Meeting Moved to Thursday

I know our monthly meetings are usually held 3rd Wednesday's of the month. But this month only, it will be Thursday December 18th. I have to attend a meeting at my son's school the usual 3rd Wednesday.

December things

I can't believe it is December! It doesn't seem like an entire year has gone by since my husband and I were in Puerto Rico. I could only wish for a vacation like that this year. I need it!

This month we still have MacFest going on every Saturday in downtown Mesa. We will be right outside selling our goods at 41 W Main Street.

And many of us will be at Inside the Bungalow for their Local Artists Market on Sunday December 2nd at 48 N Robson in downtown Mesa.

We will have our team meeting at ITB December 17th at 7pm. All members are invited to attend. Our exchange theme is New Years. That could be New Years or new beginnings ... anything of that nature.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Happy Halloween all!!! What a wonderful time of year. Especially around here because it SHOULD be below 95 degrees anytime soon ... and that would be awesome for holiday festivals and arts markets.

Just wanted to remind everyone of the meeting this month. Still same place, same time ... third Wednesday, which is November 19 this coming month, 7pm at Inside the Bungalow.

Our exchange theme this month is: WINTER HOLIDAYS! Kwanzaa, Three Kings Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, Yule, Decemberween or whatever holiday you wish to express.

Artist of the Month: Jeannie Cox

What do you think inspires your creativity?
Almost everything I see inspires my creativity. Nature all around inspires my floral beads, tree beads and scenery beads. Glancing at a wall mural or magazine ad will inspire unique color combinations that I import into my heart beads or other geometric or abstract designs.
I also gain much inspiration from the people around me. Many of my friends and co-workers suggest designs or ideas that I have never tried before. This gives me a challenge and is a huge inspiration.

Who inspires your creativity and how?
Wow! There are many great artists out there that I do not think I could chose one in particular. But (this may sound cheesy) I believe my biggest inspiration, from a very early age, would have to be my parents. My Mom was always making something, from ceramics and oil paintings to sewing and baking – she was very creative and always involved me in her crafts. My father was also an inspiration because of his great attention to detail (he was a machinist) and he was also crafty in his own right, creating his own metal tools and designing various woodworks. We even made a doll-house, exact to scale, of the home I grew up in. I believe they planted the seed of my creativity long ago.



Outside of being creative, what do you do?
I am a Supervisor for Prescription Drug Claims in Scottsdale. I have a wonderful team of great people working for me and they are very supportive and inspirational for my craft.
I also like to read, bake and swim (or just chill-out in the hot tub). Traveling to new locations on vacation or for my beading career is also fun, too.

What are your top three favorite:

books – (these are series, really – when I really like a character, I never want them to end!) Stephen King: The Dark Tower Series, Dean Koontz: The Christopher Snow Series and Orson Scott Card: The Alvin Maker Series.

movies - Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Singing in the Rain

bands – Aerosmith, Scorpions and oldies (60’s, 70’s, 80’s – a lot of the one-hit wonders are cool!)

web sites – www.lampworketc.com - a cool site with tips, demos and information about lampworking and glass, www.hammondscandies.com - this place still makes the old-fashioned candies by hand – so good!, www.kingarthurflour.com - this site has all kind of goodies for baking from all over the world, they’re not cheap, but their stuff is top quality!

What do you want to be when you grow up?
(Am I ever going to grow up? I hope not!). I would love to be a full-time artist and be able to “play” all day long at what I love to do.

And if you were a character on a TV sit-com, who would it be and why?
The best I can come up with, I think (???), would be Gonzo from the Muppet Show. He was always trying new experiments and he liked fire (he blew up a lot of stuff). He was also funny and upbeat even in the worst of times. I just hope that I am a little more successful with my experiments than he was.

Jeannie's work is also featured at:
http://www.jeansbeads.com
http://www.creationismessy.com (her bead is on one of their page banners)
(and I also stumbled upon her work in a MacFest slideshow)
http://www.azcentral.com/commphotos/azcentral/8206/4/11

Back to Back Arts Markets this weekend

This weekend EVA will be at our MACfest location on Saturday 10/18 from 10am - 4pm. We are located right outside of M-Troniks at 41 W. Main Street in Mesa. EVA artists appear on a rotating schedule which will finally be posted later this week. MACfest is a weekly event in downtown Mesa from October thru May where artists line Main Street selling their wares. This week downtown Mesa is hosting Wild West Days so there should be some interesting spectacle.

Then Sunday 10/19 we will be doing our 3rd Sunday event at Inside the Bungalow's arts market from 11am - 2pm. They are located at 48 N Robson in Mesa. Come have some great coffee, take a yoga class or shop for Christmas gifts.

