Yaslani

Meet Yaslani; a Mixed Media Artist from New Jersey whose materials of choice are paper, acrylic, gouache, colored pencil, found images & objects, vintage photographs, her own photography and just about anything else she can get her hands on. “It's fun for me to look at an object in a hardware store or around the house and figure out how I can transform it into art” says, Yaslani, whose bamboo tile pendants read like an historical diorama. Pictures of movie stars, geishas, musical greats like Billie Holiday, Tarot Cards, even Amelia Earhart is fodder for her creative process.

Her work is a mix of American and Eastern Indian influence, with paintings of giraffes and elephants, and a consistent color palette in red, gold, sepia, black, beige, and yellowed, antiqued, bone.

"Moonlight", a 4x4 mixed media canvas is made with a hand painted wooden elephant and layers of paint, paper and modeling paste. The artist sprayed it with a non-yellowing varnish so it will be beautiful for many, many years!

"Citywalk" shows a giraffe and a lion roaming through the streets of what appears to be an urban area after dark. The choice of colors and motif are distinctly East Indian, showing architecture in the background that has the characteristic red and gold colors and ornamentation found in that region. The stars are depicted by rhinestones, scattered in an indigo sky behind the buildings.

See or purchase more of this artist’s work at: Yaslani and check out her blog at: Yaslani's Groove Spot. This seller offers free US shipping!

Article written by Pippit.

Three New Pieces!

Although only these top two are listed for sale on Etsy. This one below has been sold. (Yeah!)

Talent Database Crafts Portal Featured Artist

YEAH! I was featured as a Crafts Portal Featured Artist at Talent Database! I'm thrilled as there as some amazing artists there. This is the link they sent me and it will take you to my page.

That's Headley

Her name is Ginny Headley Maserang and like so many of us, started selling to support her bead/jewelry habit! She is the creator of That's Headley! Jewelry Designs and loves to share her passion! Be sure to check out all her beautiful pieces in her Etsy shop and you can see what she's up to on her blog. (see links below)

That's Headley! Jewelry Designs is about a journey in wearable art in semiprecious gemstones, wire, and glass. Color, texture, balance, and richness are my design goals. I've been "beading" since junior high, and for the last couple of years have expanded my use of wire wrapping. I've also added silversmithing to my techniques. Silver is always bona fide sterling at the least, and sometimes fine (99.9% pure) silver.


I rarely make two pieces alike, because I like to have fun wearing jewelry, and seeing myself coming and going is not fun! Sometimes, though, when something comes out especially wonderful, I might make just a few to share the fun. I love to do custom work, too, so if you have something inspirational you would like to have a custom piece to wear with or to, send me a picture or description of what you would like, and we can be creative together!

She is a member of:
Self Representing Artist Jewelry Designer (SRAJD) #231

Member Art Jewelry Collective
Member Etsy Texas Crafters (ETC)

Her shop can be found on Etsy of course at That's Headley.
And her blog is That's Headley.

Sparkly Strandz

The artist behind SparklyStrandz lives in Friendswood, Texas and has a day job in accounting, but her real passion lies in creating jewelry, crocheted children’s clothing, tiny picture frames, and a mix of other handmade things, mostly ranging in price between $5.00 and $40.00. Most can be easily customized and made to order.

These Baby Cowboy Booties are just adorable in dark brown and beige, but they can be made in any color, and at a very affordable $12.00 a pair!

Her Swirly wire-wrapped rings incorporate buttons as the focal, and retail for $8.00 each.

Circles and circular chain links have been in style for at least the past 8 months and still holding strong. .
This necklace ($30.00) and pair of earrings ($15.00) combine hammered silver links that are flattened and textured, with Serpentine, pearls and pressed glass beads. With these two matching pieces you can have an ensemble that will go with just about any earthtone color

You can find her jewelry, crochet, and other gift items at http://SparklyStrandz.etsy.com and her own website, http://www.sparklystrandz.com/ also carries beaded pet collars, and rosaries in addition to the type of items she sells on Etsy. She is currently offering free shipping to the US and Canada between now and Christmas. To join her mailing list or read more about her collections you can also go to her blog at Sparkly Strandz.

Article based on post by Pippit.

Alilsumptinsumptin

Over the past 9 months Eva Espiritu has raised a total $1085.00 through her Paws For A Good Cause campaign with 100% of proceeds of selected pieces donated to the Humane Society of the United States. The artist offers the added benefit of free US shipping to all who purchase these items. While you give a gift to someone you love, you also give a gift to needy and homeless animals with your purchase.

Her jewelry is made from high-quality, kiln annealed lampwork beads created by glass artists Janet Crosby, Kathrin Kneidl-Levi, Julia Lund, Dawn White, Becky Mason, (and Etsy’s own) Marcy Lamberson combined with sterling and Hill Tribes Silver (which is at least 97% pure), and sometimes also genuine gemstones. Her color choices and scale are usually big and bold; showing vitality and decisiveness that like her last name suggests spirit and spunk.

