I was born and raised in Connecticut, and came to Ohio the first time to attend Miami University,
where I earned degrees in History of Art & Architecture and Housing & Interior Design. After
graduating I worked in the Interior/Retail/Architectural Design world for a decade. By then my
husband and I were living in San Francisco and trying to decide where to go next. After much
contemplation, we decided to return to Ohio. We now live in southeast Ohio where we are having
the time of our lives raising our two beautiful daughters in the beautiful countryside.
I began experimenting with gourds and various art techniques over nine years ago. But it was not
until we moved back to Ohio that I began to really focus on gourd art. In 2011 I started my business
and have been focused on Gourd Art ever since.
This is my first show! I have had the pleasure of shopping one in the past, and can’t wait to exhibit at
one.
I get inspiration from all aspects of my life, but truly most of my inspiration is derived
from nature. Many of my pieces are of animals. I find that the organic shapes of gourds lend perfectly to the organic shapes of critters. Often the gourds tell me what they want to be, just by
their shape.
I am the type of person who has to be creating/making something. I can’t go too long without
making something of some sort, and I like to try lots of different things. That’s why I love gourds so
much, you can do anything with gourds. You can carve them, burn them, paint them, fill them,
hollow them, the list goes on and on. Creating art out of gourds satisfies my creative itch in so many
ways.
I have been making and designing things since I was a little kid. When I discovered gourds, and all of their possibilities, they not only met my desire to dabble in different techniques and styles, they
also pulled from my educational and professional background in Interior & Architectural Design. I
discovered that making sculptures out of gourds was a natural process for me, since I am so used to envisioning my designs in three dimensions.
I am big on coming up with ideas at any given time or place, and I often sketch up designs and ideas I have so that I can revisit them when I am in my studio. However, after years of working with gourds, I have discovered that you really need to start with the gourd itself. It doesn’t matter what your idea is, if the gourds doesn’t want to be what you want it to be, then the piece is not successful. I record my ideas and then go to the barn to search for a gourd that will fit the bill. Many times, however, I end up coming back with a gourd that has nothing to do with my original intent, but ends up being a piece that is even better than I planned on creating. You have to work with the gourd, instead of trying to force it to be what you want it to be.
My hope is to continue to grow my business as my children grow. I imagine I will still be doing
shows from time to time in 5 years, as I rely on the input I get first hand from shoppers. However,
the reality of doing multiple shows ever year is difficult with an active family life. Soccer games,
dance recitals and such can’t be rescheduled so I have begun to shift my focus more on offering my
pieces in galleries and shops. At the moment you can find my artwork in three Ohio galleries/shops.
I hope to increase this number in the next five years, and even expand beyond Ohio.
Being green and environmentally conscious is always important to me, in both my artwork and in my life. I even grow my own gourds and personally search out natural bases such as driftwood and
stones in nature. However, I have to say that art as a personal expression, as a personal need, is even
more important to me. There is an excerpt from Agatha Christie’s autobiography that has always stuck with me:
Creator, who made the world and all that was in it, and saw that it was good. But He left more to be
made. He left the things to be fashioned by men's hands. He left them to fashion them, to follow in
his footsteps because they were made in in his image, to see what they made, and see that it was
good.”
Meet Jodi Malloy from MJM Creations...
I am a mother of two, who loves
family, friends, fall weather, and of course the Buckeyes! My mom was always
very crafty, and we would do little craft projects growing up, and that rubbed
off on me. I love making things and being able to add my own little twist to
them. I am a perfectionist in everything I do, and love meeting and talking to
new people.
I actually just started making
headbands, sandals, and tutu’s this year. I had a little girl a year ago and I
started making her headbands, and tutu’s for our impromptu photo shoots. It was something I enjoyed
doing and then I hurt my hip in May and had to have surgery so I was off my feet
for a while. I figured this would be something to keep me busy, turns out I
love doing it, and people seem to love them too!
As I mentioned above this is all
new to me so I am happy to say this will be my first show!
Hands down my kids are my
inspiration for all my creations.