Both events are public events and everyone is welcome!

EVA members at MacFest

Jeannie and I set up an EVA booth at MacFest today. MacFest is downtown Mesa's weekly art's market. Each week two or three EVA members will be attending MacFest. Our booth will be set up outside of M-Troniks at 41 W Main Street. At a later date, you will find a calendar on this website that shows which EVA members will be represented at this weekly event.


This turn out was not so bad for the kick off. We are hoping for this event to grow and for more people in the community to join us in making it a success. See ya at the next MacFest!!!

EVA Featured Artist of the Month: Trish Arnseth

Provide us with background information, like where you were born, where have you lived, who is your family and what is your educational background.
I was born in Red Bank, NJ. My mom is a secretary and my dad is a mechanic, but my grandmother was extremely crafty and got me going from the time I could hold a bottle of glue or string beads. I have a degree in graphic design from Collins College and after college I worked for 5 years as head designer for Mayfield's Inc, Fine Jewelry in Scottsdale, then at Scottsdale Bead Supply for two years selling beads, teaching classes and stringing for the gallery.

What do you think inspires your creativity? Definitely movies, books and tv shows(Northern Exposure on DVD has inspired tons of projects and ideas in particular). Being outside and changing seasons, especially autumn. Also if I'm really stuck I like to go to Google Images and search for words that I like, like Vintage, Antique or Victorian. I get so many good ideas that way.

Who inspires your creativity and how? My grandmother always did, and I still base a lot of my designs off of the fun and funky style she had. She was big on leopard print and big, chunky jewelry! Also the other sellers on etsy, just browsing through the site reminds me of how creative people can be!

Outside of being creative, what do you do? I am a Property Manager for an apartment complex, and my fiancee is a filmmaker, so I am always helping him out by making props or holding up lights or filling in if he needs an extra actress. I also play with/talk to my two kitties a lot, Fizzie and Bella.

What are your top three favorite:

books - The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. The Harry Potter series, by J.K Rowling

movies - Jaws, Better Off Dead, anything Jim Henson

bands - Nine Inch Nails, Flight Of The Conchords, She and Him. Although mostly I listen to music from the 40's 50's and 60's.

web sites - cuteoverload.com, http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/, tarinatarantino.com

What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a funny old lady with lots of good stories and lots of cool jewelry I can lend my grandkids!

And if you could be any cartoon character, who would it be and why? I think I'd be one of the little mice that helped make Cinderella's dress. They're all cute and clutzy!

Trish's work is featured here:
http://littlesilverstars.etsy.com
http://www.mayfieldsinc.com
http://patsymarella.wordpress.com

Inside the Bungalow Arts Market

Earlier today the East Valley Artisans were at Inside the Bungalow for their first monthly arts market. This will be happening the 3rd Sunday of every month from 11am - 2pm. It was a bit hot out today, but even so it was a great event. The awesome iced chai latte from the Inside the Bungalow cafe got me through the day. I thought I would share photos of all who attended ... except me. I didn't manage to get a photo of myself.

Nancy

Melanie

Sarah

Trish

Jeannie

Next event, there will be 2-3 EVA members weekly at MacFest from October - May. Look here in the near future to see who will be attending ... and where, exactly, on Main Street in Mesa we will be.

September meeting and ITB arts market

We had yet another great meeting last night!

Melanie designed our business cards and brought them ... just in time for our first event at the Inside the Bungalow arts market. They look great!!! Thank you Melanie for your work on those. You can see Melanie's work on her etsy site.

Nancy, Trish, Jeannie and I were also at the meeting ... all of whom will be at the arts market featuring our wares this Sunday. Sarah was unable to make it to the meeting, but she will be with us Sunday. I am very excited for the opportunity to get a little more exposure for our group.

Sunday 9/21 from 11am to 2pm at Inside the Bungalow. Come see the work of our EVA members. See the website for directions and details.


The theme of our exchange at this meeting was Halloween ... my favorite holiday and a fun exchange!

The next meeting will be October 15th and the theme is fall leaves.

Coming up soon: Our featured artist of the month ... check back to see who it is and what fabulous things she does.

Meeting this Wednesday 9/17 @ 7pm

We will be having another meeting Wednesday 9/17 at 7pm.

This meeting we will be discussing:
* The Inside the Bungalow arts market on 9/21.
* New ways to promote EVA
* Stork articles
* Reviewing items from August's meetings
* and stuff and other things

We will be filling out the forms for the ITB arts market. Don't forget your $10 to reserve your space.

The exchange theme for this meeting is Halloween (my favorite holiday)!!!

