The Many Talents of the East Valley

Here are some pix of my favorite items up for sale this week from our talented group of Artisans of the East Valley. Our group is a varied mix of artists from painting to paper and sculpture to shrinky dinks.

Please check out their Etsy sites.

Support our economy, support local business, support our artists!

1. http://littlesilverstars.etsy.com

2. http://kandeslee.etsy.com

3. http://JensAZ.etsy.com

4. http://PaperMango.etsy.com

5. http://uninhibitedspirit.etsy.com

6. http://slightlysteamed.etsy.com

7. http://BirdWatching.etsy.com

8. http://reneelareine.etsy.com

9. http://thesilvernest.etsy.com

10. http://JillHelms.etsy.com

11. http://BirdsBubbles.etsy.com

12. http://JeansBeads.etsy.com

March meeting re-cap.

We had a great meeting in March! It was the 4th Wednesday of the month this time around. Nobody wanted to do a St. Patrick's Day meeting so we changed it. Jeannie, Trish, Jen and myself were there ... and I felt we made a lot of progress! We discussed attendance, and began the design of a new system that will hopefully encourage attendance. I believe it will help for some and perhaps discourage attendance for those who have been involved with the group half-heartedly.

At this meeting, each person there chose a special role that they will have from this meeting until the next:
- Jen is going to bring an activity to the next meeting. For anyone who is interested, she is bringing supplies to make ATC's.
- Jeannie is going to write up some blog posts for this blog
-Trish is doing some research on no-cost or low-cost ways of advertising EVA.
- I will be officially reviewing the book, The Handmade Marketplace and sharing a copy of Artful Blogging.

Trish brought a whole bunch of her new wire wrapped work to share with us. It is really great! Check it out.

Our theme for the April meeting is "Desserts and Treats"

Our Spring Time exchange items for March ...

Artist of the Month: Jen Rothstein

It has been awhile since we have had a featured artist of the month. Sorry to be so flaky on this.
Our current artist of the month is: Jen Rothstein

1. Who in your life has influenced you most creatively, and why?
My Mother. She loves to paint watercolors. I learned so much from her and there was always a lot of crafting supplies in the house to work with, while I was growing up.

2. Describe a memory from art class in your youth?
Oh wow, there are so many. I took drawing, sewing and ceramics in High School. I think my fondest memories were in ceramics class, just working with the clay and picking out the glazes. I remember making my first clay bowl on the potters wheel, well my first that didn't crack in firing. I was so proud of it. Still have it, somewhere.

3. What is your creative workspace like?
Uhm, that would be my dining room table. I have a small house so that's where I can work. It's got good lighting. I try to keep it clean, but I have all my boxes of stuff heaped around the table, with just enough room left over for hubby and I to eat there. Someday, I hope to have an entire room dedicated to all my crafting stuff.

4. Name your two favorite:
Books - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Marley and Me
Movies - probably the same
Bands - 3 Doors Down, Jethro Tull
Websites - Too many to pick from ;o)

5. What is your favorite month of the year and why?
I like October. It's just starting to cool off here in Arizona and I can go outside with my dogs.

6. What is your day job?
Currently, I'm starting my own Home Staging Business, but I also work at a pet resort.

7. Tell us about creative projects or classes that you would like to pursue ...
I would like to take some altered art classes. I do some altered art, but I really want to learn more techniques. The idea of taking found items and making them into art using varied methods, appeals to me, sort of a recycling process.

8. If you were a historical figure, who would you like to be and why?
Hmm, this is a hard question. I think I would like to be Albert Einstein. What an awesome mind and personality he had.

List your etsy or anywhere else on-line that your art is featured:
jensaz.etsy.com
http://dog-ma-jen@blogspot.com
www.atcsforall.com member name - jensaz
www.arttradermag.com - one of my ATC's will be featured in an upcoming issue