FEATURED ETSY SHOP - PIXIE DUST FINERIES

Topaz Crystal Necklace

by Patricia Bullock of PIXIE DUST FINERIES

Patricia of Pixie Dust Fineries on Etsy has a huge selection of delightful jewelry which should please anyone's taste!  She also has a selection of  "awareness" jewelry for MS, Breast Cancer, Diabetes and Heart Disease.  Be sure to pay a visit to PIXIE DUST FINERIES to see all her lovely creations.  You will also find a section of Bridal jewelry.  I'm sure you will be able to find just what you are looking for!

Let's take a moment to learn a little bit more about Patricia, by reading her interview below.

What led you to start creating your art/craft?

I have always been an artsy/crafty person. When I was a kid,I was constantly doing some type of craft from macramé to knitting, to drawing, you name it I probably did it. In 2007, I lost my job; I started making jewelry as gifts for my family. At one point, I made many more pieces than I needed so I decided to try my hand at selling some of them on Etsy.

How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

I have always loved jewelry and I love the relationship that women have with their jewelry. It makes us feel beautiful, feminine, and powerful. It affects us in many ways, and even if a piece does not cost thousands of dollars, it is still precious to us. Therefore, I choose Jewelry.

Aglow Vanilla Pearl and Crystal Bride/Bridesmaid Earrings

by Patricia

What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?

The part of jewelry making I find most enjoyable is designing the piece. Creating jewelry is very therapeutic for me.

If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?

I would choose a tomato, because they come in many varieties of shape, sizes and colors.

Pink Crystal Breast Cancer Bracelet

If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your creativity what would that be, and why?

Pencil Drawings, it is something I have always enjoyed doing, but never really pursued it after school.

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?

Individuality, creativity, uniqueness!

What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?

Focus on what you love and you will be successful.

Patricia, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and lovely creations with everyone!

To learn more about Patricia and Pixie Dust Fineries, be sure to visit the links below.

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

TWITTER

FLICKR

A Whimsical "Flower Sprite"...to make you smile!

This little "flower sprite" just arrived in my DZFANTASY shop!  She is sure to make you smile and bring a bit of whimsey and magic whereever she may go!  To see the rest of her click on the link below.

FLOWER SPRITE

FEATURED ETSY SHOP - BRIOLE PHOTOGRAPHY

STORMY SAILS

8x10 Fine Art Photograph

Beautiful sailboat at anchor off the small British Virgin Island of Jost Van Dyke

by BRIOLE PHOTOGRAPHY

Heather of BRIOLE PHOTOGRAPHY on Etsy has some very stunning and beautiful photography in her shop.  Scenes of nature and beautiful scenes from the Caribbean, and more.  Be sure to stop by for a visit!  First, let's read Heather's interview below to see what her thoughts are regarding her art.

What led you to start creating your art/craft:

I took a photography class in high school which started my interest in the subject, but it really began with the purchase of my first digital camera in college. I love looking at the world through the perspective of a camera lens. It makes me slow down and savor the moment and see the beauty in the unexpected. A photograph captures a moment in time that would otherwise be forgotten...and for that, I am forever grateful.

 How did you decide what medium you wanted to work with?

For me it wasn't so much a conscious decision that I choose this medium, rather it was a passion that found its way to me. It wasn't something that I said in advance, I am going to go out and learn photography and this is what I want to do...once I started experimenting with photography, it was a feeling of coming home and now I couldn't imagine my life without it.

What aspect of creating your art/craft do you find the most enjoyable?

The joy of taking a picture that at first glance would be something that someone wouldn't consider worthy of taking a second glance at. But once captured, it becomes something beautiful that someone would want to hang on their wall and look at time and time again.

If you had to choose a fruit OR a vegetable, to describe your art/craft, what would you choose, and why?

This is a great question! I would say a red bell pepper...it captures your attention at first glance, and upon further examination, it has a depth and complexity of flavor that is hard to beat and it is very colorful and joyful to look at.

PRETTY IN PINK - 8 x 10 Fine Art Photography

by Heather

If you had to choose one other medium in which to display your “creativity”, what would that be, and why?

I do have a second creative outlet which is quilting. I am a fifth generation quilter and love the process of combining different fabrics into a piece of art that serves two functions, both being a piece of art and something warm to snuggle with on a cold winter day.

PEACE HILL - 8 X 10 Fine Art Photography

by Heather

This photo is of a solitary sugar mill ruin, which sits atop Peace Hill watching over the island of St. John, in the US Virgin Islands.

What message, if any, do you want to convey with your art/craft?

That beauty can be found everywhere. You just have to slow down and appreciate it!

What advice do you have for other artists/crafters?

Find your own artistic expression and point of view. It is easy to fall into the trap of trying to emulate what is popular at the moment or what others who also share your medium are selling. Be true to yourself and your artistic vision will resonate with others because it is a true expression of something you believe in.

