'Roaring Lion Studios--Handcrafted Sterling Silver, Copper, and Brass Jewlery ' by RoaringLionStudios

Roaring Lion Studios features metalwork jewelry by fine artist Pamela Caughey. She is a multi-media artist working in jewelry, painting, encaustic, drawing and printmaking. She enjoys the sculptural and tactile aspects of working with metal, and enjoys hammering, riveting, patinating and either cold connections or soldering, depending on what final effect she is striving for. Her other media are on her main website at www.pamelacaughey.com


Mixed Metal Four Layer ...
$38.00

Custom Artisan Sterling...
$40.00

No. 5 Custom Rainbow Co...
$38.00

Modern Minimalist Dots ...
$35.00

Curved Copper Earrings ...
$25.00

Silver Hoop Artisan Dan...
$40.00

Dangling and Bitten Etc...
$30.00

Dangling Silver Lampwor...
$40.00

Funky Fun Aluminum Pend...
$36.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Featured Artist Eva Champagne is in "CUP HEAVEN!"

Eva Champagne firing the wood-soda kiln at Guldagergaard, Denmark--before her face was completely covered in soot!

Eva Champagne is an amazing sculptor/ceramicist I got to know as a fellow grad student at the University of Montana.  She has done lots of residencies since grad school, and she just returned from her most recent one in Denmark.  I am continually blown away by her work, and feel lucky to have caught up with her-- she is quite the master.  You'll see.  Here's her story!

EVA CHAMPAGNE

I’m primarily a sculptor, however my pragmatic side is attracted to making functional objects. For fourteen years I worked in the restaurant business as a server as well as a cook; making pots for use is in keeping with this background as well.

Making things by hand is fundamental to who I am. I feel grounded by it, and am convinced that making things with one’s hands is a dignified thing to do. I believe there is an ineffable quality to handmade things, whether art, functional, edible, adornments, whatever, that affirms our interconnectedness, not only between maker and viewer/handler, but between ourselves and the materials used, and by extension, the world at large. It is a real-time, tangible, humanizing experience to make and to use handmade items. We may have all kinds of technologies that make handmade things seem anachronistic, but we are still flesh and blood, and I feel we need them in our lives.

 I grew up in Hong Kong and was surrounded by the rich decorative traditions of China, Korea, India and Southeast Asia through furniture, pottery, metal wares, cloisonne, silk fabrics, etc. This experience has had an immeasurable influence on the development of my creative aesthetic and sense of beauty. Of at least equal impact has been my enduring fascination with the forms and processes of nature, both for their own sake and as metaphors for the human experience. I still cook, and find studio practices to be related to kitchen practices, especially with regard to the necessity of quality ingredients, careful, respectful preparation, and a presence of mind that can respond to the materials at hand in the moment and with inspiration. I love the practicality of pottery, and also the way a good handmade pot has a presence that can elevate a mundane event, like your morning cup of coffee, into something intentional, reflective. I'm encouraged by the connections made with people who enjoy using my pots. I'm inspired by the process and dazzling effects of soda firing, and by the sometimes very fine line distinguishing a funky dud from a beautiful treasure.

This life is something to celebrate, and there are as many ways to do that as there are people. I’m grateful to be able to get mucky in my studio and make objects that become a part of other people’s celebrations, be they a peaceful cup of tea or a boisterous basket of summer blossoms.

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Take a look at Eva's Treasury--each link is clickable and will take you right to her Etsy store.  So many reasons to check it out--Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc. !  Also, she is offering FREE SHIPPING through May 21st, when she'll be closing up shop for the summer.

Thank you so much, Eva for being our featured artist this week!

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'Cup Heaven!' by EvaChampagneCeramics

I love making cups, and it probably shows.


Mug
$32.00

Little cup
$18.00

Mug
$32.00

Tumbler
$28.00

Tall mug
$32.00

Mug
$32.00

Little cup
$18.00

Mug
$32.00

Mug
$32.00

Tumbler
$28.00

Mug
$32.00

Tumbler
$28.00



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Click here to see Eva's fine art website:

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Featured Artist Eric Young and his Fantastic Tangled Metal


I came across Eric Young's phenomenol chainmail work on Etsy and just couldn't wait to know more about how he got started and the types of items in his Etsy store!  Here is his story--ENJOY!!


Pam:  It's so exciting to be featuring you, Eric--you are a real chainmail artisan!  Please tell us about yourself and how you got started with this fascinating technique/art?

Eric: My name is Eric Young and I have been crafting chainmail armor and jewelry for over 25 years. It all started around 1986 when I decided to take all of my coat hangers out of my closet and make a chainmail shirt for myself. Needless to say, my mother was a little upset from all of my clothing being on the floor in my closet. Then she saw what I was doing and became really supportive. However, she never bought me another metal hanger after that.

Pam:  How did you learn this technique? 

Eric:  When I started, there were no "how to" web tutorials or books. The best I could come up with were one or two paragraphs and   fuzzy pictures in the history books at the library. European chainmail was based on a four in one pattern. Meaning every ring (except for the outside edges) was connected to four other rings. Japanese chainmail also uses a four in one, but there was very little information about that back then either. With much trial and error I was able to finally figure out the pattern. Creating a shirt required the destruction of a shirt to see how it went together. Another not so happy moment from my mother.

