Xmas suggestions for him and her at Evaelena Vintage

Here are a couple of ideas for the women in your life....you can find them at Evaelena and don't forget to use the code Xmas2013 for 20% off - one week only!

Here are a couple of ideas for the men in your life....you can find them at Evaelena and don't forget to use the code Xmas2013 for 20% off - one week only!

Collecting Part 9

"A day without laughter is a day wasted.” – said Charlie Chaplin, one of the great buffoons on screen. Clowns have a long tradition of breaking the rules for our amusement and their antics provide us with a momentary escape. My next collector has found her clown collection to be both a treasured repository of memories and a source of delight.

Can you tell me a little about your background? 

I am a mother of 3 adult children; my oldest son is 31, lives in Boulder and is an artist / glassblower; my daughter is 28, living the life she loves in Brookyn, NY and a very successful and well respected community organizer and my youngest son is 21, finishing his senior year at UCONN and hoping to attend Medical School in the fall. I am retired from a medical transcription job of many years and for the last 3 years, I have been doing what I love ~~~ collecting and selling everything vintage. www.rileybellavintage.etsy.com and www.looseendsvintage.etsy.

I am 59 years old, though I had to admit it, because my mind tells me I'm only 25!~ I am a New York gal, having lived most of my life in NY and moved to Connecticut 9 years ago because of my husband's job.

For the last 3 or so years, I have been tending to my two etsy shops; one caters to women's fashions. The other was an afterthought for everything else vintage that I would come across, found appealing and thought someone else would love just as much. I love doing what I do, and my only regret is not starting a very long time ago.

My formal education is an Associates Degree in Office Administration, which is now obsolete. My real education, in terms of quality clothing and housewares comes from my mother. She was a buyer and at a very young age, and for many years, I would accompany her on her shopping trips to lower Manhattan, where she would haggle with the local merchants, focusing on jewelry and fine lingerie.

What do you collect?

I collect everything and anything that I love. Since I recently inherited a collection of clowns, passed to my sister from my mom and now to me, I am going to continue with this collection. There are only 8 clowns at the moment, some Capodimonte (I never knew they made clowns), from the 1970s and 1980s. I also collect Lladro and Nutcrackers (I currently have over 100 of those) and only take them out once a year.  My collection of nutcrackers started when my oldest son was 2 and my husband and I went for a weekend trip to Vermont. That is where I purchased the first one, a pretty expensive "real" German one. When my daughter was born a few years later, I decided I would get her one. Then I decided every year for Christmas they would each get one. That is how the collection grew. When my kids were younger, they used to put on a "play" with their Nutcrackers for me and my husband. I mark the bottom with the year and who it belongs to. At some point, I will disperse them all to their rightful owners and hopefully they will continue the tradition. So, as you can tell, they do hold very dear memories for us.                             

How did you get started?

I got started on this collection only recently. My sister claimed them when my mom passed 11 years ago. She has always had a big home and was able to showcase so many of her beautiful collections. Since her husband was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it was in their best interest to move to a smaller, more practical apartment. She can no longer keep them and passed them on to me. I am so happy she gave them to me, as they look beautiful in my home and make me smile!

                                        

What attracted you to collecting them, in other words, why?

This collection of clowns and my new interest is really an accident. When my sister told me she wanted to give them to me, I really wasn't sure I wanted to start another collection or even liked clowns all that much that I wanted to collect them. My daughter thinks clowns are creepy. However, once I took a good look at them, I fell in love. I remember them being showcased in my mom's dining room glassed hutch, but growing up, never really gave them much thought or even thought they had any value. Now that I see them, I feel this urge to keep on searching for more!

                                       

What are the best and worst aspects about being a collector?

The best thing about collecting is the beauty and the memories. The worst thing is the space and dusting! Plain and simple. I only collect what is dear to my heart. I don't collect for value or with the idea of selling. These are my own personal collections; things my children have grown up around and hopefully will bring them many happy memories as they go on to have their own homes.

                                         

What is the holy grail of your collection? That is, what is it you are keen to get your hands on that you don't have?

Hmm, Holy Grail of my collection?? Not sure how to answer this one. Not knowing that much yet about clowns and collecting them, I'm not sure what I will be looking for next. But I am always in antique and thrift stores, and I know I will gravite now to clowns. The older the better. I love everything old.

                                                                     

Finally, how do you think your collecting has impacted on your life?

