Featured Artist, Erin Slauson

Erin Slauson is our featured artist for the April First Thursday ArtWalk in 2 days.

In May Erin Slauson will be graduating with her BFA in studio arts from Austin Peay.  Although her concentration is ceramics, she also loves photography, painting and jewelry making.  Erin has a passion for creating functional bowls of all sizes, "I find myself making bowls more than any other form, they seem to calm my soul."  You will also find a selection of sculptural bowls in Raku style as well as high fire glazes.  She aims to continue growing and developing her forms and sculptures, as for right now she is simply enjoying working hard and creating art.  Erin says, "Ceramics is alot about process, it has multiple steps, so being patient is key.  Luckily I love the process and am quite patient."  Also on display this month will be a selection of her recent oil paintings.

You may ask – What is Raku????  Well – here is the best description I have seen for it  - “Raku firing is unpredictable and volatile, but produces exquisitely beautiful results.:

“In Raku, a ceramic piece is quickly heated to approximately 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. A Raku piece will be brought up to temperature in 40 minutes, whereas other forms of firing will take hours or even days. Raku firings are most often created in a gas or propane kiln. The gas flame is enhanced by an electric blower, which provides more oxygen to the flame making it burn hotter. This is similar to what is done in a metal forge.”

Hope that helps!  I can tell you that I find the pieces amazing and the color and the texture of the pottery is exquisite!  I have sent pieces as gift to friends and have purchased some for myself.  Erin’s pottery just amazing!  Come see!

Cheers!

Video of Featured Vendor Patsy Dollar

Check out The Loose Potters amazing work!  What do you think of our new video technology?  HAA HAA

LindyHop Designs has some new items for us!

So, I am trying this new feature – I hope it works.  It is a photo gallery for a collection of photos you want to keep together. 

So – here are some new items from the LindyHop Designs team.  These purses are made from wonderful fabric patterns and are easily monogrammed.  I love all the fabrics, but I am particularly drawn to that turquoise and pink floral toile! 

View Full Album

The patterns on these monogram ready hooded kids towels are so much fun too!  I know my kids are going to want one each.  What a great idea for an Easter basket that isn’t candy for once!  Very fun

And the pricing for these custom purses will shock you!

Cheers!

Junky Monkey back for Spring & Easter

Many of you are fans of a vendor who left us a few months back – Junky Monkey. She has moved to Florida, but likes to come back and visit her husband every so often – who is still here in Clarksville. So, she was nice enough to bring us some spring and Easter goodies on her last run though.

Come in and check them out while she is still here – this is just a temporary set up for the holiday – so don’t wait to come see what she has for you – besides, first come first serve :o)

Hurry in for the best selection!

Just Finished!!

I am so excited! I just sent my first article for our local family magazine (Clarksville Family). We have begun a column for them that is an art project for families. Just to give you a teaser for what to look forward too here is a sneak peek at the project.

Doing this article, seems like a natural addition to ARTifacts and our love for all things creative! Hope you agree too. On the first of April make sure you pick up your copy of the magazine and call to reserve your kit to make this project with your family – or for yourself!

Cheers!

Military Appreciation Event

All members of the military and their families- Downtown Clarksville Appreciation Day will include many different special savings for you! Below is a full list detailing all the downtown merchants participating in this celebration. To see a full size ad please visit the DCA website or click the image below to enlarge.

Cheers!

Felted Purse Sale

Carine has been busy working on new felted purses to tempt everyone.  These are all fantastic and I can’t pick a favorite!  But at 20% off – we don’t have too!  Check these out!

Cheers!

New Ad

More New Arrivals this March

Kathy Owen just brought in these fun rusty garden chairs – LOVE THEM!  So many fun ideas running through my mind with these chairs!  And she has added all kinds of great decor pieces for you to add a special touch to a room.  I keep reading about how you can make the smallest changes to a room’s decor with small changes.  I think that Kathy of Oh Baby!  has so many ideas for you in this area. Just adding this fun floral arrangement will change the way a room will look – with an amazing price tag I promise!

