Where Will The Baby Take Us This Year?

As promised, a retrospective of the Athens Indie Holiday Craftstravaganzaa...

I am not saving the best for last, believe me. As a matter of fact, let's jump right in to the middle of one of the most galvanizing artistic experiences I have had in my adopted hometown.

Above is the artist as a young woman. Cindy Jerrell Phillips did not mind at all my taking photos of her art. But she is so shy, she was hesitant about allowing me to photograph her. She is a lovely creative spirit, who has a farmhouse being renovated into an arthouse/gallery. I hope to get to know her better this coming year.

In the photo below, I was so sorry to see that shadows overpowered this wonderful rabbit woman. (That is NOT a ski cap she is wearing, those two spikes are her ears!) I have a couple of my own rabbit women, too, and this very piece is what drew me to Cindy's booth like a magnet.

If I had had the money, well -- okay, if I had not been going to London the very next day, I would have bought several of her smaller pieces, including one of her shadow boxes. These are not flat pieces, but marionette or jointed figures in three dimensional theatres. Incredible colours and workmanship.

I think either the piece above or the one below is one that Cindy said her husband helped her build. Look at that little dog! The richness of her pieces spilled out into her booth like the paints she had used to create them.

Reluctantly leaving this section, on to another area of the Craftstravaganzaa.

Do these ornaments look familiar? Haha! I bought a red T and a yellow C to hang on the tree this year... remember? They ended up on the mantle, each with its own tiny tree. You may recall or -- you may go back and find them in the December 08 portions of this here blog.

Stone Soup Studios -- this is where I will be taking classes in pottery, et al, this year. The previous shot and next three shots are her works and those of students. Now you see why I am excited about staying here in Athens this spring, after all. (Yes, I have accepted it. I was in denial and then angry about Artfest -- or was that anger then denial? Angry denial? Mmmm...)

On to a quick visit with Lylou of Lylou's Boutique, seen below. This gal sells her fine fine so fine items in the back of a bar during the holidays. Don't ask, it's Athens. I had some great shots of her things (jewelry and scarves, socks and tights) and what the heck happened to them, I have no idea.

Leaving Craftstravaganzaa, I managed to get off a shot at one of nearby Comer's chief pottery artisans. I have lost her card, but believe her name was/is Nancy. Dang...!

Hello Everyone!
This past holiday season, my brother gave me a present that came very close to making me levitate from sheer delight. I don't think I had ever told him how much I love sea glass and here is the perfectly perfect set he gave me when we all gathered at his house for the holidays. AND I did not expect it at all. How I love this colour.

Gold like honey... gold like the setting sun... like a favourite but long-gone housedress my mother wore. When this colour is around, I think of August's slow indolent heat, and the look of the air after late summer storms.

I think of the colour of my sweet old kitkat, too. What's your colour? Sea glass or otherwise?

Talk about not expecting something! Christy Wooke (pronounced Woke), seen to the right here, sales extraordinaire at the local Barnes & Noble, is also an artist/craftswoman. What a wonderful surprise to see her at the Craftstravaganzaa yakked about and shown above!

I need to ask, "Say, are you doing the next one?" Wouldn't it be great to know that someone I recognize as another artist is there, nearby? We can talk art AND books. Heaven on earth.

Is that being a big baby? I don't think so!

Speaking of The Baby, she's back and ready to go on some new adventures with Art Shenanigans. Here's that pink dress we talked about last year, as opposed to the blue, and fresh out of her Garden of Not So Earthly Delights! Where will The Baby take us this year? Stick around and let's find out together. (Hopefully, the adventures won't be as fuzzy as the photo.)

Don't forget the Heartzilla Art Giveaway.

Sunday, Feb 1st at midnight is the deadline for you to leave comments on this here blog, and the drawing is Monday, Groundhog Day, Feb 2nd at midnight.

Your Correspondent in the Classic City,

Candace