Hopes and Dreams Featured

This week's featured artist is a loving wife and mother of two and an avid artisan. Her Artfire studio Hopes and Dreams is a lovely shop full of a wonderful selection of handmade gifts.



One of my favorites is this beautiful Turquoise Queen of Sea Necklace with a silver mermaid on turquoise gemstone and a pearl dangle.

Camera Necklace

Or how about this cute little camera charm necklace as a gift for someone who loves to take pictures.  Camera Necklace






These glass bead earrings are another gorgeous piece. 

Red and Black Swirls and Pearls

Chocolate Pearl Necklace.

And here's a non-caloric chocolate to gift - a lovely
antiqued chain supports chocolate colored pearls.







Hopes and Dreams has a dream of being able to sustain a living from her handmade items and she hopes this for all of us who love to create. Therefore, she has a special blogspot featuring a place to post handmade objects. As a handmade artisan myself, I have taken advantage of this blog and since some of these lists are "blog hops" have even added them to my own blog to share with my readers. You will love viewing these collections at her Hopes and Dreams blogspot.

So I encourage you to stop by her shop. Viewing her work can't help but inspire you to pursue some of your own Hopes and Dreams.

Joy Creates Glass Sculpture

This week's featured artist is Joy Alyssa Day of GlassSculptureOrg. Joy and her partner work from Carmel Valley, California. Not only does Joy create amazing art, but she also has an amazing story.

Rose Nebulae Glass Tile Pendant

Joy was in her junior year at Purdue headed for a career in Computer Science, designing computer systems for spacecraft when she began to understand that she would find her true calling and happy life in art. Joy made a drastic change to her program from Computer Science to Theater-Costume Design and has never looked back. She is a professional artist and loves it. GlassSculptureOrg reveals her passion for what she creates and we can still see an element of her interest in space as well. Her pieces find a range of venues from jewelry like this pendant 

Earth "cast glass" Bowl

 to beautiful bowls like - Earth Bowl which Joy creates using a technique that she describes as "cast glass",











to The Planetary Society Cosmos awards in blown glass presented to James Cameron and Professor Stephen Hawking

Joy Alyssa Day & B.E. Johnson's Blown Glass Planetary Society Award presented to Stephen Hawking

Here are a sampling of images from GlassSculptureOrg.

Bubble in Glass Marble

This beautiful blown glass ball is accompanied by pictures, which I find fascinating, displaying some of the process necessary in making the piece.

Blown glass ball Christmas ornament

Christmas Ornament 

Whimsical and quirky items like 

Steam Punk Glass Gears

Glass Cupcake Paperweights

Notecards - set of 10

Notecards and special paintings are also part of the items on display. Such a variety of beautiful work.

Kneeling Angel

Please stop by and take a look.

As well as the Artfire shop, you will find GlassSculptureOrg at the following links:
http://glasssculpture.org/
http://glassnebula.com/
http://sphericalmagic.com/
http://imperialearth.com/

 

Featured Artist - MaggieMays

Recently, as a result of the guild It's Better Handmade promotion of our artists, I've had a chance to begin to know some wonderful artists. One day, I stopped by the shop of MaggieMays Fine Jewelry on Artfire. I love the pieces in MaggieMay's shop. For example, how about these -  Mystic Diamond Drop Earrings .

Topaz Diamond Earrings

These earrings are beautiful in color and the design is elegant. I just want to stop and look at those beautiful earrings all day, but I was drawn further in to view more of the shop because there are so many wonderful pieces. And there are stories behind every piece which describe the metals and stones used and the inspiration for the pieces. 

 

White Diamond Engagement Ring

Red Ruby Necklace and Earrings

Platinum Grey Freshwater Pearls

A husband and wife team, Margaret Pierson and her husband work from their home studio. The team at MaggieMays are not only fine craftsmen, but Margaret also writes two fascinating blogs Maggie Mays Artfire Blog and MaggieMays Blogger with discussions of gemstones and techniques as well as fun videos and features which include those of other artists and the crafts they pursue. 

MaggieMay's is a strong and positive supporter of handmade and those who create and also very knowledgeable about the craft and materials in which she loves to work. I particularly enjoyed the Artfire Shop blog post entitled Russian Chrome Diopside - What Is It? Where Does It Come From? In this article, I learned much about Diopside, a rare green gemstone (that I had never heard of before I read this article), but which rivals the emerald for beauty and  which is found only in Siberia and mined only during the summer months since the extreme temperatures in Siberia create such difficult mining conditions.  

MaggieMays can also be found on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/MaggieMays.Fine.Jewelry

You won't regret taking the time to stop by MaggieMays Fine Jewelry. 

https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/MaggieMays

http://maggiemaysfinejewelry.blogspot.com/