ARTIST HIGHLIGHT: Alison Evans Ceramics

This post holds a special place in my heart, because these beautiful creations are from my good friend Alison Evans. Alison is the owner and creator of Alison Evans Ceramics and the Alison Evans Gallery in Yarmouth, Maine.

Her work has been featured in a variety of publications(such as House Beautiful http://www.housebeautiful.com/shopping/best-stores/hazelnut-new-orleans-0608?click=main_sr, Bon Appetit, Food&Wine, The New York Times...just to name a few!!), at stores throughout the US, and at many of my very own dinner parties! Her pieces are functional and inspired by the sea, so they definitely have a niche here in Maine. My husband & I are building our AE Ceramics collection in the porcelain white finish shown below, but she has some uniquely beautiful glazes available as well. Check out her website for more of her pieces and finishes http://www.aeceramics.com/ .

My husband, Anthony, works for Alison, so I snapped some quick pictures recently of the studio while he was unloading the kiln.
Not only are her pieces gorgeous, but her studio space is very cool; with a display space in the front and the working pottery studio in the back. They stacked Expedit shelving by IKEA http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30147736 to the 12 foot ceilings, which work wonderfully to display Alison's pieces as well as a divider between the gallery and the work space.

Check her stuff out online or in person, you will be glad you did. In the mean time, I will keep bragging about my friend Alison and her wonderful work! Cheers!

Trying to Escape the Winter Blues & RELAX

Another day, another snow storm. It seems like that is the frequency of snow storms this winter. As an escape from the dull grey skies and snowy, icy streets, I transported myself to the Caribbean...kind of! Really, I just created this Etsy treasury, full of wonderful findings from other artists on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4d48521def7f6d916791ed42/all-this-snow-is-making-me-want-to-go?index=0

This collection brought my back to my belated honeymoon with Anthony, last year in St. Croix. It was the best trip EVER, and my first time in the Caribbean. Anthony looked at me on day #1 of our vacation and said "This is the most relaxed I have ever seen you!" It was true. I was instantly relaxed....in a perfect paradise.

I bought this wonderful bracelet when I was there from a Cruzan jewelry artist and shop, IB designs http://www.islandboydesigns.com/ . I met the artist the day I bought it, which added to the charm of the bracelet. I wear the bracelet almost every day as a reminder to take myself back to that relaxing place and not to sweat the small stuff.

Bring on the snow (blizzard, actually)...I am relaxed (or trying to)!

Driftwood Christmas Trees

Recently I was creating jewelry displays for a craft fair. I made them out of drift wood, dowels, and rectangular drift wood bases. I had extra supplies left, and being that I was (still am!) in the spirit this holiday season, I decided to fashion a few Christmas tree decorations that are inspired by the sea and made from the left overs.

I know it is a little late, but I figured that I would share the process and some images of the final product. The supplies are pretty simple:

• A power drill
• A 3/8" wood drill bit
• 3/8" Dowel
• Wood Glue
• Sand paper
• Drift wood in a variety of sizes
• A drift wood rectangular base (or a 2x4)
• A decorative star or snowflake

When selecting pieces of drift wood for the body of the tree, select a variety of sizes. The trees that I made were approximately 16" to 18", and for a tree this large it required 12-14 pieces. It is good to select additional pieces in case they split when drilling them.

Place a solid piece of scrap wood under the drift wood pieces while drilling them. Drill through each drift wood piece. Using sand paper clean up the edges of where the drill broke through.

Drill a hole about 1/2" deep on the base wood. Using a small amount of wood glue, fasten the dowel vertically in the base. Allow the glue to dry.

Arrange the drift wood pieces in the order from the bottom of the tree to the top. Start sliding the drift wood pieces on the vertical dowel. I would not suggest using glue at this time, so that you can decide and adjust the branches of the tree. There are two ways of putting these drift wood trees together; first with the branches in a line and evenly spaced on the dowel or as shown in the image below....

...stacked directly on top of each other and all at different angles. This is another reason why you should hold off on using glue on the drift wood pieces - I actually opted to not use glue at all so that I can adjust the trees as I need.

Finish off the top of the tree with a star or snowflake ornament. I purchased these laser cut snowflakes from Crate & Barrel. Add your own color or decoration to the top of the tree.

All in all a pretty easy, reclaimed, rustic, decoration inspired by the sea! Enjoy!