There is Art That You Can Wear, and There is Art Everywhere!

Meet Sharon Butcher from The Wristbandit...
My name is Sharon Butcher, I am the creative mind that lies behind The Wristbandit. I am a Columbus, Ohio native, OSU graduate, and a retired Art teacher for the Columbus Schools. I started my business "The Wristbandit" but I have been creating for years. I consider my jewelry to be wearable art, a small painting, relief sculpture or a collage. 

Making wearable art (jewelry) has been an interest of mine for years. While attending OSU I took several jewelry and metal smithing classes. The cost of materials when teaching moved me towards finding less expensive ways for students to create wearable art (jewelry). It was only natural for me to think in a direction, non-traditional materials, for my jewelry. While Shopping at one of my favorite thrift stores, I discovered the beauty of old leather belts and the rest is history. My materials come from thrift stores, garage sales, and friends. I use upcycled leather belts, reused costume jewelry parts, found objects, and hand-painted images and designs. Most are one of a kind.

I believe that I get my creativity from my childhood. I was taught to be a problem solver and to find ways to entertain myself. So, I made houses and furniture for my dolls from everyday items, puppets from old socks and paper dolls from catalog pictures. My parents never discouraged me from doing anything creative. 

My creative process is like a feeling I get of needing to create, and this is when I do my best work. I don't create everyday but I work everyday at some aspect of my business. When I sit down in my studio I am surrounded by lots of materials, what catches my eye might be the shape of a piece of leather or a found object and the process begins. 

I began my business two years ago. But I have been creating for years. When I started making wearable art it was just for the experience of creating. Later on I started giving it to friends as gifts. I enjoy the experience of sharing my art and running a business. I opened an Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/TheWristbandit in December 2010 and started doing shows in April 2011. I have since expanded into consignment shops.. 

Meet Ron Clemons from RNAphotos...

My name is Ron Clemons and I am the creator of RNAphotos. I work in tech support as my day job, and I use my photography as a chance to get out and escape from behind the computer. Nature provides a perfect contrast from my day-to-day life, so I particularly enjoy driving into the country and getting lost. Finding things that catch my eye enough to take a moment to get that perfect angle is really the driving force behind my art. I focus a lot of my work on old barns as well as nature because I see them as a relic of days gone by and of simpler times.

I developed my interest in photography about ten years ago, but it has only been within the last two or so years that I have started to seriously see photography as a hobby, rather than just a passing interest.

My creativity come from finding things that few people have seen. If I see a side rode that looks like it doesn't get much traffic, I assume that there are hidden treasures to be found that few people have seen. I may have a day where I take fifty good pictures, followed by a day that only yields two or three. The hunt is a big part of the fun of taking landscape photography.

The message behind my work is to not let nature pass you by. There is a lot of beauty to be found in nature and along the side of the road. A lot of the time it just seems that we are all too busy to actually see what is around us. I hope that my photography allows people to take a moment to appreciate the world around them.

Meet Wendy Wren from The Glass Loft...

My name is Wendy Wren and I am the crafter of The Glass Loft. I have been a crafter for as long as I can remember. Sewing, making candles, embroidery, painting, wire wrapping, etc., then I became hooked on glass crafting!

I have been doing glass crafting for about two and a half years but according to my dad, I have always been creative. He says I would see a game or toy and come home and make one myself. He said I did it to either improve it, or just say I made it! I have always loved glass, whether it was stained glass in a window, fused glass, sea glass or just colorful glass dishes.

My creative process changes, sometimes I look at a bottle and an idea just pops into my head. Other times I have to contemplate a while to decide the best use of a particular bottle.

True story on one of my first projects.. One of the first bottles I slumped had a rather large half bubble form under it. I even tried re-slumping it to get it flat, which didn't work. I ended up laying it on my work table to decide what to do with it later. When I revisited it I realized I placed it upside down so now it was a bowl like impression!........When I looked at it again, I had an idea! I covered the top surface in glue, covered it in sand, glued a couple of shells in the sand and put a votive candle in the "bowl"!  Viola! A beachy themed candle holder! It didn't want to be just a slumped bottle!

I enjoy working with glass because it is unique. Even if I try to do two exactly alike, they usually come out at least a little different. I believe that the message behind my work is that there is another life in an object just waiting for someone to bring it out. Crafting & creativity don't have to be expensive, look around and use your imagination!


Meet Bob Corby from Back Porch Comics...
My name is Bob Corby I am the owner of Back Porch Comics. I run the Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) in Columbus each year and have been a small press comics publisher since the mid-80s. Some of the comics I produce are hand printed linoleum cuts which is what will be featured at this show. I also produce Oh, Comics! an annual comics anthology which features many local Columbus area artists and writers and number of different minicomics.

I have been doing comic conventions since 1986, and started SPACE in 2000. I have also done a few craft shows in the past. I have been drawing comics since I was a child. I build ideas from the absurdity of daily life. I got interested in linoleum printing in high school, and was reintroduced to it as an advisor with the Art Explorer Post 407.

I began doing this as a business because I wanted people to read my work. It sparks from something within my imagination that I just want to share with others. I enjoy this hobby because I have a somewhat stressful regular career, so doing something handmade is very therapeutic.

The message that lies behind my work is don't let anybody stop you.

2013 Columbus February Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Saturday, February 16th 2013, 11:00am-5:00pm

St. Agatha's Parish Hall

1860 Northam Rd

Columbus, OH 43221

For more information, contact Becki Cooper, Event Coordinator at info@avantgardeshows.com

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