Artisan Lampwork Octopus

Came across this very talented etsian's shop yesterday with the coolest sea creatures ever and just had to share!

Roger Child of RC Art Glass. Check out his talented lampwork, you'll be amazed - trust me.

Dreaming of the beach... only 2 days to go!
Rocki

ASL Hand Scupltures

MoonlightAura - a very talented artist who creates ASL (American Sign Language) hand sculptures, business card holders, greeting cards and more. A must see shop.

Enjoy,
Rocki

"Music to your ears, body and heart" Treasury is Featured!

Received some awesome news this weekend and want to share! My "Music to your ears, body and heart" treasury is one of five featured on the On Fire For Handmade website!

Easy as pie...mmm... pie!

Click on the awesome dude above above (by one of the featured artists in my treasury: Zed's Zombie Ranch) to see the five treasuries, click to view them, vote for your favorite and pass it on.

Enjoy and thanks!
Rocki

p.s. this one runs for 1 full week and ends 2/26/11

Art By Resolution - Featured Artist

If you have not seen the amazing digital artwork by Debra of Art By Resolution, you are missing out!

I came across Debra's Etsy shop a couple weeks ago when her above art print (Witness the Life) was in a front page Treasury. It took me but a nanosecond to click on it and less than that to fall in love with this heartwarming piece of art.

Supporting The Arts

Debra is a self trained computer graphic artist and "a traditional artist in oil and clay who found CG art by accident in 2006." She enjoys creating surreal and fantasy art - this is obviously reflected in her work - and loves computer graphics as she can "create all that's in my head and then some, far better than on canvas." I must say that her surreal and fantasy art is out of this world!

Not only will you find works of art for yourself, but Debra also creates art prints for kids. The one of many above is Lollie and the Peanut - a very cute print indeed!

Oh and yes, I did purchase the Witness the Life print, but don't worry, there's more! I have to say that when I received the print, I fell deeper in love with it. The depth of feeling that it gives each time I look at it is more than heartwarming.

Don't just take my word for it, head on over to her online galleries to see for yourself! Click on links below to view more of Debra's art:

Etsy shop: Art By Resolutions

Gallery Portfolio

Happy ARTful Monday!

Rocki

The Talented Starless!

Starless : "intricate, colorful, fun polymer clay creations" by the ever so talented Amber.

Amber lives in my stomping grounds... well, sort of anyway. She lives in Flagstaff, Arizona - about a 2 hour drive north from where I live. She has been working with polymer clay since she was 11 years old. Obviously she has quite the talent for it as she has taken polymer clay to a whole new level. I mean, look at the Mini Koi Pond pendant above! The details are amazing and she has several designs of these pendants.

Amber refers to her work and technique as "intricately textured filigree" and all her designs are made by hand. The ornament above is so beautiful and I absolutely love the design. Oh and there is more!

Not only does Amber make beautiful pendants and ornaments, but check out the Ballpoint Pen! Now THAT would make an awesome statement while writing out a check or a letter to a loved one or better yet, as a gift! She even makes polymer clay design jewelry boxes, cigar cutter key rings and more. Oh and this very cool business card holder that I just bought!

If you want to see "intricate, colorful, fun polymer clay creations", hop on over to Amber's Starless shop - you'll love it!

Have a fun & colorful day!

Rocki

Peace & Inspiration - Marie Dodd

Our life journey offers us many opportunities to enhance our personal being along each of our paths. These opportunities present themselves in a variety of ways, such as in physical form, mental, emotional, imagined, created and so on. When we accept these opportunities with our whole heart, a new and exciting path is created.

Mary Jane, the Etsy Shop owner/creator of Mari Dodd "jewelry to feed your creative spirit", is one of my opportunities. Mary Jane, aka MJ, is one of those very kind hearted souls that can touch your life without even being there in person. I've been wanting to feature her shop for some time now and am honored to finally share her with you.

In short, MJ & I met months ago when she first started purchasing from me. Recently I got to know her a little more and discovered what a truly peace loving person she is. I admire her from many aspects and absolutely love her work! You can tell that MJ creates from the heart, the soul, the depth of her very spirit.

Each inspiring creation that she makes, has a fitting title for it and a description to match. The one above is call "seeing clearly" and I simply love the description as much as the piece itself. MJ also inspires me with my own work.

There is so much more I could say about Mary Jane, but I will leave you with this quote from her shop Profile, which you can read more when you visit her shop:

"in my very normal running-around-mom-lifestyle, working with great components brings me peace and inspiration... i love when things come together... you get a great feeling when you wear something that a person actually had their hands and imagination on..."