The last question made me a laugh a bit. I think it has impacted my family's life more than mine, in particular, my husband, who is getting to the age where he wants simplicity. So I try to keep things simple and orderly, as best I can, displaying my pieces on shelves in an orderly and attractive fashion. As for how collecting has impacted me, it has opened up many emotions for me. Most of my collections remind me of a particular event, something from my past, something that made me smile or laugh, always wonderful memories associated with my collections. My Lladro collection reminds me of when I first got married and could afford to collect those. My nutcrackers bring back many wonderful Christmas memories and loving thoughts of my family and children. This newest clown collection will always keep my mom present in my home. After all, she is the reason I have the passion I have. And when I look at those, I know she is still here with me.
       
                                                

Thank you JoAnn! Do you have a collection you would like to share? Please contact me.

Makers Part 16

The meeting between natural and human is the core of Japanese aesthetic philosophy. Nature is seen as a dynamic whole that is to be admired and appreciated and one of the principles central to this is 'Wabi-sabi,' the aesthetic defined as the beauty of things "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete". My next maker is Tetsuhiro Wakabayashi who is an artist who lives in the beautiful forested mountains in Kanazawa on the west coast of Honshu in Japan. He has a video production company and is a freelance illustrator and works with mixed media. For me, his drawings and paintings speak of a world that is constantly in motion - each image is a moment in some fantastical story and I want to see what happens next. His work can be found in his etsy shop and on his website and on his facebook page.

Can you tell me a little about your background? 

I graduated from Kanazawa College of Art, and was doing graphic design for a while in Tokyo. I established an atelier and home in the country on the mountain slopes in Kanazawa, Japan. I draw and enjoy growing vegetables and fishing. I get inspiration from my natural environment and the beautiful four seasons. 

What do you make?

I draw from my imagination and use acrylic, watercolor and pastel and mixed media.

What attracted you to this particular medium? How did you get started?

Two years ago I suddenly wanted to draw and I think this came from watching my young daughter's free expression in her painting and drawing. Until this time, I did only graphic design and movie work. I love the freedom of expression that comes from my imagination.

How long have you been making?

Images are always swelling in my head. Some work can be finished in about two hours, there is also work which can take two days.

  

How does your practice fit in with your everyday life? Do you have your own studio space and when do you work and where?

I have an atelier in the place of rich nature. The quietness and beauty is very suitable for my work. Since I am a freelance illustrator, I fit my creative drawings in between working jobs. I find it increases my imaginative power which helps my professional work.

What are the best and worst aspects about working with this medium?

I feel, like many artists that creative work has a healing power. I hope that the work will heal a lot of people at the same time. I find it hard when a good idea does not appear.
I think painting today still has important ideas perhaps more so than technology. 

Who or what inspires you?

I am inspired by the rich natural environment and many great artists.

                                           

Do you get creative blocks? If so, how do you deal with it?

I cannot draw a good picture when my mind is noisy, and I get frustrated.
When I get frustrated, I look at the moon and stars, and this calms my mind in meditation.

What other mediums would you love to explore?

I would love to explore painting onto pottery. I will always be exploring different creative ideas and methods, I will continue to draw as long as I live.

What do you hope to do next with your practice?

I want to continue to entertain and delight people with my work. Just like that.

Arigatō Tetsuhiro! Are you a collector? If you would like to be featured, please contact me.

Collecting Part 8

An heirloom is a valued possession passed down through the family through succeeding generations. The collecting of heirlooms could be thought of as an accumulation of memories and associations - the souvenirs of people and places in the past. My next collector lives and works in a rural setting in Colorado. She channels her creative and intellectual energies into refining those memories of her rural family background which she cherishes. Her collecting forms an integral part of a celebration of these memories. Kayann Short's rural finds and photography can be seen in her etsy shop  Stonebridgeworks.

Can you tell me a little about your background? 

I live at Stonebridge Farm on Colorado's Front Range with my partner John Martin. Stonebridge is a 102-year-old organic farm with a CSA in its 22nd season. We grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers for about 250 members. I have a PhD in Literature and have just published a book Bushel's Worth: An Ecobiography a memoir of reunion with my grandmother's farming traditions and a call for local farmland preservation. 

                                                 

What do you collect? 

I collect a variety of things but what they have in common is that they are all vintage. I love older things, especially from the 1930s and 40s, because they remind me of my grandmothers in North Dakota. Both had pretty vases and flowerpots in their farmhouses and both sewed a lot. I talk about some of the things I've inherited from my grandmothers in my book, "A Bushel's Worth", like sewing baskets, buttons, aprons and jewelry. I also write about the things I salvaged from the farmhouses after my grandparents were gone like light fixtures, doors, and even Burma Shave signs! My biggest collection right now is matte white pottery that I layer with bird postcards, real nests that I find around our farm, and bird jewelry. Lately I've been collecting vintage hardcover books about farming, gardening, and nature. I love their covers AND the words inside.

