Wooden handbags and more at Paradise City Arts Festival - Northampton

Beadle, the Curious and Esatair the Eager were happy
to be at the Paradise City Arts Festival...especially
since they could get a good look at exciting work by
other artists. The booth facing mine held the new
work by Mark and Sharon Diebolt of Rochester, NY.
(Formerly going under Treebourne Woodworking Inc.
Their new name is the Hammill/Diebolt Studio.) Long time
makers of wooden jewelry boxes, Mark and Sharon introduced
this line of beautifully crafted, elegant hinged handbags made
from wood veneer with leather sides this past March. They
have been working on the design and perfecting the process
for about three years. Just launched this Spring, they have
been enthusiastically received! The line is so new, there is no
website yet, but they will have one soon. Their email
is: treebourne@yahoo.com.

A new product meant a new booth design was needed. The
one they have come up is a beauty in itself!



I see one bag is missing from the display in this photo.
No surprise. They were selling well!

Some of my favorite exhibitors were at the show, including
Bruce Chapin - whose work always challenges me to push
further: http://brucechapin.com/ I've mentioned him before
in my blog, but can't resist highlighting him again! This is
a quote from him use on the Artful Home online site:
http://www.artfulhome.com/artist/Bruce-Chapin/8164

"The more I create, the less I reveal. I find the universe a
strange and marvelous place. I am still trying to figure it
out. The workings of the known universe make complete
sense to me, and simultaneously seem completely absurd."

Another inspiring artist at the show was Faith Wilson:
http://www.faithwilsonart.com/ She uses the term Liminalist
art. Check out her website and comments. It will stir up your
thoughts about the intersection of functional and fine art and
stepping into new worlds. Our home definitely needs one
of her floorcloths. She was also at the ACC Atlanta show with
me where I took this photo of her in her booth. Somehow, I
never quite succeeded in posting re that show.



As usual, press came by to cover the show, including
Wan Chi Lau from Rainyday magazine. Here is the link
to their write up on the show including a couple photos of
my work:
http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2011/Home/October/Week2/RDMHomeOct1111.htm#ParadiseCity_Northamton

Well, as I hinted in my last post. I'm off on an adventure.
Eager to meander, soak in new sites and sounds, and
be open to inspiration. I'm hoping a few new stories might
show up. Stay tuned!

Adventure on! Wendy

Tielcoc, theStory nurturer and Stellore, the Storyteller

As promised - here are a few images of new storytellers who
showed up to make the trip to Northampton for the Paradise
City Arts Festival Show.

"Tielcoc, the Story Nurturer"


Tielcoc's legend card reads:
"This gentle nest dwelling Star Wanderer, is a keeper
of story eggs. Tielcoc cares for the hatching eggs, holding
them, protecting them, singing to them and tucking them in
warm pouches on cool eves. Once the stories are fully formed,
Tielcoc dons his mask and encourages them to fly out to
awaiting worlds."

Yes, those are cockatiel feathers I used. They were gifted to
me by a generous owner of a pet cockatiel. I love their soft
yellow and gray. A few are tucked into the storyteller's
eyebrows. When you shake the story eggs, you can hear the
stories rattling around trying to come out.



A second new teller of tales is:
Stellore,the Storyteller



Stellore's legend:
"Stellore, one of a long line of wandering teller of tales,
travels in and out of various time dimensions collecting and
and sharing stories. Lately Stellore has found some intriguing
ones involving the circus, a forest and a feline or two. Stellore
encourages those gathered to preserve the lore of their
communities so that the deep story wisdom the tales contain
is not lost to future generations."

I'm having fun with those mini clown masks!
Stellore's cape and carpet were created from an old textile
remnant, beautifully woven by the Chin of N. Burma
(now Mynamar).

As usual, the Paradise City Show was beautiful and
energizing. Next post will be about new discoveries and
favorite exhibitors there.

I'm getting ready for some venturing to far reaches so
may slip off the grid for awhile after that post. Plan to
return with new images, stories, and ideas.

Adventure on! Wendy