Eva’s designs range from the whimsical and funny, with names such as K-9 Cubed, Give The Dog A Bone, B-B-B-Bad To The Bone, and Bow 2 The Wow Wow, to the more serious cornucopia-like Cha-Cha style charm bracelets bursting with abundance, like the Southern California orange groves of her home. My personal favorites are the bracelets bursting with beads. Her layering of color and texture, often incorporating lampwork from several different artists in the same piece, creates exquisite and visually fulfilling designs. These are pieces you could look at for hours and like a Where is Waldo picture, see something new among the numerous dangles every time.

Alilsumptinsumptin is a member of the following jewelry-trade-related groups:
ART JEWELRY COLLECTIVE (AJC)
etsyBEAD
ETSY FOR ANIMALS (EFA)

She is SRAJD #0983 (Self Representing Jewelry Artist), a mark of reliability in the trade. You can be assured you will be dealing directly with the artist herself; not merely an agent.

If you love animals, flowers, charm bracelets, silver, or lovely artisan lampwork with bright colors, be sure to put Alilsumptinsumptin on your list of places to buy your Holiday gifts this year! Her jewelry truly has heart!

Etsy Store: Alilsumptinsumptin
Blog: Alilsumptinsumptin

Article written by Pippit.

Elements by Dawn

Dawn Brandt of ElementsbyDawn has been selling her jewelry on Etsy since August 7, 2006, and loves geometric shapes with texture and pattern in them. Looking at her work one can tell that she incorporates circles into a lot of what she does, from Chainmaille to hammered textured cuffs and sterling, copper, and fine silver disks, to using round beads and chain. Experts have said that the round form is a shape humans are naturally drawn to, so if this is any indicator Dawn’s future will be bright.

When asked what techniques she would like to learn she said, “I’d like to be able to add more color, and thus some more dimension to my designs. Enameling, resin, and Prismacolor colored pencil are a few of the materials I’d like to incorporate into my designs. I’ve dabbled with Prismacolor, but haven’t perfected the technique yet.” Dawn describes it as a technique that blends the traditional methods of painting on canvas and coloring/drawing on metal. There are two ways to accomplish the results. One involves sandblasting the metal to give it "tooth" (which is not the method she does), and the other uses gesso; the method she uses. Then to prevent the surface from weathering over time and the color from coming off she uses an acrylic sealer.

Dawn is currently working on a collection due for release in the Summer of 2008. It will feature colorful vintage glass, vintage Swarovski crystal, and vintage Lucite.

Among the trade magazines she subscribes to are The Crafts Report, Art Jewelry, and Art Calendar. The Crafts Report has many useful articles on the business of crafting, Art Jewelry Magazine helps keep her abreast on new techniques and emerging artists, and Art Calendar keeps informed on national and local arts and craft shows.

For anyone just starting out in the jewelry crafting business or even just thinking about transforming a hobby into a bona fide business, she recommends the book Marketing and Selling Your Handmade Jewelry by Viki Lareau. This easy to read book covers many of the basic aspects of starting out in the crafting business.

If metalsmithing is your interest, The Complete Metalsmith – Pro Version by Tim McCreight is invaluable!

The book Dawn is currently reading is, How to Photograph Absolutely Everything by Tom Ang. “I am hoping to improve my photography skills, as product photography can really help or hinder your success in an online environment.”

Dawn belongs to The Art Jewelry Collective, WIST (a local Wisconsin street team), and will be exhibiting at the ART vs CRAFT show on December 8th in Milwaukee.

This artist accepts Checks, Money Orders, and accepts credit cards through both PayPal and ProPay. She also sends out a quarterly newsletter for those customers who would like to be notified when new pieces are available for sale.

Be sure to check out her whole collection at Elements by Dawn.

Article written by Pippit.

Tiffany Teske Photography

There is a nostalgic quality in Tiffany Teske’s photo images as though looking through an old-fashioned camera. Themes of tastefully nude women, pregnant mothers-to-be, and domestic life make up the majority of the work seen in her Etsy online shop.

Tiffany makes and sells a number of different items, including Polaroid Transfers, Polaroid Emulsion Lifts, Black and White Prints, Hand-colored Prints, Color Prints, Sepia Prints, Cards, and Jewelry. She also has Gift Certificates available if you don’t see something you want right away but you like her style.

“Love Grows” is an original Polaroid Image Transfer, an interesting process that
begins with the image on slide film. The slide is then projected onto Polaroid pack film which is peeled prematurely. The “waste” side of the film pack, which contains processing chemicals, is then placed face down onto wet watercolor paper and brayed (rolled over with a print making brayer). The result is a one-of-a-kind hand-pulled photographic transfer of the original slide image. The original image can be transferred an unlimited number of times but the resulting transfer will always vary from the last. Each transfer is approximately 3 ½” by 4” in size and is hand signed (both on the image and the mat). This transfer comes with a hand cut, acid free, museum quality archival mat, which has outer dimensions of 8x10.

