Chemers Gallery Artisan Faire

If you are an artist living in the southern California area, 

make sure to check out Chemers Gallery in Tustin on 17th St.

They are known for their beautiful children's illustrations,

along with the books the illustrations came out of. 

Usually once a year they have an artist's signing, 

but this year they decided to showcase all their new artists in jewelry, clay, fibers and paint. 

And a special treat were the food artists booth this year,

giving out free yummy samples.

Good friend and mentor,

Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Arts was there with her hand dyed, 

hand spun,

hand knit and felted works.

It's always such a pleasure to see what she's been creating.

But the artist I was really interested in meeting was fine artist illustrator, jeweler and clay artist Lisa Mertins.

Jimmy Finds His Voice and Gingko and Moon are two of the children's books she has illustrated, 

but it's her work in clay (porcelain) that stops me in my tracks .

Delicate as a feather with soft surface designs and barely any there glazing,

her clay pieces are exquisite. 

I own several of her works that I teach with so my students can see amazing quality 

and whimsical spontaneous designs. 

It was a pleasure to meet you Lisa.

I hope our paths cross again.

There was another clay artist whose work was fascinating as well, 

Maria Counts.

I especially liked her totem poles.

I'm hoping one of these years before I retire

that I will get lucky enough to have a student sign up for a third year in clay.

Totem's would be a perfect challenge for that level.

Extra Credit Opportunity

ARTISTIC LICENSE FAIR

ESTANCIA PARK

1900 Adams Ave.

Costa Mesa, Ca.

October 24 & 25

from 10-4

For 10 points of EXTRA CREDIT this Saturday go and check out one of my favorite art fairs of the year in Costa Mesa.  

Click on this link for all the info and map artisticlicensefair.com

And make sure to stop by and meet my good friend Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Arts.

She inspires me with her gorgeous colorways on her hand dyed fibers,

 and her impeccable spinning, 

knitting and stitching skills are a must see.

And then seek out Michelle Hoffee of Living and Dyeing fame.

Her skills with Eco-Dyeing are to die for!!

Last year she was able to coax turquoise from plants, 

but she's not telling how she does it  :)

To get your 10 points of extra credit,

 get your pix taken with your favorite artist there in their booth, 

and show me on Monday.

Enjoy!!!

Liebster Award from Jen Clair at Bayou Quilts

    

LIEBSTER AWARD

A big Thank You to Jen Clair from Bayou Quilts (http://www.bayouquilts.blogspot.com/) who has nominated me for the Liebster Award.  I'm so excited you found my blog and liked it enough to give me this award.

Christie Carter, fiber artist and photographer from Lopez Island, Washington, talks about the"Liebster Award" that she received and about her grandmother who taught her to sew.  Above are her grandmother's needles that I found on her blog ( http://www.sweetpeapath.blogspot.com/.)

This is how the Liebster Award works: (copied from her blog)

The 'Liebster Blog Award' is of German origin, too...liebster  translates to 'dearest' or 'beloved, but it can also mean 'favorite.'  My grandmother used to call me by that name in my not-so-frequent moments of good behavior (I was a bit of a sassy handful).  A timely coincidence, yes, in my time of a full heart!  Thank you, Penny, I am honored.

So here's what it is: in the spirit of fostering new connections, the idea of the Liebster Award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers.  Just a few rules for the recipient which come with acceptance of the award:

Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

***

Copy & paste the award onto your blog.

***

Reveal your own five picks for the award & let them know by leaving them a comment on their blog.

***

Have faith that the love will spread...

  There is no obligation should any of you not wish to participate...simply know that you are very much appreciated out there in the blogging world ~

 According to the rules, I now pick 5 blogs under 200 followers to give the Liebster award to.   No problem, since there are so many outstanding art blogs out there to choose from  :)

                                          My 5 top pickes are:

*Lori Lawson at http://www.paintspinknit.blogspot.com/ in San Juan Capistrano, Ca., owner of Capistrano Fiber Arts and my good friend and mentor.  She is a self-taught fiber artist who quit her law practice to do fibers full time.  She is a spinner, knitter, weaver and dyer extrodinarie.  Be sure to check out her etsy shop to see her lovely work and fibers for sale.
*Deborah Lacativa at http://www.morewgalo.blogspot.com/ in L'ville, Ga. whose blog I just discovered 2 weeks ago.  She hand dyes all her fibers and then handstitches them into exquisite works of art.  You can also visit her website at http://www.lacative.com/.  I adore her small art quilt works and am saving up for one  :)
*Lucy from Attic 24 at http://www.attic24.typepad.com/ in Yorkshire England.  I love strolling thru her blog, her life is full of color and she brings it into her crochet work, her decorating, her baking and her gardening.  She lives in a 100 year old Victorian home and the views from her attic window are spectacular, showing us all the seasons as they are changing thruout the year.
*Susan Fletcher Conaway at http://www.fiberalmosteveryday.blogspot.com/ a fiber and craft artist as well as a nature photographer.  Her handstitching is incredible and her hand dyed fibers, so lovely.  I just found her blog 2 days ago and I can't wait to read all her posts and admire her art quilts.
*Cindy at http://www.handstories.typepad.com/ in Seattle, Wa.  Her title on her blog is "Adventures with Fiber and Life".  Cindy is a knitter, handstitcher and nature photographer, and I just found her 3 days ago and was delighted with the work on her blog.  Like Susan, I just can't wait to sit down and go thru her whole blog.  She's also very funny and I like her writing style.  But I can't find an e-mail address for her to tell her I'm nominating her for the Liebster Award, so if anyone out there has it could you please pass it on to me.  Thanks!

I hope all you fiber artisits out there enjoy these women and their blogs as much as I do.