Artist of The Week - Cheryl Arkison

Cheryl Arkison's quilts seem to tell a wonderful woven story.  Her blog, Naptime Quilter, will keep you reading and longing for one of her beautiful handcrafted quilts. The first quilt that caught my eye is this colorful and unique bookshelf quilt that she made for an old book club friend to welcome her new baby girl.

Nadine's Bookshelf

As an avid reader and an artist, I find this quilt the best of both worlds!

Cheryl is from Calgary, Alberta Canada where she lives with her husband and her two little girls.  She left her desk job in the environmental field to be a stay-at-home mom with a part-time creative career.  I asked Cheryl to tell me a little about her process and what inspires her wonderful quilts, and this is what she said;

"Most projects start with an inspiration.  That could be anything from a word, a pile of crayons in my hand, nature, a specific fabric, the carpet in a hotel ballroom... Anything, really.  And you never know what it will be. I've got notebooks filled with doodles and sketches.  About 5% actually make it to quilt stage. And it may take years for it to happen. If I've had a concept in my head for a while and it keeps pushing forward at the expense of all others I often give in and go for it.

After inspiration always comes the fabric pull. Arguably, this is one of the most enjoyable parts of quilting. There are no mistakes here and new possibilities can emerge."

Cheryl works with quilting cotton fabric only and as you can see by looking at this next quilt, she really makes the fabric work for her.  This quilt was designed and crafted for her neighbors as a Gratitude gift.  To read more about the story behind this beautiful quilt, stop by her blog and read the Fall Quilt Festival post.

In closing, Cheryl says it best with a tag that she puts on all of her quilts that says "Wash Gently, Love Generously".  I hope you enjoyed meeting Cheryl and discovering a little bit more about the world of quilting.  Thanks for reading.
Stacie

Creative Thursday

Last week, I joined an online community called the Creative Coconuts.  I found the group through the blog Creative Thursday.  Marisa, the creator of Creative Thursday, is an artist and a teacher. Her blog is full of beautiful art and great online classes and workshops.

I am really excited about joining the Creative Coconuts. I don't know about you, but to me the online world feels overwhelming at times.  There are millions of different forums and groups available, but to me it always felt like I was a bit late in joining the group or the group was so large that I couldn't even read the comments let alone participate!  This group is a great size and filled with creative souls.  I already feel like I have made some good friends and have learned valuable information.  I would highly recommend looking into the classes and workshops that are offered through Creative Thursday.

Today is making Clay day!  I am all set up in my studio and ready to go.  Hope you have a wonderfully productive day.  See you Wednesday for the next installment of Artist of the Week!

Stacie

And the Winner is...

Yesterday was my son's 14th birthday; can't believe it!  So, he had the honor of picking the winner of the $50.00 Stacie Jewelry gift certificate.  And the winner is...Michele!  She is excited and shopping in my Etsy store looking for ways to spend her gift certificate.  Thanks to all who entered the contest.

I have been busy making jewelry this week and really enjoying it.  Here are a few pieces that I made.  The first is a special order for a customer, the rest will eventually show up on my Etsy shop.

There are many more pieces that are work in progress.  I have a few watches that I am excited about, one with the bird theme and the other with the black and white zentangle theme.  Can't wait to get them put together. 

Well, off to the studio. See you next week and have a wonderful weekend.
Stacie

Artist of the Week - Cathy Nichols

I discovered Cathy's incredible artwork when I enrolled in an online creativity class through Creative Thursday.  I was so excited to join the group and get to know all the other artists and their work.  I immediately fell in love with Cathy's beautiful art.

Found

Spun

Her work seems reach out and touch your heart and soul.  While researching Cathy's work, I found this description of her work and decided I had to "borrow it".  I couldn't say it better!

"Cathy Nichols is a former Los Angeles artist and illustrator who now lives in New York.  She weaves together melted wax, cut paper, oil paint and gold leaf into visual stories of love, longing and transcendence. Cathy’s subject is often our emotional landscapes and the way that our feelings color the world.  She has a master’s degree in literature and has shown her work in galleries on the east and west coasts."

