a blog by Amy of Radiance Art
I woke up this morning with the Monday blahs. Kinda odd, since our offbeat schedule means that Saturday night is our Monday around here.
However, I had a Convo from Jennifer Garry and her Monday Mood Board in my inbox, bright and happy and just what I needed to chase the blues away!
Or at least give me enough motivation to get a pot of coffee going.
Thanks for featuring my Sunburst glass, Jennifer, as well as giving me a jumpstart to my day!
Artists everywhere are getting into gear for the fall season, the time for cooler temperatures, outdoor festivals, and my personal favorite part, pumpkin-flavored everything.
This week, I’m featuring some of the great autumny items in FAE member BunnyKissd’s Fairie Gardens shop.
She’s also got some other wonderful items, including this adorable little guy:
Check out BunnyKissd in the latest FAE Exhibition and on her blog!
And now for something completely different.
This week’s Feature Friday is Tiffany of Pumpkin Pye Boutique!
I haven’t featured an FEST (Florida Etsy Street Team) member in a while, and thanks to my mom, I’m paying a lot more attention to polymer clay artwork lately. And stumbling upon Tiffany’s stuff just cracks me up!
Seriously. Look at these.
Kooky. Wacky. With a dash of awesome.
It’s mac ‘n’ cheese! Who doesn’t love mac ‘n’ cheese?
(If you just said you don’t, you’re a Communist.)
Check out her Etsy shop for her felts and other crafts too.
This week I’m spotlighting FAE pencil artist (and fellow Delawarean*) Kristin of Aquariann!
Kristin does so much hard work for the FAE, to include keeping an eye on the site, putting together the exhibitions, and being an all around inspiration for the rest of us.
And somewhere in between all that, she manages to find the time to produce some gorgeous art:
Kristin has this great way with her pencils that channels Amy Brown while at the same time having that ‘something else’ that is all her own.
Learn more about Kristin and her art here and follow her on Twitter.
* (I might live in Florida now, but I’ll always be a Slower Lower Sussex County girl deep down!)
My mom used to make soap. I remember one of her first batches: a (seemingly) massive brick of caramel-colored goat’s milk soap which came to be know around the house just as ‘GoatSoap’. It sat out in the porch with a knife stuck in it until we eventually whittled it down (breaking the knife in the process).
It wasn’t perfect. I can’t remember if it was supposed to be scented or unscented. (It was neither, technically.) But that soap was awesome. I was sad when it was gone. I’ve tried my own hand at working the magic that is saponification, with lackluster results that make GoatSoap look like a spa exclusive. But since that first introduction, my favorite treat for myself is a fresh bar of homemade soap. An affordable little reason to get up and get a shower in the morning.
Sara’s SoapRehab soaps have to be some of best I’ve come across so far. I snagged one of the last bars of ‘Nature’s Child’ a few months ago, and was in love.
It had a rich lather, yet didn’t melt away in a week like many handmade soaps are prone to doing. The smell: not overwhelming, elusive but so enjoyable. My skin felt and smelled great for hours afterward, and the shape fit perfectly into my clumsy little hand. The grapefruit sample that came with made a fantastic kitchen sink soap, too!
After trying some other Etsy soaps on my list, I made my way back to Sara’s shop. My recent acquisitions:
(I love the minimal packaging too.)
And samples! Woot!
Once again, the soaps do not disappoint. They smell like what they should, but still have that underlying “something else” that is so addictive. Good stuff.
This week I’m featuring a member of both FEST and FAE—Cat of Darkling Woods!
I’m a big fan of anything fairy tale. I still get really excited when the princesses are out at Disney World. (But not that Jafar guy. He’s kind of a jerk. Trust me.)
What I love about Cat’s watercolors is the airy, ethereal quality they have. Looking over her shop is like seeing a cloud of feathers that, upon closer inspection, each reward you with a gorgeous glimpse into her fantasy realm. She takes her medium and, with her distinctive style, makes it her own.
This the piece that really caught my eye this week:
A bit of background information about me: I hate Snow White. With a passion. I like a good damsel in distress as much as any girl, but something about Snow White brings out the bra –burning feminist in me. Then there is the Disney incarnation of her, which I find just nails-on-chalkboard annoying. I’ll have a bulleted presentation on the subject one of these days.
So for me to be absolutely in LOVE with a Snow White drawing is exceptionally unusual. Cat’s just that good.
Check out her blog. Then follow her on Twitter. You have your instructions :)
This week, I’m featuring Team FEST (Florida Etsy Street team) member Nicole of Three By Sea!
Named for herself, husband, and son, Three By Sea embraces the easy breezy Gulf Coast Florida lifestyle. Her inspiration is everything tropical and seashore.
I think my favorite thing about her work is the absolute simplicity of it all. The color palette is limited, yet so perfectly chosen and executed that just a couple shades of blue can speak volumes. What I love about block print art is how it reflects the artist’s clarity of voice and style, and Three By Sea’s work is no exception.
And the onesies. Oh my goodness the onesies.
You can bet my little one-to-be will be sporting a couple of these.
Check her out on FEST and Twitter, as well as her blog. Quite entertaining, it is.
This week’s featured Etsy artist is Julie (tanrazz) of rock scissors paper!
Julie’s passion for paper art and the written word inspires her to create her prints and zines. These are some truly unique forms of expression that serve to remind us all that no matter how far technology takes us, it can never replace the magic of paper and ink in our hands.
You can also find Julie writing about another of her loves, cooking, over at One Wall Kitchen. (The food photography is to die for!)
Welcome to my First (and hopefully not last, poke me if I forget next week) Feature Friday!
Here’s my plan: I want to dedicate Friday posts to spotlighting some of the other fabulous artists and craftpersons I’ve met since being sucked into the Abyss of Awesomeness that is the Etsy/Artfire/Twitter Universe.
This week—Katlin of Foxie Moxie Jewels!
Based out of Asheville, NC, FMJ specializes in whimsical handmade jewelry and accessories for the retail and wholesale markets. Katlin tracks down vintage beads and chains, then transforms them into contemporary wearable art pieces with an old-fashioned flair. Whether your style is understated or sassy, FMJ has something for you!
My personal favorite go-to pair of earrings. Strangers stop me just get a closer look! I love these babies.
FMJ’s newest designs for Spring/Summer 2009 include classic wooden earrings and some darling Lucite bobbi pin sets.
You can find FMJ on Etsy and in several boutiques and spas in North Carolina, as well as at East Coast Coffee in IHB, FL. And, of course, on Twitter @foxiemoxiejewel.
Because my husband’s work schedule throws me all askew, especially when he takes random days off.
Wednesdays are the beginning of my week, and this morning did feel rather Mondayish, so I must be ok.
Anyway.
Taking my cues from some of the other great crafter blogs I read, I’m thinking of scheduling my posting in such a way that I will be more apt to keep up. The weekly features sound like a neat idea, so I’ll be experimenting and seeing what feels right.
I thought of doing the “Wordless Wednesday” thing.
You can see how well that’s worked so far.
So I’ll try on the “Worktable Wednesday” instead.
(That crack on my light table? That’s what happens when you’re a dummy and play with a heat gun on a glass top. And now you know.)
Clocks in progress. More quartz movements came in the mail today, so these items are not far from their Etsy debut. Look for them soon!
