constantly inspired by the colors, movement and history I see in the parks and countryside that we are lucky enough to have right outside our door here in Ohio. 

Living in the age of information and technology, I have the ability to go online to research and study the many new techniques that artists are coming up with at the touch of a fingertip. Without these sources I would not have learned about fluid pour or alcohol ink painting. I am always pushed by advancements in the art world to try new things and evolve my style.

I found my talent for art as a child, drawing and painting for fun along side my mother and continued to hone my skills throughout high school and college, focusing on animation and Special FX make up. The words of Cole Porter have always been an inspiration to me, "Experiment. Make it your motto day and night. Experiment, and it will lead you to the light." Without experimentation, I would not have found my footing in multi-media work or jewelry design.

Once something inspires me to create a painting, I begin the process of finding color and movement that follows that inspiration. I will use several different mediums that will chemically interact with each other to create new designs and texture. Sometimes I will be working on up to 10 pieces at at a time because my techniques call for each layer to dry almost completely before I can continue. I chose acrylic paint and alcohol ink as the bases for my pieces because of their shorter dry time.

For my jewelry, I look for pieces that explain the geologic history of Ohio in a beautiful way, whether it be rare fossils, uniquely formed minerals or specimens local to the Ohio region. I also like to keep my wraps as simple as possible as to highlight the fossil or mineral itself, which is the true art in my work. 

In five years I see myself as continuing to have a regular presence at local shows as well as branching out into regional shows. I hope to have educated as many people as I can about the geologic history of Ohio and to have inspired people to see their own passions and desires in my work. 

The message in my art is two fold. For my paintings the message is that there is no intrinsic message. I want each viewer to see what they want to see in each piece. I want them to have their own experience and make their own world out of what they see. I love when no two people see the same thing in a single piece. And for my jewelry, I hope to promote a message of education and passion about science and nature. If I can get one more person looking for a fossil on the beach as they walk along, I will have gotten my message across. 

Meet Ann Marie Raffis from Garden Glass by Ann...

I am a full time nurse and last year I met a coworker who got me started on the 'junking' craze as well as the garden art creative side of things.  I found out that I had a bit of an eye for it and through trial and error I started to put together things that I enjoyed and made me smile.

How I get my inspiration... My garden flowers peak out behind the snow in the winter time and remind me that spring is never too far away no matter how long the Cleveland winter.

My creative process... I enjoy the hunt for special glass pieces that have outlived their usefulness and have found their way into a thrift store or garage sale.  I play around with combinations until I feel that I've gotten it right.

What's great about these pieces is that the stems age gracefully developing a patina that I especially enjoy and I hope others do as well. The bird feeders are also a joyful way to take used materials and give them new life.

2014 Chagrin Falls Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, September 14, 2014, 10:00am-5:00pm

The Federated Life Church- Family Life Center

16349 Chillicothe Rd

Chagrin Falls, OH 44023

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com

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