Meeting Wedneday August 20 @ 7pm

Our EVA monthly meeting will be held at Inside the Bungalow Wednesday August 20 at 7pm.

This meeting we will be discussing:
* etsy grants
* arts and craft festivals
* new policies for membership
* gearing up for the holidays
* EVA promotion
* whatever else comes up

Hope to see you there ....

July Meeting Review

Hooray! Our July meeting was another great meeting. Thanks to everyone for making it out to Inside the Bungalow/Coffee Talk.

Our first exchange went very well. I am glad so many of us participated. It was nice to have a little "take home." The magnets that Sarah of etsy shop BirdWatching made went right up on my refrigerator when I got home! Next month the exchange theme is fairy tales.

In attendance at the meeting were our jewelry designers, Nancy of NancysDesigns who makes some exceptional jewelry pieces using PMC, sterling silver and Swarovski crystals, and Trish of LittleSilverStars who makes some extremely fun and original jewelry designs. Also in attendance were Jeannie of JeansBeads who is going to teach me to be a real lampwork artist one of these days, and Stacy of lilsprouts who makes the most darling clothing and accessories for the little ones. And I was there, kandeslee - I do beaded jewelry, some painted wood pendants, and glass beads.

We also had two new members this time around Melanie of PaperMango who makes some terrific paper products - business cards, greeting cards and invitations. And also Sarah (mentioned above) who makes all sorts of creative items from bird pendants, to zipper pouches, to stuffed owls and soaps.

I am looking forward to August's meeting which will be Wednesday August 20th at Inside the Bungalow once again. And we have homework: research one or two East Valley events taking place this fall that we might be able to participate in. Dig deep - maybe find out fees, requirements and print applications.

Thank you to everyone in this wonderful group for bringing ideas and thoughts to share. Oh and also for the fun show and tell and exchange pieces.

July Meeting info

Our 2nd monthly meeting is this Wednesday 7/16 at 7pm.
It is at Inside the Bungalow - Main Street and
Robson in downtown Mesa. They are a few streets west of Mesa Arts
Center. It is also called Coffee Talk so if you see that name, don't
be confused, it is the same place. Forget my attempt at giving
directions ... here is the Google link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&f=d&daddr=48+N+Robson+Mesa,+AZ+85201&fb=1&geocode=1289847101365221299,33.416409,-111.836673&cd=1&z=16

As far as our exchange pieces ... make sure you wrap them up so we
can't tell what you've brought and we will keep the donated pieces
hidden in our purses or a bag until the exchange pieces are revealed.

Bring more show and tell items! I loved looking at what you all make.
Such wonderful creativity we have amongst us.

Do it yourself -- Light Studio

My brother sent me this link to help out with my photos.
I thought it was worth sharing with the group if anyone felt crafty enough to make their own.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Light-Studio-for-Photographers-Tabletop

-Kandes-

June Meeting Review

We had our first team meeting Wednesday and it went really great! Most of our small (but growing) group was able to show up at Rich Aroma Coffee Co. Everyone had wonderful ideas to contribute.

All of our members brought some of their work to show the group. That was really fun! I love show and tell. There was a even little shopping that went on and I know I started creating a mental wish list. EVA is a talented bunch of artisans.

At our next meeting on July 16th we are doing a themed artist exchange where every member creates 2 items to donate to the group. The theme for July's meeting is the Ocean. One of the items will go to our team shop to generate money for group activities and the second will be a gift for one of the other members to take home. We will decide who gets what "white elephant" style. It was great how we all collaborated to make this spark of an idea even better and better. What team work!

Thank you to everyone who showed up and shared ideas with the group. I can't wait for July's meeting!!!

Meeting Wednesday 6/18!!

Hi All -

Our meeting is 7pm on Wednesday. I announced the location in our Google group, but forgot to post here.

Here is a map to Rich Aroma Coffee Company.
I will try to be there a little early, but if by chance anyone gets there before I do, please save us the couches by the coffee table.

Don't forget to bring something you have made to show the rest of us! Looking forward to seeing you all there.

First Announcement

Easy Valley Artisans is having a team meeting. The date will be June 18th @ 7pm. Location is TBA. This is our first team meeting so much of it will be a meet and greet. I am very excited to meet the members of the team!!! We will also be discussing a few topics regarding the direction of the team, but probably won't get too serious about business on our first date. Hope to see you there. I will let you know where "there" is this weekend.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to our blog. We are the East Valley Artisans, which is a new etsy team that is just getting up and running. The objective of the group is to support the handmade art movement in the East Valley of the Phoenix metro area.

Come back here in the near future to see what we are up to. We will be featuring our members, sharing news and announcing up coming events.