A collective of 12 island artist Inspired to create, got together with the idea to celebrate the holiday season - handmade.
The group comprised of a few of the islands many artists, who decided to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, by creating, exchange and sharing our art with each other.
For the 12 days of Christmas each of the artists will have an amazing surprise from a fellow islander to open up!
Each participant created 13 pieces they were not meant to be big, just something that they have created that puts a smile on their face for having created it & something they want to share, so it could be a pendant, gift cards, a print, or the choice of each artist.
The reason we are creating 13 pieces is that one set we would all like to donate to PHC as a silent auction fundraiser, the gifts will be wrapped, so they won't be able to see what they are bidding on other than the story about what we are doing & who's participating...
There is an amazing gift basket of the 12days of Christmas up for silent auction at the Commons, Christmas Craft fair Dec. 3, 2011 with all proceeds will go to People for a Healthy Community. The gift basket would make a wonderful Christmas gift, or perhaps the 12 gifts means all your shopping is done for the holidays, all while supporting a good cause.
I'll be blogging the gift exchange through each of the 12 days featuring an island artist each day. As well I'll be posting the process, number tags, name tags, etc should you choose to set up your own gift exchange, so check back...
12 Days of Christmas
"Home Sweet Home"
I was at the newstand yesterday, when I remember that the newest issue of Cloth * Paper * Scissors was out, I was curious as a year ago they had a contest for designing minature mixed media homes which Randi had entered. I immediately opened up the magazine to find the home sweet home feature section, and noticed that after hundreds of entries they narrowed it down to 95 homes that they featured in a 7 page spread - and sure enough mom's house made the cut (page 79 bottom row 2nd one in).
(No surprise to anyone who knows mom, that even in her crafts her love of real estate is evident - as per the home sweet home.)
Congratulations!
A Great Christmas Idea...
Christy Wilson, a very talented Gabriola artist has an amazing 2012 calendar and Wednesday 23, November will be your last chance to get your hands on one of these amazing creations... I couldn't pass up spreading the word....
Christy is one of the participants in the 12 days of Christmas Exchange on Gabriola, so you'll get to see more of her work, shorty!
Birds Nest Necklaces...
I created a few birds nest necklaces for our annual Studio Tour on Gabriola, held over the Thanksgiving weekend. They sold out quickly, and I had several requests for more. So, in preperation for the Gabriola School Christmas Craft fair on December 3rd, I've made some more with a selection of pearl options. I'm so excited about these little creations that are perfect for gift giving, so I've posted them onto my etsy shop .
These delicate and yet still rusitc birds nest necklace is made from wrapped silver plated wire, nestled inside are three irradescent dark grey pearl eggs. The nest is attached to a 21” silver plated chain.
The symbolism of the bird's nest is ideal for gift giving.
It's perfect to celebrate a pregnancy.
Perfect for a mother, a grandmother, a sister, a bride, bridesmaid... or just because
Each nest is unique since it is handmade.
Enjoy!
The Girls...
As promised, here are some of the 6 x 6 originals that were started at the same time as the grow series, their are 3 girls in this colllection, each with her own message...
I had so much fun with the process, and will take photos in the future, of the works in progress. They started with a blank canvas, to which I started layering old vintage papers; train schedules, books, tissue papers and whatever I could find.
From there I started layering the layers of paint, sprays, distressing inks, etc. At this point I randomly used the stamp collection to start bringing the elements of the page together. Then it was into the scrap paper box, I'm so glad I have been collected scrap book papers for a long time, so I have a good selection to choose from, and created the girls dresses & embelishments. I love using old skills, as a past toll painter, I then get to re-use some of what I learned for shading and adding the details and embelishments... It's amazing how each one takes a shape of their own developing a personality and story & voila...
The Flowers - Mixed Media Art
I've never really been a painter, but because I like to dabble in different mediums from time to time, I've been having a lot of fun with these little 6 x 6 original mixed media creations.
I've been having so much fun with everything from vintage papers, stamps, sprays, rubons & anything I think that I can embelish these little creations with. The flowers were the first of the 6x6's, but there are more in the works that I'll be posting shortly...
Gabriola Ceramics - Fun in the Feedlot Studio
On Gabriola we are lucky to have a ceramics studio that's hosts open studio hours two evenings a week at Feedlot Studios , with the very talented Mariko McCrae. The amazing creative studio space and atmosphere is an inspiring place to work.
With Christmas around the corner, and our annual Gabriola Elementary School PAC fundraiser, December 3 - I've been working on some new creations for the craft fair. I started making buttons for my knit wear, and after creating many more than I could possibly use, I put a few up for sale, during the annual studio tour. On suggestion of a friend, I've now created pins so they can be taken off and on. These little creations are a perfect add on for a cowl, scarf, jacket or what have you. I'll be posting a few for sale on Etsy . Enjoy!