                               



















How did you get started?

I collected Madame Alexander dolls when I was young and sewed clothes for them. When I was in high school, I started going to rummage sales to find vintage jewelry. When I had my own home, I began collecting Fiestaware and McCoy pottery. I have a yellow Fiestaware bowl of my Grandma Smith's. She called it her potato salad bowl. I didn't even realize it was Fiestaware until after I'd started collecting it.



What attracted you to collecting them, in other words, why? 

I collect old things to honor their designs and colors and the crafting behind them. I don't like to buy new things because I think they lack the soul found in older pieces. I like to imagine a vintage bowl or book's former life. I feel like my collections have been handed down to me to care for until I pass them on to someone else. 


What are the best and worst aspects about being a collector? 


The best aspect is the joy I take in using, reading, or wearing my collections. I also take joy in how vintage pieces fit with our old farmhouse. New things just wouldn't feel the same! The worst is my new worry about what might happen to my collections in a disaster. Our region just suffered a terrible flood. Our house only took on water in the basement but many of my friends and neighbors had water and mud running through their homes. In the face of all this loss, I realize that my collections are just objects, but I would be sad if after all the years they've been around, they were destroyed or lost.

What is the holy grail of your collection? That is, what is it you are keen to get your hands on that you don't have? 

I keep looking for old copies of Thoreau's Walden because there's so many different versions and designs of his iconic book. I don't have one particular one in mind and I certainly can't afford a first edition, but it's always fun to look.


                           

Finally, how do you think your collecting has impacted on your life?

Collecting gives me a deeper connection with the past--both my own family's history and cultural history through vintage design. I enjoy shopping at some of the great antique stores in our area like the Front Range Mercantile. I'm a big believer in serendipity so I love the little surprises I find along the way. 

 

Thank you Kayann! Do you collect something? I'd love to hear from you!

Makers Part 15

Humans used to be thought of as occupying an existential space between animals and gods. Our bodies display our affinity to animals, while our minds possess intellectual and moral capacities seemingly beyond the reach of physical objects. For me this suggests that we identify with animals (we are mammals) as well as gods (we are immortal, immaterial souls). The use of animal iconography in art and decoration is an example of our strong affiliation and identification with the wild that has long been lost in ourselves. My next maker Roza makes wearable art which straddles functionality and costume and perhaps imbues its wearer with the magical raw power of the wild we were once much closer to. You can find her work in her etsy store Shovava. 

Can you tell me a little about your background? 
I was born in Kazakhstan into a family of artists; at 15 I moved to NYC where I was educated and worked for 8 years. Now I live in Australia. 

What do you make?

I make mostly women's clothing and accessories. I hand paint original art, then digitally print or screen print it onto my pieces. The items you see here are my original designs and the only of their kind wearable art.

                 

What attracted you to this particular medium? How did you get started?
I began by combing thrift stores looking for vintage and oversized men’s t-shirts that I would reconstruct into fitted women’s tops. After finding the right garments, I'd hand paint them so that they were truly “one of a kind” works of wearable art. I've always loved making things and wearing my own designs.

                                                             

How long have you been making?
About 3 years now.

How does your practice fit in with your everyday life? Do you have your own studio space and when do you work and where?

Aside from few freelance projects, my company has become my full-time job. I do have a studio space here in a beautiful jungle in Australia. 

What are the best and worst aspects about working with this medium?

I consider myself very lucky as I make living by giving other people pieces that I love making. Things can be unpredictable when you are working for yourself, but good always outweighs the bad.

                              

Who or what inspires you?
I observe nature and find inspiration in the smallest details. Maybe it’s a butterfly’s wing or the patterned cell structure of a leaf. Maybe it’s a feather or a raven perched on a tree limb. I take in what I see in the natural world and then create my pieces.

                                                     

Do you get creative blocks? If so, how do you deal with it?
Almost never. I pretty much always have too many ideas...the challenge is to narrow them down to something that will work. There's a difference between just being creative for yourself and staying creative while making living from it too.

What other mediums would you love to explore?
I'd love to get into Eco textile dying used by India Flint.

India Flint demonstrating eco print techniques

 

What do you hope to do next with your practice?

At the moment I am working on my website Shovava.com and hope it will be as functional and beautiful as my clothing;) Next art project will be about recently extinct animals such as Dodo bird and Tasmanian Tiger.