I have been into crafting since I was
little. My mom and I would do a lot of baking and craft projects together, and
I even took craft projects to the fair through 4-H. As a little kid I can
always remember my mom letting me help her make a wreath for the front door, or
making apple and rhubarb pies. Her crafts would always turn out so pretty and
ask my brothers, the pies were to die for! I always thought that someday I hope
I am as good as she is at making things like that! Well turns out her baking
did not rub off on me, but her creativity did!
I don’t know if I would say I
discovered any kind of talent, I would just say I discovered that I enjoy
making things and seeing a nice finished project that I can say I did and be
proud of.
It is hard to say where I see my business in five years because this is my first
year doing craft shows and festivals. So far I enjoy it, so I am hoping 5
years from now I will be a regular at some of these shows and my daughter will
be able to start helping with some of my crafting just like I used to help my mom.
Meet Theresa Cho from Theresa Cho Designs...
I was an engagement ring designer/jeweler for the largest jewelry store in the tri-state
area (Pennsylvania/New Jersey/Delaware) for 4 years before I decided to start
my own line of costume jewelry and accessories. I Started my own line a little
over 2 years ago.
Honestly, I love all things
sparkly. Maybe it's a Philly thing, but I love everything cute, sparkly
and unique. I'm an extremely visual person. I get these ideas of things I want
and I make them. When I was little my first book I decided to read was a
children's encyclopedia on gems and minerals. English is my second
language, so I was able to bring my own book to my ESL class and my teacher was
surprised I chose an encyclopedia, but it was the photos that fascinated me and
I wanted to learn more about the photos.
I wouldn't
consider the jewelry design a craft hobby because I did it as a full
time career. I do make hair accessories for little girls and that
definitely fits in as a hobby of mine. I'm at that age where all of my
friends are having babies and I have the baby fever thing going. I started
by making them as gifts, and people loved them so much I made them to
sell at my store.
I have been making things
since I was little. I had a great big imagination and I would take scraps
of paper and fabric and make my dolls clothes. I am pretty good at making all
sorts of things. Except making food.
I often
see things and think to myself that would look better if.... I am
also a stickler for quality. Nothing drives me crazier than
overpaying for poor craftsmanship and quality and often I find myself designing
and making things because what is available on the market isn't as nice as it
should be. It's a lot like a problem solving process to me. Sometimes I
finish things and take a step back and think it's not quite right, and I'll add
something else to complete it and sometimes it takes me a long time before I
come up with what was missing.
The message behind my work is quality and affordability. I
try really hard to make sure everything has been thoroughly inspected and is as
nice as it can be. I have gone all over the world to find the best
materials. I don't believe in charging people more than I would
pay. If I have to charge someone more than what I think it's worth, I
won't make it. I want everyone to have the opportunity to wear something
nice. I think most designers love hearing "that's so pretty" or
"that's so cute". My intent with all of my designs is
to make sure the wearer is complimented on it every time they wear it.
Meet Tracie Bayer from Blessed Beginnings...
My name is Tracie Bayer. I have a wonderfully
supportive family. I was a pediatric nurse for 7 years until I was
diagnosed with 2 major illnesses that caused me to have to stop practicing
nursing. About 5 years ago, my grandmother
taught me how to sew and I found out that I loved it, just as she always
had!
I sewed with my grandmother until she passed away a couple of months ago,
when I inherited her sewing machine, and I have since continued her hobby,
as well as taken on quilting. This will be my first Avant-Garde Art
& Craft Show. I am most inspired by my 7 year old son. He has
an amazing eye for color and fabric combinations, and he loves picking out decorative
stitches on my machine for my projects.
I especially enjoy creating children's
items and fun blankets for kids. In fact, I spend most of my time quilting
for a non-profit organization in Delaware. We donate baby quilts to Grady
Memorial Hospital for the newborns born there. I love looking through fabric remnants and
finding pieces that match that I can quilt together in fun designs. In the
future, I would like to spend more time learning and practicing new sewing and
quilting techniques.