Relative Collections has gathered up some polish pottery for us all to enjoy!  Check out all of these pieces – for great prices.

Easter is drawing near – so that mean The Dollhouse has redone her booth and of course has Easter clothespin dolls for your continued collection of her simple and charming dolls.  They are great for gifts for your children, grandchildren, or neighbors kids – but also fun for accents to your current decorating.

More to come!  Cheers!

Welcome to Two New Vendors!

I am excited to introduce you all to 2 new vendors who have joined us at ARTifacts! 

First, we have Pamela Settle.  Pamela has a great collection of artistic items for sale in her booth.  First, my camera just couldn’t get a good image of – are her bracelets.  Hand drawn wooden bracelets that are all one of a kind.  Beautiful! She has many other items that are handmade in her booth.  Come in and see what she has to offer!

And wow, look at the cheerful, bright and uplifting artwork by Peggy Jennings.  Wonderfully vibrant and literally coming off the canvas at you, with her mixed media art!  Old rusty cut out flowers, vintage glass door knobs and silver wire wrapped in a fun and unique way that makes you smile everytime you look at it!

New Arrivals this month

Sorry for taking such a long break from posting on the blog on a regular basis. I was having all kinds of problems with the blogger system and the picture uploader.  I am excited to say I have figured out how to use Windows Live Writer instead – and it is so much easier to use!  So, now it is time to play catch up!

Here are some fun new arrivals:

 

I think I have shown you Upscaled Jewelry’s new belt buckles made from vintage transferware – but there are several new ones in stock.  These are an amazing deal at $50 each!

Rachel Ison is making these incredible nest necklaces made completely of copper. I already purchased mine, one for my best friend in England (SURPRISE CHARLY!) and one for my best friend in VA (SURPRISE JESSICA!).  I love the representation of the 3 eggs with stones.  This photo shows them with pearls for the eggs, but but she also makes them with blue stones which resemble robin’s eggs.

Gabriele is our original “artcard” artist!  She makes them by the tens and twentys.  And they are always a treat!  I like them for several reasons, here are just a few (in no particular order): 1) incredibly environmentally friendly, 2) they are more affordable then any card you will get at Hallmark!! 3) You can buy a stack at one time and always have them handy for a special gift and 4) they are ALL individual works of art!  You are always giving a piece of art as a gift to whom ever receives these wonderful cards.

Well – three updates are good for one day!  But that is not to say we are done with the new arrivals!  More to come tomorrow – so stay tuned!

Featured Artist – Patsy Dollar, The Loose Potter

I love making pots and bowls that make people laugh – but my main focus has been function. I can’t seem to make a piece that is only for “looking” - you have to touch it, feel the movement of it, and then fill it with cheerios or ice cream!

I’ve been working with clay since 1980. I started out with poured ceramics, in a little shop, locally owned by the Applegate’s. For years I played with the cast pieces and learned to alter them to make them more interesting and uniquely functional. I still have my own molds and pour clay on a regular basis.

The Loose Potter became my trademark because of the way that I make bowls and work with the clay. Each piece that I make is an individual thing. I don’t make a set of bowls that match – unless you count the color. Each piece is a loose, flowing piece of clay that forms into its own individual design. And so – there you have it – loose pottery needs a loose potter to help shape it! Teapots are some of my favorite projects, so when you are looking at handmade teapots and see some that are slightly wompersided; check the bottom for my logo: The Loose Potter!

 

I have recently been branching out to different type of media for my creative focus. I am introducing my efforts with charcoal and pastels for the March 1st Thursday Art walk. I am producing this art under the moniker of “Impressions” followed by a “$”. I wanted to try a new challenge and welcome your comments and impressions of the presented pieces.

I also have a line of handmade, old-fashioned, lye soaps called $eay $oaps. These soaps are made using the cold process of saponification with vegetable oils, lye, and natural (mostly organic) additives, such as essential oils for fragrance. Scents are always changing, so check back often to see what’s new!