Besides traveling through her inspiring creative Etsy Shop, make sure to visit her inspiring blog. It will brighten your day - and your life.

Peace & love,

Rocki

Beautiful & Functional Handmade Stoneware

I don't even know where to begin with this feature, mainly because I'm still in awe of his work. In fact, it took me forever just to select the pictures from his shop that I wanted to use as he has so many beautiful pieces to choose from. Like the Garlic Baker above, which seems to be a hot item and just one of several designs. He even includes a recipe in the listing. Yum.

Doug Smith is a full-time potter. He obviously knows his craft business well as his work definitely proves it. I came across Doug's shop over the weekend when I spotted him in a front page Treasury. I love stoneware, especially handmade, so I immediately went to his shop. I was floored, to say the least. The colors, designs, variety - so beautiful.

There are bowls, platters and plates. Cups, mugs and ladles. Honey jars, butter dishes and flower vases. Trust me, there's more. Like the Garlic Keeper below, which I bought and can hardly wait to put my garlic in. Don't worry, it wasn't the last one :)

Doug works from his home studio which is out in the country near Asheville, NC where he lives with his wife, Maria and young son, Clay (hmm, "Clay"... wonder where he got that name from?)

You must read his Profile as it is very interesting and well written. Here is a snippet: "This obsession with clay and glazes snuck up on me about ten years ago while I was busy making other plans with my life." And this is from his Shop Announcement: "I use white clay because, like a painter's canvas, it brings out the very best colors from my glazes. I mix my own glazes because the hue and visual texture of a glaze are so important and because I want to be sure my glazes are lab-certified safe for food."

There is so much more that I could say about Doug Smith's work, such as it is not only beautiful , creative and functional, but it is extremely affordable. I would much rather purchase my stoneware from a fellow artist than a store bought piece.

It's like owning a piece of art.

Rocki

A Buddha-ful day!

Last week I received our Buddha-ful artwork that I purchased from my extremely talented and lovely friend Angie of Artangel. It is one of the most profound purchases we've made and will forever cherish it.

I had my eye on this Buddha painting for some time and don't know why it took so long to purchase it. We have several Buddha paintings, prints and figurines throughout the house, but nothing of this magnitude - meaning the type of artwork, not that any of them are less worthy as they all have special meaning to us.

I told this story to Angie, but I'll share it with you as well. Our Buddha-ful artwork was traveling all the way from the UK to sunny Arizona. I had the front door open as our weather has been Buddha-ful lately. Oh, and no the 'kids' can't run out as we have a security screen door. I was working in the studio when the 'kids' started barking, then I heard footsteps coming up the walkway. I went to the door to see our mailman carrying a large package and I said out loud "OH IT'S BUDDHA!"

Angie commented that she wondered what the mailman thought as I shouted "OH IT'S BUDDHA!" at him! LOL! Maybe he thought that was one of our 'kids' names. In any case, he just smiled.

When I opened the package, held the painting in my hands and looked at this most Buddha-ful artwork, tears came to my eyes and goosebumps throughout my body. He is much more Buddha-ful in person. Angie captured the very essence of Buddha and every time we glance up at our new Buddha-ful Buddha, we feel at peace.

Angie is a very talented artist. Her work has been exhibited at various locations throughout the UK and since selling online, her work has been sold throughout Europe and the U.S. You can visit her Artangel Etsy shop to see her online gallery for yourself.

Thank you Angie! Have a Buddha-ful day everyone!

Rocki

Aunali

It always touches my heart when my path in this life meets with another kind spirit, like Danielle of Aunali. I just love saying the name of her shop: Aunali - it is a beautiful word in and of itself, but wait until you behold the beauty in both of her shops: Aunali (Elegant Artisan Jewerly) & Olivyea (Artwork of Portraits, Landscapes and Prints)

Danielle and I met in a most disturbing way. If you read my last post about the "thief", then you'll understand why I say this as Danielle is one of the other Etsian's that had several items "stolen" by the thief. We've been talking ever since and she's an absolute joy! Moving on, as this post is not about the thief, it is about Danielle & James, her hubby, and their art.

Aunali - you must read their Profile as it is very touching. Here is a brief quote: "The name of our shop 'Aunali' is the name of our style, which we chose to signify the elegance, beauty and sense of adventure expressed in our jewelry." They not only create finished jewelry, but also a variety of very lovely jewelry findings.

Their work is a collaboration of sorts, Danielle is the artist and James is the engineer, as she says and their work is living proof of this: "I improvise and create as I go, whereas he needs to work from a preconceived design--often one of mine or a spin off of mine, but he thinks up his own as well. He is the soldering genius and can build complicated things that require lots of time, patience and skill--I tend to burn such projects to a crisp or do all the steps in the wrong order. But he needs me to create flowing, feminine forms or tell him if a shape is awkward or doesn't match the design. We really do work very closely on a lot of things. I love it!"

Sometimes while they work, the enjoy listening to "The Teaching Company lectures on philosophy or writing or to books on CD".

It's nice to know where fellow Etsian's live, so I asked Danielle about her surroundings and her answer struck me as quite romantic, which is revealed in her work: "we live in a hilly neighborhood in Temecula surrounded by tall trees of various sorts. Mornings start out overcast and the sun breaks through the mist beautifully around 9:00am. Our walls are covered with my oil paintings, all set in James' handmade and carved dark wood frames! We love to surround ourselves with rich natural tones."

By day, Danielle is a sign language interpreter for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at a local high school. Her goal is to "one day - possibly soon, doing my art full time with James" - I sense that to be a reality.

I must admit that it was very difficult to select photos for this feature as there are SO many to choose from. I love everything about their shop from artistic designs, photo style, color scheme and atmosphere. I realized that I didn't select any of their finished beaded jewelry (hooked on metal, perhaps?), but feel free to visit Aunali for yourself - you'll fall in love at first glance. I did!

Have a beautiful and Aunali kind of day,

Rocki

Behold Becky's Beautiful Beads

I'm a firm believer that things happen for a reason - whether it be good, bad or indifferent. In this case, meeting Becky Mason on Etsy was a VERY good thing. More on this later.

Above is one of the most gorgeous lampwork beads I have ever seen. It is called "SEA TURTLE SANCTUARY" and this is what brought me to Becky. I found it in a Treasury that my good friend Sharon had made. I was immediately drawn to it - like the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I found myself drawn to her shop and immediately hearted it. Even Mark was in awe of her amazing talent. After reading her Profile, I sent her a message of how much I admire her work. Becky replied... more on this later.

Oh, the Sea Turtle Sanctuary bead has since sold, but you must check it out to see the rest of the details of this beautiful piece of art.

Above is Becky's "PREHISTORIC OCEANIC HISTORY - 3 - a handmade lampwork focal bead with fish bones and barnacles" and I am in LOVE with it!

Becky Mason is Lampwork Artist & Jewelry Designer and comes from a very talented family. She was selling on Ebay for about 5 years until Diane, her talented Lampwork Artist sister who already had an Etsy shop, suggested that Becky set up her own Etsy shop as well. I suggest you read Becky's Profile to find out more about this very talented artist. It is very impressive and will make you that much more of a fan.

This lovely piece is titled "WILD MUSE" and a must see! I just can't explain enough how truly amazed I am by Becky's talented hands. She simply amazes me. Truly she does. In fact, it would be a lot easier for you to just run on over to her shop, or her website to see for yourself. Also check out her sold items - WOW!

Oh. About the "more later part". I'll make this short because this blog feature isn't about me, but I wanted to tell you how my new addition came about. Becky wanted longer & heavier gauge headpins and strongly suggested I make them for my shop as well. So I did.

Like they say: "if you build it, they will come." Bada Boom, Bada Bang! Thank you Becky, you ROCK!

Happy Creating Monday!

Rocki

All Fired Up

I came across a very cool and unique Etsy shop the other day when I was looking for glass items to put in a Treasury I was working on. I knew I had to blog about it, so I contacted Lisa Rippee, the owner/creator of Cloud Eleven. I’m glad I did as I believe I’ve made a new friend.

I’m a firm believer that challenges and events change the course of your direction in life (I speak from experience). A stressful job as a juvenile intake and assessment specialist took up most of Lisa’s time. I can only imagine her stress! Long hours and overnight shifts isolated her from friends and family. Then one day in March of 2005 Lisa picked up a torch. Hot glass became her therapy, obsession, meditation, passion, and the perfect vehicle for her creative expression. Who needs a therapist when you have a torch!

Lisa has a studio in her home, in Kansas City metropolitan area (on the Kansas side). Her home is small & colorful, and some describe it as eccentric (I would love to see it!). She enjoys listening to music while creating, but in the beginning she only listened to instrumental Jazz “while learning the rhythm of the glass dance” (how poetic!). The Beatles, Zepplin and Mary J. Blige are in her CD player right now. Right on!

When asked what inspires her, this is what Lisa had to say: “Anything that elicits a strong emotional response would probably be the short answer. Everyday moments that make me smile or laugh usually find their way into my creations. The social issues that I’m passionate about show themselves as well. My muse is very in tune with my moods."

