Monday, July 29, 2013

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.


10 comments:

Adriann said...

The jewelry artist is amazing! Love the vintage whimsy she conveyed. Thank you for taking us along with you. I enjoy living vicariously through others. One day I hope to take a retreat of my own.

Lorinda.C.F said...

So many beautiful treasures at the Faire! Looks like you had a great time. Thanks for sharing. Will take note on the "J" name ;-) Thanks so much for your kind comment on my ICADs xx

Terry said...

Andria,

I was going to attend the Create in Somerset this year, but I postponed it until next year for a variety of reasons. After reading your post I am definitely attending next year!

Terry

Joyfulploys said...

I appreciate your telling about your retreat...those necklaces from salt shakers look cute. I'm a fan of Jodi Ohl too.
Mary

scrapwordsmom said...

So fun to hear about your weekend...sounds GRAND!! I hope to go to one of these things in the near future!! And love that journal page:)

Parabolic Muse said...

Andria, I'm jealous. That's all.

Jodi Ohl has a class in the 21 Secrets workshop I took this year. She seems really nice. I love the piece you bought. And I love seeing your work with pens and markers!! This really shows your lettering skills too!

I hope you get to go to another retreat soon. So fun.

barb said...

I just found out about this event and it's only 10 minutes from my job. I feel like a dork for missing it but I look forward to next year. I was googling reviews of the event and found your blog. You seemed thrilled, is this an event you'd go to again? I've been to a number of conferences, like art and soul, artiscape, etc but they've been out of the budget for a couple of years. Being able to go to an event so close to home would save me so much $$$$. Excited!

barb said...

I just found out about this event and it's only 10 minutes from my job. I feel like a dork for missing it but I look forward to next year. I was googling reviews of the event and found your blog. You seemed thrilled, is this an event you'd go to again? I've been to a number of conferences, like art and soul, artiscape, etc but they've been out of the budget for a couple of years. Being able to go to an event so close to home would save me so much $$$$. Excited!

reviewzonespark said...

Very nice your blog and article. I like this blog thank for sharing reviewzonespark

sheau said...

z4b12m9t45 f1k86t3t66 s8x62j5i43 w5c87n9x43 z2l78s8w08 u7d63f9a64