Meet Danielle Fredette from CalicoJoy...
Hi, my name is Danielle Fredette of CalicoJoy: Crocheted
Creations. By day I study toward my PhD in Electrical Engineering, and by night
I cook, visit with friends, volunteer with my local church, or curl up with my
husband and a good TV show and crochet.
I have been quick and curious to try
out new crafting methods since I could read a set of instructions, and I’ve
been crocheting on and off ever since two patient grandmas sat down with eager
little me and taught me the basics. I’ve especially enjoyed the relaxing and
rewarding nature of this particular craft in the last few years as I’ve started
making gifts for friends: first snowy day hats and now baby blankets! September
will bring my second participation in an Avant-Garde Art and Craft Show. I am
excited to share my work locally and meet new people who enjoy similar things.
Although I absolutely enjoy the relaxation of the crafting
process, my real drive to create comes from the sense of accomplishment of
finishing a project with success. Beholding the finished product that I was
able to translate from inspiration to imagination to reality is a lot of fun.
The CalicoJoy business really started as a hobby, and I plan
to keep it that way by keeping things small. There is only so much crocheting
one person can do! However, I would love to get a better feel for what people
are looking for in order to better serve my little customer base. I see
CalicoJoy as a huge learning opportunity for me in the basics of the great
American tradition of the small business, as well as an artistic outlet.
I hope that through my work, both others and I will remember
to enjoy life’s little treasures with thankfulness: colors and textures, a walk
in the snow, a ball game, sweet babies, beautiful people, and the journey that
gets us from here to there. I desire CalicoJoy to be a quality local business
that will keep your family comfy, cozy, and in style!
Please contact me with questions/comments and check out my
work on my website!
Email: calicojoy@gmail.com
Website: www.calicojoy.com
Meet Connie Luikart from fassetsbyCJ...
I am so excited to be participating
in my very first craft show on September 26, 2015, the Avant-Garde Art &
Craft Show at St. Agatha’s Parish Hall in Columbus, Ohio. Any of my neighbors,
friends, or family will tell you I am obsessed with preparation since I’ve had
a mock display set up already for nearly a month and I tweak it several times a
day.
I
am a sixty-nine-year-old gramma about to celebrate fifty years of marriage with
my childhood sweetheart. An official baby boomer, I was born and raised in a
small town in West Virginia. My mother was a gifted seamstress and mistress of
all things crafty. She taught me so much more than the obvious required skills
saying, “Connie, if you are going to do it, you are going to do it right.”
It
has always been easy for me to spot “creativity” in someone else. Other people have
often said I have it, but I suspected they were just being kind. These days,
however, I am not so sure. Since my home is beginning to resemble a gift shop
cluttered with work I have produced in the last few months, I might have to
admit that I have become “creative” – or imaginative, innovative, inventive,
inspired, original, or fruitful if I simply can’t accept the word “creative.”
My company name, fassetsbyCJ, is intentionally misspelled –
hinting at my tendencies to make mistakes, misplace (lose) things, and forget
names while reflecting the many facets of my personality.
I
have made hand-crafted things since I was a child, inspired by my mother and
her two sisters. It was an economic necessity for them to sew clothing, but
their work was definitely an art that took them beyond basic seamstress skills into
the beautiful world of quilting and other arts and crafts.
Until now I haven’t felt
confident enough in or enjoyed any one particular craft enough to consider
selling it. Just a few months ago all that changed. Still enjoying the Season’s
excitement a few days after Christmas, I began to play around with some paper,
fabric, scissors, and glue. Before I knew it, one corner of my living room had
become a studio and I was creating non-traditional Christmas trees, angels, and
owls. I tried to avoid owls. Truly, I did, but they now occupy nearly every
nook and cranny of my home. I didn’t
choose them – they chose me.
Each piece of my work is original
and unique and evolves as I choose the elements for the design and allow the
process to flow. I think of my “characters” as coming to life as I get to know
them and love them. Typically they are born within a picture frame,
either new or purchased from a thrift store and lovingly restored if need be,
and usually include paper and/or fabric. Some other materials you might see are
buttons, shells, jewelry, curtain rings, place cards, paint, or leather. While
I comb thrift stores for supplies, I never pass up a good retail sale or turn
down a friend who wants to give me some old jewelry.
I am inspired by the sheer joy
of self-discovery and accomplishment. Each day brings a slightly new
perspective and is met with excitement and praise, especially from my husband
Darrell, my son Jeff, and my daughter-in-law Kerry. Kerry in particular likes a
project I did for my best friend Barbara – a “nana tree” on which each of her
five grandchildren is represented by an owl.
Kerry’s admiration of the
“nana tree” led me to create one for her which I call “Kerry’s Brood.” It is so
named because the owls on her tree represent more than just her four children
(my grandchildren, of course) but also my grand dogs and grand cat and other
children who come to her for comfort and a loving home. I plan to offer custom
trees such as these as my business grows.
Even though my creative
process sometimes changes from day to day, family support motivates me to keep
it going. The process often depends on my most recent shopping trip. A bag of
junk jewelry might hold just one piece that will become the basic element of an
angel, or possibly ten pairs of earrings that will be the eyes or even bodies
of several owls – maybe even an entire collection.
I certainly didn’t see this
coming five years ago, or even one year ago, and am quite unprepared to think
that far ahead now. I have never done anything quite like what I am doing today
– that which fits the definition of the word art (and I quote this for my own benefit): “producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or
emotional power.” I have enjoyed a lifetime of rewarding experiences that
utilized my creative skills but not
my creative gift. Today I acknowledge
that creative gift and will follow
wherever it leads.
If there is a message in my
craft, it is to always look at the other side or the inside and “do it right” –
regardless of whether it is a craft project or an idea or concept, or a person.
Otherwise I might miss what is more beautiful, more desirable, or more
logical. If someone else reads this
message in my work, it will be all the more gratifying.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FassetsByCJ
Meet Susan Chess from Czeska Gems and Jewelry...
When someone looks at my paintings, I want them to say ‘I want to be there, I want to see what is beyond what is readily visible.' In my more surreal paintings, I have the same goal, but with the caveat that they also think ‘Why is that there? What is it for?’.
I purposely do not put people in my paintings, because I want the viewers themselves, to be the living element of the painting along with what they see and assume.
Basically for my jewelry, I want the wearer and the viewer want to look at it again and again. I love to experiment with colors and textures, and a big part of my motivation is the process of creation and seeing the results. For most of my jewelry, I rarely plan what the outcome will be, because I like to see how the shapes and colors unfold.
2015 Columbus Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, September 26, 2015 - 10:00am-4:00pm
St. Agatha's Parish Hall
1860 Northam Rd
Columbus, OH 43221
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
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