Artist of The Week - Dyan Whyte

Dyan Whyte is the artist behind the artwork of Where Ava Dreams.  Her artwork is both imaginative and inspirational.  The first thing that appealed to me about Dyan's work is the tenderness in which she expresses her subjects.  I love the soft images and caring faces that come to life in her paintings.

Dyan is a writer of stories for children and a painter.  Her artwork is inspired by her childhood imaginings.  While researching her work, I found this beautiful quote written by Dyan:

 

Dyan is originally from Jamaica.  She moved to Canada a little over a year and a half ago.  Dyan has been writing, painting and creating since she was a little girl.  After studying communications in graduate school, she decided to take herself seriously as an artist and pursue a creative path.

When asked what her favorite part of her work is, she replied, "I feel as if I am a very, very lucky person because I followed my heart and made a radical life change and my family supported me. The parts of my work that I love the most are the tactile physical act of painting - mixing paint, putting it unto paper and watching the effects which can be quite spontaneous with watercolour! The other part that I love is being inspired, that picture or dream that flashes into my mind unexpectedly and the process of trusting an unseen force that guides each step of the piece as it comes to life. I'm feeling that especially right now as I work on my new collection debuting this Winter..."

Here is my favorite painting by Dyan entitled "I Will Call You Friend".

I Will Call You Friend

If you'd like to read more about Dyan, visit her blog at Where Ava Dreams.  Her blog is full of inspirational posts and beautiful photos of her work.  If you are interested in seeing the artwork that Dyan has available to purchase visit one of her websites. Her Etsy site is Little Doll Whimsies and her other website is The Where Ava Dreams Store.  I'm sure you will fall in love with Dyan's work, just like I did!  Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Stacie

Grand Opening of the Waygoose Redux!

I'm so excited, this week the new Waygoose Redux opens.  The new Waygoose Redux is located at The Shoppes of Bethesda on 4926 Hampden Lane.  The grand opening is this Friday, October 1st.  Doors open from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

I was so excited about packing my jewelry up and sending it off on Saturday, that I forgot to take photos!  Sorry, you'll have to stop by the new Waygoose Redux to see the new goodies!

I do want to share some photos of other merchandise that you can find at the new Waygoose Redux.  Check out these cool reversible jackets:

Reversible jacket by Winding River of Massachusetts

Pottery from Maishe Dickman of New Haven CT.  A one-man operation, wheel thrown.  Wonderful rich colors.

To find out more visit the Waygoose Redux facebook page.

Off to the studio to work on new silver clay pieces for the Waygoose in Rockville & my Etsy site.  Enjoy the day.  Thanks for stopping by.  Stacie

Celebrating With Friends

I have to admit for 2 days this week I played!  Two of my very good friends, Allison and Kathy, share a birthday on September 22nd.  So on Tuesday four of us had a girls day.  We started our day at a yummy restaurant called Isabella's Taverna & Tapas Bar in Frederick, Maryland. They have a wonderful selection of Spanish Tapas that we all enjoyed. 

My friend Kathy is celebrating a special birthday this year, she just turned 50! So my friends and I decided to buy and make her 50 different gifts, wrap them up, put them in a basket and surprise her with them.  She was very happy and surprised.  I did a similar gift idea when my sister turned 50.  It's really fun because one of the rules is you can only open one gift per day, so it's 50 days of fun.  Here are a few photo's of my wrapping creations.  Kathy is an avid seamstress, so I decided to decorate her gifts with buttons.

After lunch we were off to the Mall for shopping. We really had a great day, I'm so lucky to have such good friends.  

On Wednesday it was my friend Allison's actual birthday, so we celebrated with breakfast at another yummy restaurant in Frederick called Cafe Nola.  They have amazing breakfast sandwiches and great coffee.  After breakfast we relaxed with a wonderful pedicure from Thomas Scott Salon and Spa.

So, the past few days I've been working like a nut trying to make up for my play days.  I was in my studio all day yesterday and today creating and pricing jewelry for the Waygoose.  I'll take photo's tomorrow of some of the pieces and post them on Monday. I'll also give you more information about the new Waygoose opening in Bethesda in Monday's post.

Here is a photo a Yin and Yang necklace that I made.  I love how it turned out.