To find out more about Cathy Nichols and her work visit her blog, Cathy Nichols on blogspot and her Etsy shop, Paintings by Cathy Nichols.

This month, Cathy's original paintings are currently for sale at Nahcotta"s Enormous Tiny Art Show 8 in Portsmouth, NH.  If you are unable to get to Nahcotta, you can go online to view her beautiful paintings at the Enormous Tiny Art Website.

I hope you enjoy visiting Cathy's art as much as I do! Thanks so much for stopping by. 

The Place Where My Heart is Quiet

Don't forget, today is the last day to be qualified to enter the Follow Stacie Jewelry contest to win a $50 Stacie Jewelry gift certificate!

Personalized Name Necklaces

I am introducing a new product line to Stacie Jewelry today; Personalized Name Necklaces.  Each necklace will be custom made using precious metal clay and include a diamond cut sterling silver chain.

A few years ago, one of my favorite customers requested that I make personalized name necklaces for all the employees at her husbands doctor offices.  I really enjoyed creating the necklaces knowing that I was making a special piece of jewelry that was unique to each person.  Over the years, I have had other requests for personalized necklaces.  To be honest, I was always a bit afraid to offer a custom product like this.  With two kids and a husband with a demanding job, my schedule can get really crazy.  This year my son's starting High School and my daughter is in third grade, so they are getting to the age where they understand more when Mom has a special order to work on. So here we go!

If you think you'd like to order a necklace or find out more about them follow this link to my etsy shop,
Personalized Name Necklaces.

Thanks for visiting! Stay tuned for the Artist of the Week post on Wednesday, you won't be disappointed!
Stacie

Clay Crazy!

So, I think I went a little clay crazy.  This past Tuesday was the first day since the kids went back to school that I had the chance to sit down in my studio and create.  Well, I sort of kept on going and going!  Take a look...

See what I mean?

I think I will have enough to keep me busy for a while!  I did finish a few pieces like this Live Laugh Love necklace.  I also worked on a few orders I had for a customer and a special necklace that I am creating for my son's Tae Kwon Do Academy.  The unveiling of that necklace is planned for October, 2nd at the next Black Belt exam.  I can't wait to see what everyone thinks.  I will post a photo of the necklace and a link to the Academy's website after the unveiling in October.  I am really happy about how it turned out.

I also had an exciting moment on Etsy this week, I sold my 50th piece of jewelry!  Very exciting.  The lucky customer who purchased the 50th piece received this charm as a surprise!

Wonder what I should give away for the 75th sale?  Any ideas? I did promise myself that I would reward myself with Photo Shop when I hit the 50th sale.  There seems to be a million different versions of this photo editing software.  Does anyone have any advice on which version is the best to use?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!  Stay tuned for a new personalized Stacie jewelry product to be introduced on Monday!

Thanks for stopping by!
Stacie

Artist of The Week - Renee Zemanski

Renee Zemanski has a special creative talent of turning ordinary objects into unique works of Art for your home.  Renee loves the thrill of the hunt for old things that can be brought back to life in a new piece of her artwork.

Renee is not only a talented artist and writer, she is my sister!  We enjoy creating together and learning from each other.  A few weeks ago, she was in my studio and worked on this unique and rustic Believe Sign.  If you like the sign and would like to see more of her work visit her Etsy shop and you will find a collection of One of a Kind Art at Where The Grass is Greener.

Renee also enjoys creating Collage Art, like this beautiful Dream Mixed Media Mini Collage.

I love her use of color and different types of media.  Her work seems to bring to life not only found objects, but paper and words. Renee's excitement for her art comes across beautifully in her designs and sense of style.  If you'd like to find out more about her artwork and design process, take a look at her blog at
Where The Grass is Greener.

I love it when Renee calls from her cell phone on Saturday and Sunday mornings when she is out at the flea markets and tag sales...it's always exciting to hear what fun things she found on her hunt. Next it's fun to read her blog about what she has created out of her finds.  I'm sure you will enjoy her blog and Etsy shop as much as I do!  Have fun!

Thanks for reading!
Stacie