Monthly Archives: February 2015

Stained Glass and Paint Bring Out the Best in Each Other at River Wind Art Glass

"Ghost Wolf" in painted stained glass by Karen Cannon and Anne Meier-Davis

Karen Cannon and Anne Meier-Davis combined their skills in painting and stained glass to create “Ghost Wolf,” one of their earliest collaborations. (Photo provided by River Wind Art Glass.)

Two years ago, Anne Meier-Davis was creating stained glass art in her studio at the north end of College Avenue in Fort Collins. Stained glass had been her medium for about 20 years, but not always in Colorado.

Anne had recently arrived from North Carolina, where she had collaborated with other artists on a variety of stained glass projects for residences, businesses, and churches. She missed having someone who could bring detail and depth to her stained glass work by painting on glass.

Meanwhile, in a studio nearby, Karen Cannon was creating fine art paintings of animals — sometimes whimsical, sometimes serious, always remarkably true to physical form. The two women had barely met before Anne asked Karen if she would consider painting on glass. Continue reading →

Artisans in Winter: Where Do They Go?

These functional ceramics from Dot’s Pots were on display at one of many booths during Loveland’s Art in the Park in August of 2014.

If you have been following Handmade on the Front Range for a few months, you may have noticed a dramatic drop in events listed under “What’s Happening” in the right side bar since late December. Usually that section shows artisan events coming up in the next seven days. Currently it shows events for the month – or it would be bare. If I’ve missed something coming up this month, be sure to let me know in comments!

I’m constructing a new calendar of events for you, and I’d like your feedback. More on that in a moment. First, here’s an interesting question to consider:

How do artisans spend these seemingly quiet winter months? Continue reading →

BeeBull Designs Gets into Gear with Steampunk Jewelry

Allison Freeman and Dana Biebel draw on the Victorian industrial era for inspiration in creating steampunk jewelry for BeeBull Designs. (Photo by A. Freeman)

Journey back in time to the 19^th century, when steam powered the great inventions that triggered the Industrial Revolution – but take today’s knowledge of science with you. Let your imagination carry you thousands of leagues under the sea and around the world by every means of transportation possible, like Jules Verne did.

Now you have caught the vision of the steampunk genre.

As for the “punk” part of steampunk, the delightfully imaginative website of The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences explains it like this: “The ‘punk’ in ‘steampunk’ comes from going against convention that, through creativity and declaration of one’s individuality …, sets one apart.”

I didn’t have to understand the steampunk genre, however, to be drawn to the jewelry of BeeBull Designs when I ran across it at Show of Hands late last year. Allison Freeman and her sister Dana Biebel felt the same way when they discovered steampunk jewelry while browsing for fun in shops in Telluride and Ouray in 2013. They were so intrigued, they started studying the genre and decided to make steampunk jewelry themselves as a creative outlet. Enhancing the name of their family of origin, they launched BeeBull Designs in October of 2013. Continue reading →

Jamie Lauren Upholstery Brings Furniture to Life with Artful Flair

Furniture from Jamie Lauren Upholstery Upcycle

Contemporary and upcycled furniture from Jamie Lauren Upholstery awaited customers at Boulder’s Firefly Handmade Market in summer of 2014.

Last spring at an art festival in Boulder, a middle-aged couple wandered among the brightly upholstered antiques, ottomans, and benches at Jamie Solveson’s booth. “Jamie Lauren Upholstery” read the sign on the tent.

The couple slipped quietly away to the next booth, but Jamie received a call from them weeks later. They had an 80-year-old chair that had been brought outside for a patio party and had subsequently been rained on, they told Jamie. Because it was wet, it had remained outside. There was more rain, and more time passed for the chair on the patio. Squirrels took advantage of the situation and pulled out the stuffing until the back and seat were thoroughly tattered from one side to the other. Continue reading →