I particularly like this one, “Merlot, the Winemaker’s Dog” taken in the Hunter Valley region of Australia. She was traveling the East Coast and Australian outback at this time. The photo is a true black and white print flush mounted onto 8x10 4 ply archival mat board. The dog has almost a feral look to it, but may be a Jack Russel or mixed with Smooth Fox Terrier.

The artist was first introduced to photography when she received a camera as a child with which to take pictures on a family trip. She became enamored of this medium almost immediately; then went on to continue learning to use the darkroom after school from her high school science teacher.

Tiffany received a Bachelor of Arts Joint BA in Art and Photography (Magna cum Laude) in 2002 from the University of Maine at Augusta.

She has traveled around the country taking pictures; to Arizona, Florida, Connecticut, & New York, and then to Ontario, Canada where she met her husband.

The family now lives in Banff, Alberta, Canada and has a little girl.

To buy a card or gift from her store and to see the full range of what she has in stock check out Tiffany Teske.

(The last photo is called "Sisters" and I had to include it because it reminds me of my daughters!)

Article written by Pippit.

Studio Marcy

You can tell by looking at Marcy Lamberson’s work that she has a healthy sense of humor! Living in Atlanta, GA. she gets many of her ideas while watching plants and animals native to the area, then with torch in hand, she captures the impish characters inside.

Some are sort of mischievous as if they’ve got a devious plan up their sleeves, and others, almost woefully innocent, seemingly oblivious to what has happened to bring them into existence, as if born fully grown, yet somehow eternally young.

Reinforced by the smiles, laughter (and custom orders) these creatures evoke in others, she has continued to follow the thread, watching to see where it will lead, shaping her as much as she shaped the glass. That raises an interesting question. Does life influence style, or does the artist impact life? Most likely the answer to that falls somewhere in the middle. How much does one’s experience determine what we make, what medium we choose, even the colors and textures we bring into being in that which we create?

Marcy actually started out as a watercolor painter and enjoyed the process of mixing and blending colors in that medium so much that naturally glasswork was a logical next step, both providing her the comfort in familiarity she’d previously known, and the promise of new and exciting challenges ahead, and the satisfaction of being able to render her ideas 3-dimensionally. Most of her days are spent making more beads and sculptures, and teaching classes out of her home.

There is this place where artists go in which there is no sense of time, where there is no right or wrong, where candy is everlasting, and flowers never die, and a child can live forever.

Perhaps this is what the world is missing now with busy schedules, global warming, war in the middle east, and life in a culture in which people are drowning in expectations they can never measure up to, work fast enough, make enough money, spend enough time with friends and family, consumed with guilt, and anger, and fear for the future. In a society in which people are slaves to their cell phones, and the American worker is as expendable as a McDonald’s hamburger carton, and the President has told us that art is unnecessary in the classroom, crayons are put away in the closet, dismissed as frivolous and irrelevant to the “really serious” work at hand, where the adage “no pain, no gain” rules the day, humor and whimsy are precious commodities. Like an endangered species threatened with extinction these qualities must be nurtured and protected with all we’ve got.

Art is what brings us back to what really matters, to that little slice of heaven we dream about, yet far too often just let slip through our fingers. Here is your chance to get a little bit of what you’ve been missing. Put it in a necklace, or on your desk to remind you of that child within. She isn’t gone, just hard to locate sometimes. To buy your little piece of whimsy, go to Studio Marcy her Etsy shop! These make great gifts!

I must thank Pippit of Art Life News Blog (and of course her own Etsy shop: Giftbearer) for all her hard work on these articles. I am cutting and pasting as I want to participate and share the talents of these great Etsy artisans, but lack the time to write the posts every day. Thank you so much, Pippit!

My Fairy Babies

The mother of 3 young children, Hyla can appreciate the importance of clothing that is both comfortable and pleasing to the eye, and the need for interesting stuffed toys that are refreshingly different from the same-old-same-old found at all the local department stores. The artist’s Etsy online store MyFairyBabies, has a great mix of things for the mother-to-be, special gifts for children, cleverly designed inventions that make life a little easier and more fun.

Shown below is the Pacifier Buddy; an innovative combination burpcloth and pacifier-keeper that prevents a baby’s pacifier from getting lost. A ribbon loops around the pacifier and keeps it from falling on the floor. These can be customized and made in a variety of choices in textiles. At only $5.50 apiece to $9.00 for 3, you really can’t go wrong. These come in different sizes for young babies and toddlers.

Cheery colors of pink, blue, purple, and orange engage babies’ eyes and stimulate their senses; much better for healthy development than the often muted and washed out pinks and blues normally available on the commercial market.

This green “Fairy Waldorf Doll” is one of the signature items FairyBabies is known for. Note the intricate stitching on the back of the fairy’s wings. This is just what every little girl would love for Christmas!

This month FairyBabies is offering free US shipping and 50% off International shipping. Great for Baby Showers, Birthdays, Christmas, or to welcome that new addition to the family, given by that doting relative or friend tht wishes she had 3 or 4 of her own.

See her entire selection of children’s wear and gift items at My Fairy Babies on Etsy.

Article written by Pippit.