Artisan Feature Spotlight: Splendiferous Fiber

I've decided to feature some very talented Artisans I've "met" through the very special "Handmade" community!! This will be a feature I'm adding to my Blog hopefully every two weeks! So, be sure to stop by often to see the next Artisan Feature Spotlight!

♥ Would you like to be featured on my Blog? I'll be randomly selecting the next Artisan Feature from the comments left on this post!

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First Artisan Feature Spotlight #2 of 2010 - Splendiferous Fiber


"Icy Trees Square Hand-painted Silk Scarf"

Wendy is the owner and talented artisan of Splendiferous Fiber ~ Wearable Art and Accessories. She has been creating for as long as she can remember, even earning sewing and dress-making badges in the Girl Scouts (a few years ago she says)!

Wendy creates the most beautiful hand-painted and hand-dyed scarves, and beaded mini-bags/purses, totes. She says she gets most of her inspiration from her natural surroundings, and also from her personal photography. She is also inspired by the fabrics and materials that she uses.

Mardi Gras Mask Mini-Purse

"When painting and dying, there are always elements of chance", says Wendy, "once the paint has dried or the dye has batched, you see your work for the first time and it's always like opening a surprise gift!" This, she says, is her favorite thing about what she does. She also likes seeing her projects come together as she assembles them.

When asked what her biggest challenge is as an artist, she simply says TIME; a common challenge for most artisans. Wendy says, "I finally have two consecutive days that allow me enough time to dye and rinse some rainbow scarves!" When she finds some EXTRA time, she'd like to better her skills at free-motion quilting and also get into making fused glass. However, she says she might have to have her house re-wired, and not having enough space doesn't allow for another craft right now!

Ballerina Fairies Tote or Dance Bag

Wendy's favorite item she's created is a rainbow velvet scarf. "I wear it all of the time. It's great advertising and I've gotten commission work from it", says Wendy. When asked to give other sellers a piece of advice, she simply says, "find something unique to create."
My favorite creation from Wendy is her Silver Dew Hand-Painted Silk Scarf...it's my favorite color!

Silver Dew Hand-Painted Silk Scarf

Some other interesting information about Wendy: She is a fiber artist, and she has won several awards (you can find more information on her Fotki site regarding these awards). She has an art quilt that was juried into the new book, 500 Art Quilts, which will be in bookstores in March! Be on the lookout for that! She has two pieces in a fiber show at Bluebonnet Swamp in Baton Rouge which can be seen through February 7th, in addition to other shows around the country (see her Blog for more information). Wendy also designs and sews costumes for the local youth ballet. Wow, no wonder she has very limited time!

Just in time for the Superbowl, and the New Orleans Saints' first appearance, the Fleur de Lis mini-purse

Something that many people don't know about Wendy is that she holds a BFA and an MA. She also studied Russian in high school when everyone else took up Spanish or French! However, she says she only remembers a few phrases now!



♥For more of her work, visit her online shops:

SplendiferousFiber.etsy.com
SplendiferousFiber.artfire.com

♥Find more information about Wendy and where she will be for upcoming events be sure to visit her websites:

http://splendiferousfiber.blogspot.com/
http://public.fotki.com/wlstarn/

Artisan Feature Spotlight: Arriving Angels

I've decided to feature some very talented Artisans I've "met" through the very special "Handmade" community!! This will be a feature I'm adding to my Blog hopefully every two weeks! So, be sure to stop by often to see the next Artisan Feature Spotlight!

♥ Would you like to be featured on my Blog? I'll be randomly selecting the next Artisan Feature from the comments left on this post!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First Artisan Feature Spotlight of 2010 - Arriving Angels

"Pink Shabby Cottage" Quilt handmade by Peggy of Arriving Angels

Peggy, owner and artisan behind Arriving Angels, has been creating since the young age of 8! She entered her first sewing project, which was a red and white apron sewn on a peddler Singer sewing machine, into the 4-H Fair! Peggy's interest in sewing was sparkled by watching her Granny create school clothes for her and her siblings in the summer.

Peggy mostly creates gorgeous Rag Quilts, but, she will create whatever comes to mind! Another very popular item she creates is Cupcake Trinket Boxes (she crochets the "cupcake" and inserts little boxes inside them) which are perfect for gift-giving. Other items she creates are embroidered towels, crochet blankets, and baby washcloths and bibs! She has also created some very gorgeous custom requests!

A "plate" of Peggy's infamous Cupcake Trinket Boxes

When asked where she gets her inspiration to create, she said she can often just look at a piece of fabric. "I will sit and look at a piece of fabric or pictures for hours, or sometimes just thoughts or designing on the computer. I will sometimes have my oldest granddaughter Ashleigh draw me a picture!"

Peggy has created a lot of gorgeous pieces, but, her favorite creation is the King Quilt she custom created for a customer last summer. She said creating the Quilt was a lot of hard work as she created it with a lot of "crazy blocks". But, she was very pleased with how beautiful it turned out! She said she's even done two more custom quilts for this same customer!

"King Quilt" - Custom made quilt by Peggy

Her favorite part of what she does is that she gets to stay at home and create. Often times her grandchildren are sitting in her sewing room watching her and sometimes even helping her!

Her favorite part of creating might be getting to stay at home but, her most difficult challenge as a designer is trying to balance her time between her daughters, her 9 grandchildren, and her "home chores"! Between creating, photographing her creations, listing new items in her shop, filling orders, etc., she has very little time for herself! She says it can get pretty busy around her house! I'd imagine...she has 9 little grandchildren!! When she finds some spare time, she'd like to learn how to paint. She jokingly says, "I mean I can paint a tree or a flower, but I mean really paint like people, animals and houses".

"Hearts of Love" quilt that was given away in a Raffle during 2009.

Peggy's advice for other Artisans and Sellers is to basically just stick with your project, no matter how bleak it looks, or if you feel like it's not coming together. "It will work if you make it work", she says. Also, she encourages everyone to make lots of friends, and have lots of fun!

"I Love My Snowmen" Quilt; custom made by Peggy!

During Peggy's down time, she says she likes nothing better than a week of hard work, followed by shutting down her computer and taking off in the camper to the lake in the Colorado Mountains! She thoroughly enjoys watching her grandchildren fish with their Grandpa, roasting marshmallows with them and telling them stories. She and her Hubby also love to just get into the car and drive with no real destination in mind. They like seeing what is around the turn, or on a road they've never driven down. And after 36 years, they've found some pretty interesting places!

In addition to her 9 grandchildren, she has two furbabies; Mollie the miniature Pomeranian, and Weezie the "pound puppy". Contrary to the character Weezie was named after (Weezer of Steel Magnolias) she's the sweetest puppy around!

Mollie and Weezie napping on one of Peggy's quilts!

♥You can find Peggy's work on Etsy- Arriving Angels
♥Follow Arriving Angels on Twitter!

This is one of my all-time favorite Cupcake Trinket Boxes!