Pam:  How old were you when you really got hooked?

Eric:  In the process of completing my shirt I was sitting at a arts and crafts show with my parents. (My dad is a silver and gold smith and my mother makes soaps, oils and incense.) A man came by and asked how much for the chainmail shirt. I jokingly said $350. "Sold." he said. That was the point where I became a "professional" chainmailer. I sold my first piece even before it was completed. I was 13 years old.

Since then I have created dozens of shirts, leggings and head armor as well as thousands of jewelry items. I was on the Renaissance Fair circuit for many years as a booth owner. I have been in many juried art shows and plenty of Arts and crafts shows over the years. I decided to settle down and not be on the road anymore a few years ago. I took a 9 to 5 day job and rented a house. I have been semi-retired from making chainmail for around 8 years. I was laid off in early April of this year after many years working in the tourism industry.

I have decided to try and make money with my art once again. I joined Etsy at the beginning of March and have sold a few pieces. I also have sold to a shop in the town where I live and started doing a couple of local Art shows. I do not have the intention of going back on the road. I do have the intention of some day finishing a shirt and some other armor pieces for myself.

Pam:  Can you talk about how much time it takes to make say a shirt or leggings, and how do you get a "custom fit" for your customers?

Eric: Back when I was making chainmail for 12 to 18 hours a day I could complete a shirt in under two days. Being out of practice it would take me about a week to complete a shirt. Taking measurements for a custom fit is much like a tailor does. You measure the chest and arms and other spots and modify the shirt by adding or subtracting rings.

Pam:  Also, do you take custom orders?

Eric:  Yes, I take custom orders. If you can imagine it, I can create it. I may not be as fast as I once was but I do remember most all of my tricks of the trade. And more is coming back to me each day that I make items.


Be sure to check out these other sites of Eric’s:

For more information on Tangled Metal visit these sites:
http://www.TangledMetal.com
http://www.facebook.com/TangledMetal
http://www.twitter.com/TangledMetal

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TangledMetal
http://www.artfire.com/users/TangledMetal


GREAT JOB, Eric!  It was really nice to hear your story and learn more about your fascinating talent with chainmail armor and jewelry!!  Hope you finish your suit one day and best wishes with your Etsy Business!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Karen Cantrell is Unstoppable when it comes to Sewing! Meet our Featured Artist of the Week!



Pam:  Karen, please tell us a little about you and how you got started with your Etsy store?
 
Karen:   I was exposed to all kinds of creative outlets growing up.  I have a mom who is a professional quilter. I have a dad who does incredible one line drawings. I come from a long line of ancestors who did amazing handwork and are creative and artistic. I love that their gifts are a part of me and I feel blessed to be able to use the past to pass on a quality future.

For now, my shop has mostly cloth napkins in it - and a handful of other items that I couldn't help but make.  I do enjoy making all kinds of other things.  I have recently discovered that I can sew things without a pattern and it has been so liberating!  I share what I make on my blog.  www.HandmadeSimpleBlue.blogspot.com 

I have chosen to fill my etsy shop with cloth napkins because I love them! Pick a napkin that you love and every time you sit down for a meal, you will have a little lift that is just yours.  Not only that but cloth napkins stick around long enough to collect memories - family meals, parties, dinner guests, celebratory banana splits...

The way I see it, we have two choices:
1 - Your $ turns into paper napkins and your paper napkins turn into trash.
2 - Your $ turns into cloth napkins and your cloth napkins turn into memories.
(and because cloth napkins are made from...cloth...I'd choose them anyway - it's fabric!)

Pam:  Can you tell us something funny about you?
Karen:  I've only had one bloody nose my entire life.  If my kids ever get one, I'm not sure I will know what to do to take care of it.

Pam:  Well, my boys are grown, now 24 and 21, and I do recall a bloody nose or two.  I believe you tell them to tip their head back, and give them some kleenex, er, maybe a cloth napkin.  Wash it out right away--and that should fix it!

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Karen has put together a wonderful treasury to feature her current products.  Please spend some time looking at her handiwork--click on any picture and you'll go straight to her Etsy store!   Aren't the colors great?!!!

'SimpleBlue Treasury' by SimpleBlue


Cloth Napkins - Sweet L...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - Pink Li...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - Turquoi...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - Rabbit ...
$11.25

Cloth Napkins - Ruby Wi...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - Owl Bro...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - 10 Inch...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - Cocoa -...
$12.00

Cloth Napkin - Green Da...
$24.00

Cloth Napkins - 10 Inch...
$12.00

Cloth Napkin - 7 Inch R...
$11.00

Cloth Napkins - 10 Inch...
$12.00

Cloth Napkins - 10 Inch...
$24.00

Cloth Napkins - Pink - ...
$21.00

Cloth Napkins - 7 Inch ...
$9.00

Cloth Napkins - Love Re...
$12.00


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Karen's Etsy Store can be found here:  www.SimpleBlue.Etsy.com

For Karen's ideas, tutorials and other information, and maybe even a laugh or two, visit:

Thank you, Karen, for being our featured artist this week!  Wishing you the best with your Etsy store!  Happy Spring, and sew on, and sew on... : )