Feature Artist for February 21-28: Tuscan Road Designs

ec·lec·tic   /ɪˈklɛktɪk/ Show Spelled[ih-klek-tik] Show IPA



–adjective


1.selecting or choosing from various sources.


2.made up of what is selected from different sources.


3.not following any one system, as of philosophy, medicine, etc., but selecting and using what are considered the best elementsof all systems.


4.noting or pertaining to works of architecture, decoration, landscaping, etc., produced by a certain person or during a certainperiod, that derive from a wide range of historic styles, the style in each instance often being chosen for its fancied appropriatenessto local tradition, local geography, the purpose to be served, or the cultural background of the client.
 

I'm beginning this post with the deffinition of Eclectic because I can think of no truer eclecticist then Holly of Tuscan Road Designs. I am awestruck by the combinations of media that she creates her unique pieces with. Lampwork, Swarovski crystal, natural gemstones, charms & a variety of chains give her a multitude of possibilities; each one is varied as the colors of the rainbow. Above are but a fraction of her pieces. To fully get a feel for Holly's work please visit her shop, fanpage and blog.

NaLa - Featured Artist #3

Jewelry by NaLa features the works of artist who has appeared all over the internet, she's been featured in several treasuries and on Indy Spot, as well as being a member of Handmade Artists Forum, Jewelry Makers Network, Vegan Craft Samples and Indiepublic. I must say her short description "Delicately Elegant Jewelry" is truely all it takes to describe her works. They are all delicate as well as extremely elegant and I could spend the entire day drooling over some of her pieces. She is one of the most generous artisans I have had the pleasure to meet this year. She is continually promoting other artists on her facebook page, featuring at least one HAF artist a day and helping others feel great about themselves by posting heartfelt comments.  I'd like to showcase a few of her outstanding pieces and let you go wander her store for the rest.

Catch up...

New month and I'm determined to stay on track with my blog ring this time around.  So without further adieu here are the beautiful and talented artists of January 2010. For the first artist of January we highlighted Speranza Jewelry, which you can read about here. Our second artist should have been Libby of raven333 and I was such a slacker... so please read on for a review of her fantastic fiber arts.

Libby is an artist I personally can identify with as she too battles depression and the roller coaster of trying to find a good balance in medication. I give her major props for continuing to do what she loves and also sharing with us during her difficult times. January 26th she posted an article title One World One Heart Blog and Give Away should you be interested in obtaining one of her fantastic green felt scarves I highly reccomend heading over there and participating. In looking at her works I saw a wonderful variation of abilities, her felt work is key and many of her pieces contain her own fiber work but she is also an accomplished beader and then of course there is my favorite of her pieces, Celtic Dragon Art Doll. I love dragons, celtic work and this little guy is just fantastic! He is a sold piece and I have not seen anything else like him listed, perhaps one day a comission will be arranged and I too can have a beautiful dragon as well. Apart from her crafting she also has 25 years with the Center for Disease Control as a microbiologist and currently pursues a Graphic Arts degree! Go Libby! Can't wait to hear who your winner is and see what the rest of the year brings for you! Below is the afore mentioned dragon as well as a few examples of Libby's varied creations.

Spaz!

I'm here, I'm there... oh look something new! LOL
That truely describes how I feel this week has gone. I'm so determined to do everything and while I've been productive most of it has been sporatic things. Accomplishments: two etsy postings! My spiders are now named and posted as Twilight's Embrace and Green Kissed Sandstone. A new spider made his debut, Absinthe Arachnid was comissioned and is patiently reading away the time until he meets up with his new owner. You can see him pictured below. A wedding piece was comissioned and has been completed, it too is pictured below. The happy couple are tying the knot on Valentine's Day and the bride asked if I could make two necklaces similar to a gift that was given recently. Of course I said "yes" and the resulting necklace will look beautiful on her, now to see if it's what she had in mind. The second necklace isn't made yet but will be very similar in design, although since I think it's for the maid of honor it will be simpler and I of course will post pictures of it too.

What else have I been doing? I've been reading up on facebook, etsy and some blog posts. I was introduced to Google Analytics and how to activate it on my etsy page, then this morning got it active on my blog too! Awesome now I can track where all you wonderful people are coming from and how to attract more like you. Oh and I listed my blog on Technorati too. Many of these ideas came about from ready the Etsy Blog: The Storque this link may only take you to a recent article as I cannot find a direct link to the blog right now, but this article contibuted to my recent adventures in cyberspace. Several more creative projects are in the works, please stay posted as I get them developed and presented to you all.

"Frozen Moments" - HAF Etsy Team Challenge

Visit the HAF etsy team challenge and you'll be able to view fantastic artists' entries like The Grand Design and Rachel Elliot Glassworks plus leave a comment after voting and be entered in a drawing for a chance to win an exclusive bead courtesy of Rachel Elliot Glassworks. I've already voted and commented myself. Feel free to take the time to visit all the artists on etsy via the contest display page and heart them there... I did! Best of luck to all the entrants and I'll update when the winner is announced.

Naming of the Spiders

Are you a fan of my facebook page? If not you should be, that's where all my latest info gets posted first. A couple days ago my newest spiders made their web debut - haha pardon the pun. I'm dying to get them up on etsy but have been unable to come up with good names for them. Every nice little spider needs a name, especially when they are as unique as mine are. Previous spiders earned the titles, Sinister Spinster, Chartreuse Recluse, Amathyst Arachnid and the less then original Spiderman Spidey and Bumblebee Spider. Have a gander and see if any ideas strike you... post them or message me with them!

So many ideas, not enough dreams...

I'm back at that place where the mind has so many ideas and thoughts that one cannot get back to sleep after even the most minor interruption.  I was sleeping peacefully, even heavily, when my son woke up and couldn't find that favorite toy. Moved my daughter back to her bed, we found the beloved toy, retireved his milk from the fridge and snuggled down to head back to sleep. Suddenly my mind is racing, concepts for jewelry springing to life in my head, thoughts about pink ribbons (breast cancer awareness) and the recent race for votes of the Chase Community of Giving, people I've met this past week online who have been kind enough to check out my little shop/fanpage/blog, the need to name my spiders and get them posted on etsy (name your spiders you say? why yes, in fact I need suggestions... more on a seperate post for them). Now here I sit in front of a glowing screen typing out ideas in hopes that my dreams will start speaking louder, it is afterall only recently past 4am and I'd prefer some more sleep before tackling another day of chasing young children hither and tither. What else is planned fo rthe day? Well did I mention that it's Relevancy Thursday on etsy? What's that you ask, they are tweaking their search system to help improve the quality of your searches to give results closer to how Google does, hopefully providing more accurate results and helping you find the items you seek faster. Head on over to http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6411168 and check out all the details.