Kacaba Vineyards Show

 Mark your calendars!

The most easy-going art show of the season will be on Sept 22nd and 23rd this year!

Sit down with a glass of wine and relax amongst the grapes at the Kacaba Vineyards art show.
Art. Nature. Vineyards. Grapes. Wine. Serenity.
If I haven't convinced you, here are a few photos I took at last year's show.

Relax in wine country 

A short walk around the property
http://www.kacaba.com/index2.html

A few of the artists and their tents, soaking in the sun.

Corkscrew for the largest wine bottle, ever.  Just kidding.

Showing off my tent.

www.jodyvanb.etsy.com

Kacaba Branding

Artists Mary Ann Huisman and Jared A. Robinson

Watercolour Paintings by Mary Ann Huisman

She will be participating in Pelham Summerfest : Art in the Park 2012

July 19th - 22nd Peace Park, Fonthill
http://www.pelhamsummerfest.ca/artists.html

Please check out Mary Ann Huisman's art here: www.huismanmeme.artistportfolio.net

Mary Ann Huisman's tent 

Jared A Robinson

This is my favorite painting by Jared. It's titled "Sunday Walk".  When I saw it, it reminded me of paintings by Frederick H Varley.

Sunday Walk by Jared A. Robinson

Indian Summer by Frederick H Varley 1914-1915

Jared, caught setting up

Part of the main lawn

Krista McMillan showing her work

Discussing a purchase, I hope!

Checking out Artist, Bev Sneath's work 

Beverly Sneath teaches classes in watercolour, acrylic as well as classes focusing on painting wineglasses. Quiet and Charming, she is busy with commission work, a Studio and Garden tour in the Spring, and countless art classes and shows. Nevertheless, she always finds time to show new groups of work every year, including watercolors, acrylics, sculpture and more. A true inspiration! 

Please check out her website here: 

http://www.beverlysneath.com/

Taste-test!

One of the roses at the end of the rows of grapes

Part of the wine-making process

Come and see what we have in store for you this year!!

Kacaba Vineyards Art Show
September 22-23rd 2012
3550 King Street, Vineland ON
1-866-KACABA-8

Frosting Tutus

So many colour choices!!

In my last post I described my first outdoor show of the season, the First Sunday Stroll. A great show, made up of a well chosen group of artisans, including many fellow Etsians.

I had the great pleasure to have a tent diagonally across from Frosting Tutus. I watched as, piece by piece, a tent was erected, bringing vibrant colour to a somewhat dreary day. Dark rain clouds scudded across the sky, and rainbows appeared across the "aisle" from me. It was very cheerful to see. 

A Welcome mat completed the look

It was soon evident, that this woman meant business! She donned her own tutu, and made it look fab, attached to a denim skirt. She also had a custom made shirt with her business name on it. In Pink.

She was my new "art show idol".

If I were selling tutus for little girls, I hope the idea would come to me, to make and wear one myself. When I saw her wearing it, I thought, "She's a smart entrepreneur. She is one savvy lady."

She rocked that Tutu and I swear, every little girl who entered that tent, left with either a tutu, a princess crown, or a magic tulle wand. 

The bright curtain "walls" - genius. It looked like a veritable girly candy land! I couldn't wait for a lull so I could go and check it out for myself. 

Princess Tutu party, anyone?!

The Owner of Frosting Tutus and Stamped Frosting, Melinda with my tent "neighbor" ,  Melissa, of Malcolm Designs  

Melinda Cheslock is multi-talented. The Frosting "family" includes Frosting Tutus and Stamped Frosting - Custom hand stamped jewelry. 

This is an example of one of the pieces she had at the show. This photo is from her Etsy shop. You can guess why I LOVE it! 

So, so "tweet". Totally customizable for your kids' names.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/93239610/love-nest-with-hand-stamped-names

This photo is from her website. I thought it was adorable! They do custom tutus for girls, of course, but what about your furry friends or beloved stuffed animals? Awesome. 

http://www.frostingtutus.com/about-frosting.php

https://www.facebook.com/FrostingTutus

Melinda made the art show come alive and I'm so glad that she made it all the way from Orillia to participate!! You brought rainbows to a grey day, and made many little girls (and a big girl) very happy. :)

First Sunday Stroll

First Show of the Season - Tent...not too full

I participated in the "First Sunday Stroll" today - - my first outdoor show of the season. A great Art Show partly sponsored by Etsy, it included a great selection of local artisans and some who came from great distances to take part in the event.

My back wall

As far as one-day shows go, and considering this was the "first annual" First Sunday Stroll in the area, I wasn't expecting huge crowds. In my mind, no crowds mean, no sales. Rain = no crowds. The whole prospect didn't seem too promising.

When my wonderful Hubby woke me, just before 6am and I could hear the rain outside, well, let me just say, I wasn't enthusiastic about packing up the work van and getting a tent up in the cold rain. I'm always excited to participate in a show, but I tried not to think about the fact we would have to take it all down within the same day. Mike made me a coffee, a little breakfast and was very enthusiastic that it was going to be a good day. I smiled and believed him. :)

Clouds, Wind, Rain, Blue Sky, Sunshine, Repeat.

Cloudy and brooding as it was, the sky did not open up in a great deluge while we set up the tent. Things were looking up!

