Meet Celyn of GazedUponGlass

Meet Celyn of GazedUponGlass
You can visit her etsy shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5139399

How many years have you been an artist?

I've been creating things since I was two years old. So many, many years. ;)

How many years have you worked with glass?

I believe I've been working with glass for about 8 years. Could be more but I'm bad with dates.

What triggers ideas for new projects?

Colors, things I see everyday, shapes... sometimes the I let the glass tell me what it wants to be. A lot of my work is people asking for specific things which sparks creativity.

When do ideas come to you? How often?

I get ideas all the time. I get the best ones right before I fall asleep or when I'm dreaming. I try to write them down as soon as I remember.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

Right now I'm concentrating mostly on two of my greatest creations, my toddlers. LOL!(This is a 24 hour job.) I try to work on my glass in the evening or the weekend. Right now I'm making glass pieces for a glass exchange that will be held next month. I also have some new things for my shop done but I can't seem to find the time to photograph and list them.

Do you create daily?

I create something everyday. If it's not glass, it's something I've crocheted or soap I've made for my other Etsy shop. I also just got a brand new sewing machine so I've been playing with that also.

How important is it for you to create art?

Very. I feel wonderful after I've completed something. It makes me so happy when someone else is made happy by something I've made. It also makes me feel good to know my art will still be here even after I am gone.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?

I couldn't be happier. I'm doing what I love. The only thing I have given up is space to house all my tools and supplies.

Describe your studio.

I work all over the house. I do my cutting and creating in a sunny office type space that has two work tables, rolling bins, a desk and pegboards on the walls to hold my tools and some of my work. My kiln is downstairs where I also a small room that holds all of my glass. There are also two workbenches that hold various tools and supplies. This is also where I do my grinding.

Tell me something about you.

I'm married and am very fortunate to have a loving and supportive husband that believes in me and what I love to do. I have four fabulous kids ranging in age from 2-21. I love to play card games, read and garden. I wish I had glass friends that lived close by so we could have coffee, talk about glass and create together. :)

Meet Hope of glasshousejewelry

Meet Hope of glasshousejewelry

You can visit her shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=82394

How many years have you been an artist?

most of my life

How many years have you worked with glass?

about 8 years now

What triggers ideas for new projects?

sometimes the most random things like a pattern. very often it is an experiment that gets me moving in a different direction.

When do ideas come to you? How often?

in spurts and often late at night.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

it varies. there are times when it is all I can think about and times where I have to step away from it for clarity.

Do you create daily?

no. I definitely have times when I am more prolific than others. If I did it every day then it wouldn't be as "fresh". I do work every day though.

How important is it for you to create art?

It is critical for my piece of mind.

Do you feel that choosing the artists life has been a sacrifice?

Have you given up certain luxuries?

not really. I love what I do and consider myself to be very fortunate to be able to say that.

Describe your studio.

I have my own studio with a very messy work area, tools, shelves filled with glass, etc. Best of all...my desk faces the window with an incredible view out onto a natural pond and wooded area....very serene.

Tell me something about you.

My daughter and I are very close. One of my favorite things to do is to walk with her and the dog down to the beach nearby in search of sea glass and other "treasures".

Meet Carrie of Calyxann

Meet Carrie of Calyxann

You can visit her shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=80737

How many years have you been an artist?

I have always wanted to be an artist. When I was very young, my favorite activities were drawing, singing, dancing and composing music. I grew up with a quilter, which means that I learned a lot about color and composition. My mom taught me how to sew and quilt. I saved magazines for potential collage material. While everyone was downstairs watching TV, I would be in my room creating with my colored pencils and writing poetry. I used to keep a journal next to my bed, because right before I fell into sleep was the time when I would get inspired and write entire poems all at once. I finally started to pursue art in a more "formal" manner after I obtained a BS degree in Horticulture. I moved to California to enter the wine industry, but ended up taking art classes at the junior college in Napa. A few years later, I found some introductory classes in hot glass paperweights and glass fusing. From that moment, I was hooked! I took beginning stained glass and beadmaking, and between classes, I dropped into the studio anytime I could to see if I could help out in any way possible. Now, I work in two glass studios in Napa and St. Helena.

How many years have you worked with glass?

Since my beginning glass days in the winter of 2006.

What triggers ideas for new projects?

Everything! Especially when I'm on vacation and away from the studio...I keep a journal specifically for new ideas. I love looking at magazines, shops, stores, quilts, flowers, and more for patterns/colors/shapes/inspiration. When I go to friend's house and I have my camera, I snap pictures of fabrics/rugs/ceramics. There's inspiration everywhere!

When do ideas come to you? How often?

Constantly. Like I said, magazines provide a huge source of inspiration...from actual projects, to graphics in ads, and color combinations. I like to tear out bits that I am attracted to and add them to my inspiration journal. I also drag images from my browser to my desktop when I see something that I really like, or a new technique that I'd like to try out and add it to my inspiration folder.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

It really depends on the day...sometimes I spend the majority of my day working on projects, but I work on several different projects. I guess I think about art constantly, in color combinations, etc.

How important is it to create?

I am bombarded with new ideas constantly. For me to be able to surround myself with artwork and one of a kind pieces is such a luxury that I can't imagine not creating!

Do you create daily?

Unfortunately, no...well, kind of...I work with glass daily, but a lot of times, it's not my work specifically. I change out the kilns, clean the studio and assemble studio projects, teach others how to create with glass, and I assist with hot glass projects. Not so glamorous, but the payoff is the chance to learn new techniques constantly!

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?

I am blessed to have a "real job" that pays the bills, three days a week. It allows me plenty of time to learn new techniques and create, without having to mass produce and mass market. I love my lifestyle!

Describe your studio.

My garage studio is a huge workbench that my husband and father built for me, along with massive steel shelves that keep each discipline separate and organized. I've also got reclaimed Bullseye Glass pallets for sheet glass storage, and then multiple smaller boxes for smaller pieces and scrap glass. My living room "studio" consists of several bead boxes and tools that I arrange on the coffee table when the mood strikes.My personal studios are not nearly as well organized as the studios I "work" in. I assist in two glass studios in Napa Valley. The fused and stained glass studio, M. Mitcavish Glass Studio, is conveniently located just 5 blocks from my house! There's a small retail shop in front that sells glass, supplies, and finished goods. The rest of the studio is dedicated to three large work benches, a sand-blasting booth, a grinding and cutting station, a plethora of fusing molds, and mama, papa and baby kilns. The other studio that I assist in is a hot glass

Tell me something about you.

I still love sewing and quilting, but find little time to pull out my sewing machine and set up my cutting table. However, I was inspired to combine quilting with glass in 2007. My mother died of ovarian cancer, and had a great support network in her quilting friends. Both as a tribute to her and as thanks to her friends, I made my very first fused glass quilt plates as gifts. The plates weren't planned, and just happened as I was teaching myself to use my cutting board. The colors weren't even chosen consciously, but just happened to be my mom's favorite colors, as well. That was my 'Aha!' moment, when I made a decision to incorporate the ideas of quilting with glass. Since then, I've done fused glass plates, stained glass windows, and even a mosaic tabletop in the images of quilts. My next big project will be a fused glass window tribute piece, incorporating elements of both my mother's love of quilting with my husband's father's paintings. I'm excited to take on the challenge of transcription of painted art pieces into glass!

Meet Mauri Of Dichroicdazzle

I am pleased to introduce to you Mauri of Dichroicdazzle!

You can visit her shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5054829

How many years have you been an artist?

My whole life has revolved around creating as far back as I can remember. I won a drawing competition when I was 8 years old to commemorate the marriage of Prince Charles to Diana Spencer. I have done the usual painting - watercolour acrylic oils, drawing –pencils pastels ink conté sticks charcoal etc... Also silk painting, batik, and a little pottery at school. I went to the School of Jewellery and Silversmithing in Birmingham UK, where I trained to become a goldsmith and attended night school to learn gem setting. I have also attended some life drawing classes at a local college.

How many years have you worked with glass?

My love for working with glass started with an enamel class in Lichfield which my family sent me to as a birthday present 5 years ago. (I had always wanted to have a go at enamelling but the courses available while I was at jewellery school would have involved me moving to London or Kent. This wasn’t an option at the time as I was working for a great employer who I didn’t want to leave, and I had recently bought a house with the man I was to marry). I took to enamel Iike I had worked with it forever, and the metalworking skills came in very handy. My sister had told me of dichroic glass and its beauty, when I saw it for the first time I was hooked. The dichroic glass fusing I learned to do from books and experimenting. I already had a basic understanding of glass from working enamel. What triggers ideas for new projects?Anything and everything, colour combinations and patterns in nature (a sunset or autumn trees etc), doodles I do without thinking while on the phone can turn into ideas for jewellery, geometric shapes, my daughter’s drawings have been made into pieces. My friends and family make suggestions of things they would like. I have made some of my better pieces with the starting point of a word or colour combination from someone else. Even the materials themselves can be a source of inspiration, sometimes I just play with the glass layering it until I find a combination I like. I rarely take design seriously I am quite free and flowing.

When do ideas come to you?

How often?I always have a head full of ideas and sketch books overflowing so I don’t really notice how often ideas come. Most of what I make has been waiting to be created for a while. I only worry I will not have enough time to make everything I want to make.

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

All day, and at night I dream about it - how obsessive is that! I get some of my best ideas while I am relaxed in bed.

Do you create daily?

I work on something every day, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

How important is it for you to create art?

I don’t think I could function without creating. It’s a drive. Even when I was stuck in a chair with a broken leg I knitted jumpers hats scarves and gloves for my children. It really pained me to be unable to enter my workshop for so many months.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?
Have you given up certain luxuries?

I should have been in my final year of a Radiography Degree by now but art is not the reason I gave that up. It was a nasty leg injury I got 2 years ago that took so long for me to recover from (in fact I’m not 100% yet) I had to give in for a while. I could say it’s a poorer life financially, but I am rich in the extra time I have with my two lovely children and the freedom I have to do what I really love. I only wish I could sell more to be able to buy more materials to make more. In the end money is not the most important thing and you don’t need it to have fun. I know it’s a cliché but it’s so true. The best things in life are free and my children are the outdoor type, happy to run about and play in the park. I live in such a beautiful place; it’s a joy to look out of my bedroom window each morning. I’m lucky to own a mobile home in Avoca, Wicklow ‘the garden of Ireland’ so my family and I can have holidays when we like and we can visit our relatives in England. I regret nothing. Maybe one day when the children are old I’ll get back to my degree and earn good money to save for my retirement at the moment I am contented with my lot.

Describe your studio.

It’s a large galvanised shed in the back yard. I like it that way because it’s separate from the house and safer for the children that way. Its messy most of the time, but when it’s tidy I can never find anything, so I guess its organised chaos.I have a jewellers set up with the traditional bench, cut out with a semicircle, and a jewellers peg and skin (to catch the silver and gold dust), an array of hand tools, a micro flame for soldering, a pendant drill (flexi shaft) a pickle pot, a polishing lathe and Elma ultrasonic cleaner. Then there’s the glass working set up, enamelling and fusing kilns, grinder, hand tools and lots of glass. I am saving for a lampworking set up at the moment. I have wanted to have a go for a long time, and now I have a local beading artist who wants buy my beads once I start. She prefers to source locally and no one else in Ireland is lampworking yet.

Tell me something about you.

I have two gorgeous kids and one husband (which is enough for anyone) I live the beautiful and rural old Cathedral town of in Elphin in Ireland. It has its own 18th Century restored windmill. We moved there a few months ago and I have never been happier. We decided it would be a better place for the kids to grow up with the freedom I we had as children which is impossible to have in the busy cities of today. I have a 16 year old cat called Smudge who I adore. My children have two rabbits and a guinea pig which I look after. I love to walk in the county side because it makes me feel good to be alive and I value now more than ever the ability to walk.

Meet Michelle of ArtisticAnimal

Brandy

As you know, we lost a beloved family member on January 19th. A fellow Etsy artist offered to paint a painting of her. I am pleased with the painting and wanted to introduce you to this talented artist.

You can visit her shop here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5606529

How many years have you been an artist?

For as long as I can remember. My mom has a drawing I did of a pink striped elephant when I was two and I have a clear memory of creating a mural on my wall when I was 4 or 5. My dad wasn’t too happy about that!

How many years have you painted animals?

The first painting of an animal that is still around is the previously mentioned elephant with pink stripes. That would make it at least 38 years.

What triggers ideas for new projects?

Life. I’m constantly inspired by the beauty of the earth and the creatures that inhabit her. I’m so grateful to be able to see things this way and find joy and inspiration all around me.

When do ideas come to you? How often?

There’s no set “time” for inspiration. Every bag I have has a small sketchbook in it. I’ve also been known to use napkins, matchbooks, receipts, whatever I can find to track an idea. They come all the time - I just wish I could learn how to not sleep and still function:-)

What percentage of the day do you think about or work on your art?

Always. I adopted the motto “Art is life, Life is art” several years ago. I really believe that. Everything that one does can be done with a sense of artistry. Once you start seeking beauty you realize that it is around you at all times - even in things that many would at first recoil from. That’s why I’m also enthusiastic about painting exotic pets, like snakes and tarantulas too - they have their own unique beauty that I hope my art will help to convey.

Do you create daily?

Yes. I also have a full time job as a garden coordinator/designer, which is creative in its own right, but I’m also constantly making quick sketches and notes for future paintings and art projects.

How important is it for you to create art?

It’s 100% vital to who I am. I honestly don’t think I would survive without it. It’s an integral part of who I am.

Do you feel that choosing the artist’s life has been a sacrifice?

Have you given up certain luxuries?

I suppose some could see it that way, but the gift of creating and seeing the world the way I do is something that I would never give up, so I don’t consider it a sacrifice. I feel blessed to be an artist. Even though I have forgone some luxury items, I wouldn’t change the path I have chosen.

Describe your studio.

Right now it’s a corner of our bedroom - a desk, computer and a bazillion art supplies. We’re currently looking for a house though, so soon I’ll hopefully have a real studio.

Tell me something about you.

I’m endlessly fascinated by everything and finding the interconnections is a very important part of who I am. The idea of synchronicity in quantum physics fascinates me and I’ve seen it play out time and again. I believe this is why I’m so adamant about creating art about and for animals. We are inextricably connected to all life on this planet and I hope that my art reflects this.