The CREATE Artists' Faire

It must have been a pretty great weekend, since it has taken me four blog posts to tell you all about it!  In this fourth and final post about the CREATE Mixed Media Art Retreat in Somerset, New Jersey, I will share with you some photos from the Friday night Artists' Faire and give you a peek into the mobile art studio I created in my hotel room.

The Artists' Faire comprised about twelve vendors, many of them instructors from the art retreat, offering their original works for sale.  There were also a few vendors selling artists' supplies like jewelry-making tools, books, stencils, and rubber stamps.

I had just arrived when I attended the Faire, and still a little googly-eyed about the whole experience, so I don't have a very balanced representation of the vendors.  I took a zillion photos at Lynne Suprock's booth, called Simply Pretty Stuff.  I loved every item on her table!

Here is a closer look at some of the amazing items she had available, many of which you can get another look at by visiting her blog.  Check out these amazing necklaces created from salt shakers:

 And lovely mixed-media crowns:

 Absolutely adorable resin-covered booklaces:

 Super-cool shotgun shell bezel rings:

It was at the Artists' Faire that I had my first chance to chat with Seth Apter, who would be my bookbinding instructor on Sunday morning.

 A close-up look at one of Seth's collages:

I was absolutely delighted to chat with Jodi Ohl...what a sweet woman!

I enjoyed her work so much that I just had to purchase a piece to take home with me:

I also brought home an original piece by mixed media artist Elizabeth Nixon, using a rubber stamp from Julie Nutting's designs created by Prima and sold by Scraputante.

Back in my hotel room, I reveled in the opportunity to spread my art supplies out on the table and work on an art journal page to represent my weekend.

I've seen other artists on the road turning their hotel rooms into temporary art studios, but have never had the opportunity to do it myself before this art retreat weekend.  My page was pre-painted, so I basically just played around with pens and markers.

I came to a very important conclusion:  If you are a woman and want to be an artist, perhaps you should seriously consider changing your name to something that starts with the letter "J."  I was writing about all the artists I had seen already that evening, and besides Seth (the only man), I recorded Julie (Fei Fen Balzer), Jenn (Mason), Jodi (Ohl), and Joanne (Sharpe).  Do you think I've reached a valid conclusion here?

And there you have it!  My two-night art retreat experience in four blog posts.  If you missed my entries about Jane's class, Kari's class, or Seth's class, be sure to check them out.  And if you haven't yet entered the GIVEAWAY, you have until July 31 to do so!  The winner will be announced August 1.