Thank you Roza! Are you a collector? I am interested in hearing your story, so please contact me.

Makers Part 14

                            

Aristotle's idea of nature is that it is something that has its own characteristic principles of motion and rest. When a natural thing dies, this change from living to dead is still part of its essential natural character. It is these remnants of life that my next maker, Katie re-energises into new forms of motion and rest in her unique jewellery which she sells in her etsy store HartVariations.

Can you tell me a little about your background? 

I moved to Oakland, California from my hometown of Portland, Oregon with my boyfriend in the summer of 2010. My boyfriend is a writer and musician who works full time at a non-profit in San Francisco. I visit Portland often as my family still lives there and my jewelry is sold at several retail shops and a gallery in town.

I studied literature and writing in college, but took a bit of a detour from school into the tea business for 11 years. Just this past June, I took the leap out of the corporate tea world and am focusing solely on my own business. Being my own boss is proving to be pretty magical!

What do you make?

I make jewelry using natural elements encased in glass and silver solder. 

What attracted you to this particular medium? How did you get started?

In 2009 I took a workshop in Portland to learn how to use stained glass tools and materials to make jewelry. A couple of months later, while trying to figure out what to make a friend for her birthday I spotted a shed snakeskin in my studio and thought, "well, that would probably look great as a necklace." After that piece, I encased a little skull from an owl pellet my mother had given me. In the beginning I experimented with various organic materials, as well as synthetic (dental x-rays, MRI film, film negatives, etc.) and discovered that the organic materials evoked more curiosity and awe. 

How long have you been making?

I have always been creative in one way or another. Writing and art were my first two loves. In my twenties I began creating more sculptural pieces and started displaying my work in art shows. In early 2010 I started selling my jewelry in retail.

How does your practice fit in with your everyday life? Do you have your own studio space and when do you work and where?

I work out of a studio in our house in Oakland. The last few months I've been experimenting with my schedule. Having this flexibility is still a bit surreal and so wonderful! I've found that it varies from day to day. Some mornings I just need to sit and drink my tea and daydream a little longer than others. I also enjoy working well into the evening. My boyfriend and I have to be careful not to overwork, as we both enjoy creating so much. Reminding myself to get out of the studio, go on a walk, explore, etc. is a good challenge to have, though. 

What are the best and worst aspects about working with this medium? 

What I appreciate the most about working with stained glass is the history of the craft as well as the almost unlimited possibilities of form and content. Having complete control of the process from beginning to end allows me the freedom to constantly create new designs. I'm a very visual thinker and am grateful I can take an idea and create the entire piece on my own. 

There are limitations with the tools and materials I use. Sometimes my work ends up being a bit of a science experiment. The application of heat can wreak havoc on some of the elements; I have to be ever mindful of the size and type.

Who or What inspires you?

I'm inspired by so many people and things...Kiki Smith, Louise Bourgeois, and Eva Hesse are some of my favorite artists. I'm also inspired by music, literature, my boyfriend, fashion, the entrepreneurial spirit, movement, insects, animals, constellations, flowers, plants, light, aroma...and so much more. 

Do you get creative blocks? If so, how do you deal with it?

I definitely get blocks, but I wouldn't say they are creative ones. Sometimes I wish that I could just sit around all day and create. My jewelry business can often feel like work more than creative fun, but I also enjoy those technical, left-brained aspects of the business. One of my most frequent challenges is just knowing where to begin. Many years ago, I read a wonderful interview of a painter from Mexico City. She said that no matter what she was going to do in the studio, she would always begin her day by filling up the paintbrush jar with water. 

                                 (Kiki Smith via The Pace Gallery)

Every day I put on my apron. It's kind of like clocking in...but better! Another trick I employ (read in another artist's interview) is to just move something. I have several studio tables I use. If I feel like I don't know where to begin, it's usually means it's a great time to clean surfaces. That might be when I stop to look at a shape of glass or a feather, and start envisioning the next piece. Two more tricks: going on a walk or organizing my supplies.   

What other mediums would you love to explore? 

There are so many mediums I'd love to explore.  Over the years I've dabbled in bookbinding, printmaking, transfers, clothing design, clay sculpting, encaustic, paper making, weaving, welding, photography, and so much more. It is important for me to continue to learn new skills for my art practice as well as for the jewelry. I've been learning more metalsmith techniques lately and plan on expanding my jewelry line.

What do you hope to do next with your practice?

I am slowly starting on a new body of art work. Between that and the growth of my jewelry business, I'm a pretty happy and busy lady!

                                    

Thank you Katie! Are you a collector? I am interested in featuring your passion!