TreeBySea.com - It's Alive!!

Just a quick note. Yea! It's a done deal... I know have a .com as well as my etsy store representing the silver jewelry that I have been making using art clay and my beloved kiln. Please pop in when you get a chance - www.treebysea.com. It's a pretty short and sweet site with just one page, but that's all I need for now I think.

Check back soon for more crafty how to blogs.

Buy Handmade from Etsy - What's an "Etsy"?

In case you did not know it, there is a revolution going on. The movement to buy handmade is growing. People are sick of the mass produced low quality items they see in stores. Thousands are literally making a public commitment to buy handmade. There are many blogs and sites devoted to promoting this trend and I think it is great. Viva la revolucion!

In fact, a new buzz word has been coined as a result of the movement - "Craftivism".

The reasons people give for buying handmade from indie artisans are many, but here's a few that I have seen:

• Better for the environment - No factories, etc.
• Does not promote bad labor practices/slave labor
• Can get better quality items
• Like one-of-kind, unique things
• Keeps crafting and hand work from becomeing a dying art
• Promotes "Made in America"/country pride
• Supports a new generation of crafters
• Better value - Get more for your money
• Promotes the "little guy"
• Crafts are a true reflection of a culture throughout history

Etsy ("Pronounced ett-see") is definately on the forefront of the movement. "What's an 'Etsy'?" you ask. Well, Etsy is a wonderful online community/store/street fair/swap meet/meet & greet where crafty and artistic people from around the world sell their handmand items to people who truly recognize & appreciate the work of an atisan when they see it. A huge number of people sell via etsy including me - My store.

Here's a video talking about how it started. This is now a really big deal. They pretty much set the bar for buying and selling handmade on line. Recently, the founder was featured on Martha Stewart show and I have seen Etsy mentioned in many, many magazines.

Here are some other members of the handmade consortuim:

Craftster.org
indiepublic.com
Craft:

Please buy handmade! Thanks!

Metalsmith With Natural Found Objects

Hello,

Just a quick post for now...

Here is a video that is a short introduction to jewelry artist Laura Crawford of "Tangerine Tree House" that I found featured on Etsy.com. It is showing how she became inspired to move beyond bead stringing into something that she felt allowed her to be more creative...metal smithing. I like the video because it is well done and because I can sort of relate. I recently found that I was ready to move beyond regular beading into something a little different too. For me, I selected silver metal clay as a new form to explore.

Laura is inspired by found objects and nature. I am inspired by nature as well, so again, I related to her story.

Yay! My work is now part of a corporate art collect

Hey! Just a quick self back-pat. I'm very excited that a northwest company purchased some of my artwork for their home office corporate art collection. It is a 3 piece set titled "Moutisse 1, 2 & 3".

Here it is:


The fine art giclee is available as a one print tryptic or as 3 separate prints with optional custom framing in my ImageKind Gallery.

Here it is in the space: