Lowcountry Artist Market: March 2013

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Modern South

Get to know Modern South:

Located in historic Summerville, SC we specialize in one of a kind, personalized invitations and design. We pride ourselves on not providing our customers with simply templated designs, however those are available, but listening to their needs and creating designs that make their event truly unique and spectacular.

We offer designs to fit any budget and know what it is like to be a wife, mother, daughter, professional, party planner and all around fabulous southern gal.

Modern South is based in historic Summerville, SC. The company was created on the premise of combining traditional design with modern, stylized, southern sensibilities.

Owner, Cory McBee is a professionally trained artist and graphic designer living and working in the Charleston area. Born in the south and educated in Charleston and Savannah, she combines the ways of the south with her love of art and design. There is no design too big or too small and she loves a creative challenge.

Please visit their Etsy Shop to check out an extensive listing of our invitations, designs and art.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Little Fish Children's Clothing

From Brooke, owner of Little Fish:

I'm always on the look out for the most original and adorable children's clothing and accessories. During my searches, I've found that I keep coming back to many of my talented friends right here in Charleston, South Carolina. Welcome to your one stop shop for all things cute and adorable for your own little fish. Most of these designers are located in Charleston. The majority of items in the shop are handmade and are crafted using sustainable practices.

Oh, and if you see something you like but want a different color or style, please email me. We can do custom orders on most items. So check out the shop and come back often, new designers and products will be added regularly.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sophia Latto

Sophia Latto: Jewelry for Hair & Body

Sophia Latto has been making jewelry since she was 16. Her love of the process inspired her to attend Pratt Institute in New York City. While she has been working the last 20 years working as a graphic designer, she's wanted to turn her love of jewelry-making into more than just a creative outlet. You can now purchase her works at her Etsy store.

As an indication of her skill level, her favorite materials to work with are silver, niobium, titanium, gold, gemstones, and glass. Look for her high quality works on April 13th at the Lowcountry Artist Market!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Ricepuddin' Originals

Ricepuddin' Originals is another newcomer to the Market, bringing a mix of handmade and vintage. Her jewelry reworks vintage buttons into rings - so all pieces are unique. Get to know creator, Kit Rice below:

Just who is Kit Rice?

I'm a real live human being. Mom to three and wife of 20 years. I’ve been crafting forever it seems. I love to re-purpose things. Give them new life. Paper crafts and jewelry making are high on my list. I call myself re-creative because I may not come up with the idea but I make it my own by adding my personal touch.
All of my creations are sprinkled with charm not cluttered with precision. No two are exactly alike.

I started Ricepuddin' Originals in November of 2010. It was a natural progression really. I hail from a family of jewelers. My grandfather, father, and an uncle were all Master Jewelers. I worked for my father while I was in college and so began my love affair with all things sparkly that fit into small boxes.

Why the name Ricepuddin'?

Other than the play on my last name? Rice pudding is a mixture of things that on their own are just alright. Rice. Milk. Cinnamon. Eggs. Sugar. Vanilla. Raisins. However, when combined and given warmth and TLC, they meld.Turning into a wonderful experience for the senses. This is how I feel about my original creations. I hope you do as well.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Birdsong Designs

Jen Bonoma, the talent behind Birdsong Designs, is another brand new Artist Market vendor. And I for one am excited to see her work in person. Here's a preview of what you'll see at the April 13th market and a little about Jen:

Ever since I was a young girl, I have been fascinated with jewelry and the endless possibilities for creation. I found it easy to express myself through jewelry design as creating comes naturally to me. Craft became skill, skill became art, and jewelry became my passion.

In 2006, I graduated from the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California with certificates as a graduate gemologist (G.G.), graduate jeweler (G.J.), and accredited jewelry professional (A.J.P.). I continued to broaden my education by working at various jewelry stores and doing custom beading work for clients met through family and friends. Through this work, I discovered my passion for beaded jewelry and Precious Metal Clay (PMC).

These beginnings have nurtured a respect for technique that fuels my creative process. It is the process of creating, especially with PMC, which fascinates me. Precious Metal Clay can be worked and molded just like natural clay, but when it is heated in a kiln, the organic metal binders disappear leaving behind 98% metal. This process enables me to mold or shape the metal in any design that I desire.

In late 2009, after visiting friends, I decided to move back east to Charleston, South Carolina. I quickly fell in love with and became inspired by the natural beauty of Charleston. It is here that Bird Song Design was created.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Adele Thornhill Ceramics

I am so excited to welcome Adele Thornhill to the April 13th Lowcountry Artist Market. This is Adele's first Arist Market, so be sure to stop by her booth and welcome her!

My mother spent many a weekend in Seagrove, NC, picking up beautiful pieces from the local potters. She would stock up on vases, bowls, and dishes; preparing for the inevitable bridal showers, birthdays, and baby showers to come. These made perfect gifts. Now, I do this myself - but no need to go to Seagrove. Just come by the Music Farm on April 13th and stock up!

Here's a little about Adele, from her site:

After watching a friend working on the wheel in her high school’s pottery studio, Adele Thornhill sat down and threw her first bowl. It happened without planning or instruction, and she was instantly hooked. For the next two years, Adele lived and breathed clay. According to her teacher, Irina Okula, she “took to pottery like a duck takes to water.” However, after graduation, she put clay mostly behind her. College and then nine to fives took precedence.

In 2012, Adele took a ceramics class and rediscovered the part of her life that had been missing for far too long. She rededicated herself to pottery and began doing the intricate lace-like piercing that has become her trademark.

Just as a duck’s serene floating on the surface belies the frenzied paddling below, Adele’s process describes many seemingly-paradoxical syntheses of opposites. As the knife pierces, control, order, and rigidity are imposed on the fragile and malleable clay body. The obsessively repetitive process, tedious to some, is soothing and energizing for Adele. Like Yayoi Kusama, one of her major artistic influences, her repetitive process enables her to transcend mundanity in favor of, as Kusama puts it, “return[ing] to the infinite universe.”

Adele’s delicate work and lacy patterns are also inspired by her grandmother’s embroidery and needlework. Her grandmother, Beryl, earned her living by sewing and embroidering intricate patterns on dress clothing and decorative home textiles.

Adele knows a piece is done when she’s pushed both the piece and her own patience to their limits. She hopes her work recalls complex beauty of handmade lacework of the past like her grandmother’s needlework while also communicating the great feeling of calm that can be found everywhere, even within chaos.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Late Night/Date Night at SpaceCraft Studios

I convinced the husband to join me and my friend, Angela for a night at SpaceCraft Studios. We took the photo transfer techniques class, where we learned to transfer photos to wood, glass, plastic, tape ... basically anything. Heather Powers was an amazing teacher.

All you need is a photo, a surface, and some Modge Podge. Here's how it went:

If you're transferring to wood, you need to sand down the surface. Then you add Modge Podge to your photo (front of photo), and place it on the wood. Smooth out the bubbles, and wait.

Side note: SpaceCraft is BYOB. Hello Tecate.

After 15 minutes (and the help of a hair dryer), we began removing the paper. You just spritz the back of the photo with water and gently peel the paper off with your fingers. GENTLY, being the key word there.