Yin and Yang Necklace

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  Thanks for stopping by.  Stacie

Artist of the Week - Beki Lambert

Beki Lambert creates gorgeous handmade handbags and tote bags that come to life with color.  She has a great style and an attention to detail that results in an original work of art.  She works with both vintage and new materials. Beki said she finds her vintage materials at her local thrift stores, on Etsy or from friends and family.

Dottie Vintage Bitty Bag No. 1

This bag is made from a combination of vintage and new materials.  The exterior of the bag is made from a vintage bed linen with a new cotton dotted print lining.  She made the dotted flower brooch detachable so you can use it on the bag or on something else.  Anyone who knows me, knows why I choose this bag to be the first photo to show off Beki's work...I love daisys!

When I asked Beki where here inspiration comes from she said, "My inspiration comes from everywhere.  Once you open your eyes to all the little details around you, it's amazing what you see.  When making bags, sometimes the fabric itself inspires me, other times I come up with things purely out of function."

Dotted Pleated Tote

This pleated tote bag incorporates a colorful dotted fabric on the outside with a golden green textured print on the inside.

Inside peek of the Dotted Pleated Tote

Keri lives in Louisiana with her husband and three children. She has been sewing off and on since childhood, but really started sewing 9 years ago when she became a Mom.  You may have seen her work in books or magazines.  Her work has been published in quite a few publications; for a full list visit her blog artsy-crafty babe.

Not only does Keri create amazing bags, she creates and sells her original sewing patterns as well.  That kind of fascinates me, I can't imagine creating a pattern that really works!  I have used a brown paper bag to create a purse once, but that's about it.  Her patterns and her beautiful bags are for sale at her Etsy shop, artsy-crafty babe. It's great too, because her patterns are available PDF, so you can get instant instructions!

Erica bag pattern

To find our more about Beki and enjoy more of her bags, visit her blog arty-crafty babe. Thanks so much for joining me for the Artist of the Week post!  See you Friday!  Stacie

A Day at the Fair

It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so we headed out to the Frederick County Fair.  The Fair seems to have a personality all it's own. People watching alone can fill a whole afternoon. 

One of the funniest signs was the one outside the pony rides, check it out.

I had to take a picture of it!  I also admit, I"m guilty, I quickly snapped a photo of my daughter on the pony ride!  Hope the fair police don't come after me!  After paying $4.00 for a 30 second ride on a pony, I sort of felt like it was only fair that I capture the moment.

Madison Pony Ride

Madison & Mom

Madison & Madison!

Cool teenager...my son Ryan!

Overall it was a successful day at the fair. We spent a million dollars, kids rode a million rides, and then it was home for showers and dinner.

 This week I am working on jewelry for the new Waygoose Redux. I 've sold my jewelry at the Waygoose for over 10 years and have watched the store grow and move several times now.  I love the selection of American made handcrafted items that are part of the Waygoose.  The store is moving to their new location next week.  I'll talk more about the grand opening and give you all the details in next weeks blog.

I'll be back on Wednesday to write about the Artist of the Week.  You don't want to miss this weeks artist, so make sure to check back on Wednesday!  Thanks for reading.  Stacie

Busy Jewelry Week & New Work Table

I have been busy making new jewelry this week.  I am taking a small group of jewelry to The Muse today.  Here are a few photo's of some of the pieces that I will be dropping off at the shop.

I have a lot of jewelry that I am going to work on this weekend. Here is a peek at a few pieces that were fired in the kiln and tumbled, now I get to see what I will create out of them.

Work in progress!

I forgot to show you the new table that I found a few weeks ago at a Flea Market.  It's a Farm Table from the 1890's.  I love it!  It makes a great work surface, sturdy with a lot of character.  I keep thinking while I am working, who ate on this table???  Makes it kind of fun.

I am looking forward to getting in some jewelry time this weekend.  I am also excited for my Saturday night plans.  My daughter is having a sleepover and my husband is going to be at his brother's 50th birthday golf weekend celebration, so I decided I'm going to pour a glass of wine and sit down to the computer to read all of the other artist's blogs that I've been so wanting to get to.  Then it's off to the County Fair with the kids on Sunday.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  Stacie

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