Wake up ... Spring is coming

We just had our February meeting on Wednesday night. It was a fun meeting. I love that new energy that happens when the holidays are over and the dark of winter fades. Spring is coming and everything wakes up. Anyway, at the meeting we met Len who makes some really cute note cards and paper crafts. She is considering becoming a member of EVA. She would be a great addition to our group! You can see what Len does on her etsy: uninhibitedspirit.etsy.com

We set the theme for next months meeting. It will be ... MASQUERADE. I am excited!! There is so much that can be done. I am not even sure which way I will go with that. The meeting will be March 18 at 7pm in our usual spot. I hope to see all EVA members there with their bright and cheery MASQUERADE themed exchange items.

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!!!