Heather, your work is wonderful!  Thanks so much for taking the time to not only share your photography with everyone, but for also sharing your thoughts with us.
 
To see and learn more about Heather and her work, be sure to visit her links below.
 

FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

PREPARING DIGITAL IMAGES FOR ART SHOW JURYING

Anyone who exhibits in art shows will have probably noticed that the trend has been shifting to shows asking for "digital images" for jurying into a show rather than slides.  While some shows still allow artists to send in slides, or even a few smaller shows accept photos, it is clear that eventually most of the larger, better shows have either already switched to only accepting "digital images", or will do so in the near future.  One of the reasons for this change is that Kodak announced back in 2004 that they would cease production of slide projectors.

With the new season of art shows coming up soon, and having to already send in applications, I decided I needed to know how to format my own digital images in the required sizes being requested on the various applications. What I found rather confusing was the difference in size requirements stated in the different shows' applications.

Many of you, I'm sure, have heard or worked with the ZAPPLICATION method of applying for shows, where their requirements stated that images had to be 1920 x 1920 pixels, at 72 PPI (pixels per inch) saved in RGB or preferably sRGB color, and shouldn't be larger than 1.8 MB in size, and in "baseline jpg" format. 

WOW, what did all that mean, and how was I going to figure it out?  I've worked with photo editing programs for quite a few years, but when I tried sizing an image to 1920 x 1920 pixels, it looked weird!  How could you have an image be the same width and length....it looked out of shape!

What I wasn't aware of, at the time, was that ZAPP's image size requirement meant that you had to format your images with a "black mask" so that each image was a rectangular size of 1920 x 1920.  After searching in my photo editing program, that I've used for many years, I couldn't find anything that allowed me to meet all the requirements. Now, I read that ZAPP has relaxed their requirements so that an image's longest side only needs to be 1400 pixels.

Well, now what?  I could pay an additional $20.00 - $30.00 to each show application to have them convert my slides (5 sildes) to digital images, but that didn't seem like the way to go.........so.........I spent half an afternoon checking out "photo editing" programs, and decided on ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 8 (the latest version). Other versions, I'm sure work just as well.

After spending another half a day, figuring out the features I needed to use to get my images to correspond with everyone's size requirements, I finally did it!!  Needless to say, I was rather thrilled that I could now handle my own images !!

Below are several links and info that can help you decide how to go about getting your images prepared for jurying into art shows:

1.  Adobe Photo Shop or Adobe Photoshop Elements software are two great programs to help you meet the requirements of jury images.  Adobe Elements is a great program and the price is right!  (I paid $76.00 and got a $20.00 rebate) That is a great price compared to what Adobe Photoshop sells for!

2. Here is the link to the ZAPP site, which lets you upload your images and gives you all the information you need in order to apply for shows that are listed with them:  ZAPPLICATION

Here is ZAPP'S info page on formatting your images:

 FORMATTING IMAGES

3. I found this site extremely useful, which gives you the steps and photos to follow in order to set up your images in PhotoShop or Photoshop Elements:  BERMAN GRAPHICS   This site definitely saved me a lot of time in learning how to do this.

4. ZAPP also mentioned free photo editing software sites, if you don't have or want to spend the money on a program for yourself.

   For window based computers, they recommended PAINT at:

http://getpaint/

  For MAC users:  GIMP at:

http://www.gimp.org/

5.  One good point I read will researching this info, was that it is a good idea to check with the show you are applying for to determine if their image jurying will be done on a computer screen or will it be projection jurying. 

After all this research and trying to figure out how to do everything....I came across a show I wanted to try this year, only to find that they preferred PHOTOS...no less!!

GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOU ARTISTS OUT THERE!

HAPPY SELLING IN 2010!!

FLOWER FAIRIES....to wear!

Whimsical "FLOWER FAIRY" pin and necklace set

For the past couple of months now I've been drawn to creating various styles of "fairy and flower" fiber fantasy jewelry!  The colorful "flower fairy" shown above is not only a pin, which can be worn alone, alongside the necklace, but can also be pinned onto the handknit necklace.

The yarn used for this flower fairy is so exquisite in its colors and texture.  It is a gorgeous yarn from Karabella Yarns and is called JEWELS!  I have it in several different color combinations, so you will be seeing more of this fun yarn in various designs.

I just started putting clasps onto some of my necklaces, and couldn't believe how long it took me to get one of those little "jump rings" on!  I'm sure it doesn't take all you jewelry artists out there as long as it did me!!  lol!  I guess I will have to practice a bit.

I'm trying to decide if one of these fairy pin/necklace sets would be a good idea for my next giveaway, so if any of you out here have a comment.....I'd love to hear it!