Lisa’s creations are fun, amazing and full of life. There is a big variety as well: Wine Stoppers, Vessels, Magnets, Focal Beads, Sculptural Glass Vessels and more. I especially love the blown-out mouth vessels as they are so realistic (many have uvulas!) In fact, I bought the Make Me Smile vessel (the one at the top of this post) and can hardly wait until he arrives!

Oh! Lisa eventually left the high stress job. Her torch therapy led her to a part-time job at a local stained glass shop called Bearden’s Stained Glass and eventually a shop on Etsy. How did she come up with her Etsy buisness name? When she first started flame working, every time she turned around it was 1:11, 11:11, etc. So, she figured she was on the right track of making her dream come true and since hot glass had her “beyond cloud nine”, she simply had to name her business Cloud Eleven.

Just goes to show that when you get all fired up about life’s challenges, you can turn them around into something spectacular!

Happy day everyone!
☼ Rocki

P.S. Lisa sees dead people. I do too, but I’m not telling anyone ;)

Kiss My Gorgeous...

GLASS!

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I scored another Treasury -

that's 2 in one week - a record for me... woo hoo!

If you would like to see some fabulous and talented fellow Etsian's,

check out my Kiss my gorgeous... treasury!

The colorful picture above is one of Vicki Leigh's talented creations:

Circular Bubbles Stained Glass Window Panel

Happy day everyone!
☼ Rocki

Flower Power

I guess I'm on a retro kick.

Thinking back when I was a wee little flower child in California, hanging out with my aunt who had this totally groovy apartment with beads and peace signs all over the place, flowers and, well, I'll save this part for another blog.

Flower power - it comes in many forms. Cherise, one of my good friends, craft show/events partner and fellow Etsy AZ Crafty Burrito team member, makes these totally cool (yes, I said "totally", as in: rad, boss, groovy, awesome, etc.) glass flower amulets that can be worn as a necklace or used as a suncatcher. These score a big ROCK ON in my book!

Not only does she play with fire, metal and blobs of glass, but she paints too: Yggdrasill.

Let me just say that my fun friend Cherise is multitalented. I would list all the things she can do, but I really need to eat lunch, so feel free to read her profile (luv ya Cherise!)

Oh, and the cute pink hair gal? No, the amulets are not edible. That is Cherise's very talented artist daughter Elizabeth (Lizzy) who also has a shop on Etsy called Lizzified.You must see her work!

Peace and love to all,

Rocki

Interpretation

Art is in the eye of the beholder.

I started out with Argentium Sterling Silver to make a square pendant and then it was as if something inside me took over.

I continued on with my little creation while wondering how it was going to turn out. I shaped and soldered, hammered and polished. Alas it was complete! With the bail placed off to the side I felt that I made a fun and unique piece of art that will sure to draw attention.

Okay, so some people may look at this pendant and see nothing more than just a square, circle and 2 squiggly lines. Maybe some will glance and think "what the heck is that suppose to be?!" Mark (my hubby) said it looks like a little person. Who knows... others may actually see an artistic creation. Me? I see many things, but then again, that's not too unusual for me ;)

If you would like to see other photos and details of my Interpretation pendant, feel free to visit my shop.

Happy day to you!

Rocki

Conspire Rocks!

Come join us this Saturday, January 19th at Conspire!

Have a happy day!

Rocki

If you're in Arizona you do not want to miss one moment of the Roosevelt Row Harvest Festival! I’ll be there with some of my fellow Etsy/Arizona Crafty Burrito Collective Friends as well as many more fellow artisans. Besides a wide variety of Art, Crafts and Exhibits, there will be Live Music, a Beer Garden, Food, Children’s Activities and much more!

The weather is absolutely beautiful this time of year, so come on down and enjoy it with us on Roosevelt Row! Hope to see you there on:

Saturday October 20th
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Click here for more info and location: http://www.rooseveltrow.org/harvest.html

~ Rocktober ~

If you are in Arizona, come join the Arizona Crafty Burrito Collective Etsy Team for Rocktober!

This will be a fun filled event that will be full of handcrafted items from local artist, such as jewelry, art, fiber, journals, purses, puppets and more. Yes, I said puppets! Oh yes! Plus a raffle every 30 minutes!

All the info is in the pic above, but here it is once more:

When: Friday October 5th, 2007 from 6pm - 10pm
Where: Great Puppet Theater, 302 W. Lathan St. Phoenix, 85003
Shuttle stop #34 on the green line

Speaking of puppets, please visit my friend Stacey at www.staceyrebecca.etsy.com and check out her fun shop - you can find out how to win a puppet too!

Hope to see you at Rocktober!