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/

Saints are Super Bowl Bound!!!!!

Yeah!!! Let's GEAUX SAINTS!!!!!Amazing and tough win against the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC Championship Title, and also the NFC berth in the Super Bowl...Miami...February 7th!!! FIRST TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY!!!

What a nail-biter for both sides. So many mistakes, so many bad calls. It came down to the wire! New Orleans, and Louisiana as a whole really needed this.

Woo Hoo!!!!! Celebrating the Saints first NFC Championship, and first time berth in the Super Bowl!!!

~~ Key West ~~

Key West is a tiny little island only 4 miles long and 2 miles wide, located at the end of the string of islands known as the Straits of Florida or more commonly known as the Florida Keys. Did you know that the Florida Keys consist of about 1,700 islands?? The Keys start at the southwest tip of Florida, about 15 miles south of Miami at Biscayne National Park, and extend to Key West, and on to uninhabited Dry Tortugas.


Early history says that the Keys were originally inhabited by Calusa and Tequesta Native Americans. The Keys were later found and charted by Juan Ponce de Leon. The word "Key" is from the Spanish word Cayo meaning small island.

For many years, Key West was once the largest town in Florida and actually grew prosperous from shipwrecks! The isolated outpost was well located for trade with Cuba, the Bahamas, and was on the main trade route from New Orleans. Improved navigation led to fewer shipwrecks, and Key West went into a decline in the late nineteenth century.

Some other notable tidbits of the Keys: Seven Mile Bridge, Cuban Revolution, Key Limes, Duval Street, Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Overseas Railway, Conch Republic, Key Deer, Everglades National Park, Southernmost Tip Buoy, Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville.


Creations I've made recently that remind me of the Florida Keys and Key West

Caribbean Floral Lampwork Glass Earrings

Key West Lampwork Glass Earrings

Garnet Flowers ✿ January Birthstone made Beautiful!

History of Garnets

If you break open a pomegranate and see the tiny glossy red seeds, you can understand why the word garnet comes from the Latin word "granatus" which originated when garnet grains in rock were compared to the dark red seeds of the pomegranate fruit. To the ancient world, garnet was a tiny glossy red gem, bursting with fire and brilliance. Garnets are formed in nature when high temperatures and/or pressure are factors. It can be transparent to opaque and has a specific gravity between 3.4 and 4.3. Garnets have been used as gemstones in jewelry for thousands of years.

Color

Even though people tend to think of a garnet as a blood red gemstone, it actually occurs in every color except blue. The varieties are named for their color with names such as rhodolite (purplish red), hessonite (orange, cinnamon, or pinkish variety) and tsavorite (dark green) etc.

Location of mines

These gemstones are found in the Arizona, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, Burma, Scotland, Switzerland and Tanzania. Unfortunately, many garnets mined are not of sufficient quality to be used in fine jewelry.

Birthstone

The garnet is the gemstone for those born in January and is also that associated with the Zodiac sign Aquarius. It is often given as a gift for the second or 6th wedding anniversary.

Folklore and Legends

In a metaphysical sense, the garnet has a long folk lore history tied to it. It is thought to have powers that affect healing, strength, and protection. It is often worn to relieve inflammations of the skin, and is believed to regulate the heart and blood flow and aid in curing depression. In earlier times, garnets were often exchanged as gifts as a show of their affection for each other. It has been said that King Solomon wore a large red garnet as well as eleven other gems (representing the 12 steps of Jacob's Ladder) in his breast plate to help him win battles. In the 13th century, they were worn to repel insects and evil spirits and in Egyptian times they were said to have been taken into the tombs with the dead as payment to the gods.

Use of Garnets in Vintage Jewelry

Because garnets have been mined for such a long time, they were used extensively in vintage jewelry during the Victorian ages through to the early 20th century. Formerly the stones were cut with a flat back cabochon style, but today they are normally faceted either step cut or mixed cut. Garnets were often cut into thin slices and inlaid, as in cloisonne inlay. When red garnets were mounted in Anglo-Saxon jewelry or Victorian jewelry, they were usually backed with gold or silver foil for added brilliance and shine.

Get my Garnet Flowers Earrings in my shop!

No Ducks for Me This Year :(

I generally keep my Blog posts focused on my Jewelry business, and occasional family matters, but I wanted to show off my pretty duck from last year...

Well, duck season in northeast Louisiana is about to end, and I still haven't "harvested" any. I've been only a few times....and haven't even fired a single shot!

Guess they're safe from me this year :) Hubby has only "harvested" a few himself. So much for that wonderful Duck & Oyster Gumbo Hubby makes each year...

Here is my fabulous FIRST DUCK which was a Pintail Drake...not bad for your first one! He's a pretty sought after duck.
He was "harvested" at Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge on November, 15th, 2008.