View of my table - people loved my MOO business cards 

Blue Jay feathers always sell well
https://www.etsy.com/listing/97311973/four-blue-jay-feathers-archival-print

I had this original watercolour for sale, framed, as well as small prints and cards of the same.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/97804186/butterfly-nest-robins-nest-nature-study

To my surprise, there was quite a turnout! The selection and variety of artisans was wonderful and there were many people, despite the weather, who turned out to support Handmade! 

I would like to share a few of the great artisans with you. Unfortunately, I couldn't get around to each booth without abandoning my own, so this is a small sampling of some of my own faves which were a short distance from my own tent! LOL! 

Harwin Pottery - "The Accidental Potter"

Great colours and an eclectic selection of shapes and sizes 

The delightful and engaging, Mike, amidst his handiwork

http://harwinenterprises.blogspot.ca/

Mike with his Sisters, who both did an excellent job.

The mug I purchased. Small enough to fit the One Cup coffee maker. 

Stitch & Spoke

Fabric art by Linda VareKamp

 Linda, very charming, in her lovely tent.

Earlier in the day, I had been telling my "neighbor" that my eldest son is really, really into recycling. So much so in fact that, he wanted recycling bins for his birthday. I mentioned that you find boys' clothes with fire trucks and dump trucks and race cars, but very rarely do you find a recycling truck. 'Lo and behold, I pass by this great looking tent and I spy some green t-shirts with the recycling symbol. Made, with recycled materials!! How awesome! I had to buy one.

I purchased one just like the one above. You can purchase them here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/90380448/eco-friendly-kids-boys-i-recycle-t-shirt

I also highly recommend this shirt, because, who can resist a Narwhal or two?!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95344255/navy-blue-dueling-narwhals-mens-t-shirt

Malcolm designs 

by Melissa Baguley

Melissa in her tent. The sweetest "neighboring tent" I've ever had.
Her appliqued designs were beyond cute!

How can you resist that little alligator?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/99450301/baby-boy-alligator-applique-onesie

Baaa! Just the cutest for summertime fun!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80541765/baby-lamb-applique-frilled-onesie-size

Styles changed throughout the day, much like the weather.
Short sleeves? Long sleeves? Vest? Coat? :) Very versatile.

I enjoyed the day, despite the weather and hope this show becomes an annual event!

Inspired by Nature

A nest, woven onto the branch 

I'm going to share with you some of the wonderful found treasures that have found their way to me. I am so grateful to everyone who has put aside feathers for me, and other wonderful finds!  This beautiful little nest is from up North. Mike's Aunt and Uncle own a property with a lot of bush. Uncle Tref was out cutting firewood this winter and found this abandoned nest for me. I'm so amazed how it's constructed. Birds are incredible!

This nest includes birch bark, pine needles, wasp nest and possibly spider webs?!

Another little nest,  found Robin's eggshells, dead bee, hummingbird nest with sparrow eggshells

A dead Bee I found in my grass, three Robin's egg shells, found this Spring

Beauty!

A painting I did, inspired by the speckled eggs and sparrow feathers

The tiny nest above was found late summer, last year on my parents' property. It is made mostly of dried grass and dog hair, which is kind of gross, but kind of marvelous. I'm thinking it belongs to a hummingbird - - but, I'm not certain.

I found the three speckled eggshells last year, after a big Spring storm. These were blown out of a nest somewhere in a large Bridal Veil vine that has enveloped my neighbor's fence. I believe they belonged to a small sparrow.

The above abandoned nest was found by my Dad in Cottage Country. It seems to be made similarly to the one found by Uncle Tref. Mainly pine needles, it also has birch bark and pieces of cedar woven into it.

One of my old Robin nests, full of acorns, their caps, seed pods and pinecones

The partial woodpecker wing I found on the street

My woodpecker feathers print

Lake rocks

Small sticks made smooth by the waves

We've been on a few trips to the beach this Spring. There has never been a trip to the beach when I haven't brought back a smooth stone or piece of "sea glass". The last two trips, I have remembered to bring two bags. One for myself, one for the boys. I'm thinking of trying my hand at painting a few of the smooth stones. I haven't painted rocks since I was a kid, so I'm thinking I'll do it with the boys one day, as a fun little "art project".

The smooth sticks, or driftwood, I just find compelling. They feel so lovely in the palm of your hand. I like to imagine they've been floating on the lake for years. I wonder what kind of trees they came from, how big the branch was when it first found itself cast off from the land. 

A real beauty of an Owl feather, found and sent by Wally. :)

One of my Owl Feather studies

I have a few owl feathers in my collection now. They always remind me of my Great Grandmother. We grew up calling her "Daddy's Nana". I actually never really thought about her real name until I was older. It became one word, Daddiesnana.  Auntieshirl and Daddiesnana lived in a great apartment in Toronto. I loved wandering around, looking at all of the little treasures on their shelves, in the different rooms. There were little owl figurines in the one room, and my Dad had carved an owl on a box for her when he was younger, before us kids were around. She kept that box by her bedside. I always wondered what amazing, cherished things were inside. 

Something I'm playing with 

Not Working

A couple of months ago I purchased a bunch of little vases that I thought would be interesting to paint with some of my feather studies. After I prepped some, I painted this blue jay feather. I soon realized I did not like it! I much preferred the contrast of the stark white against the coral colour. They're in my mud room at the moment. I still have a few more to paint. What do you think?