One of the reasons why we keep coming back is seeing Gina Chalfant of White Swan Illuminations! It seems like even though she only lives in Pittsburgh, the only time we ever get to see all her beautiful wares is in Boalsburg. In the picture, Diane Wilson (another talented ceramist and vendor at the show) poses with Gina. Gina has an amazing selection of hand-painted ceramic vessels, pieces with decals of her own original artwork, pendants and jewelry components and finished jewelry. CLICK HERE to visit her Facebook page.
Here is the piece that William picked out. It's based off of an 11th century Egyptian motif. Gina told us about how the original floral flourishes next to the mouths of the rabbits started off small, but then grew and got more elaborate, eventually looking like "bunny bad breath". To me, it looks like they are blowing out a cloud or breathing fire. I love it!
While we have been coming to this show for years to appreciate work from talented artisans, this is probably the first time that we have come to shop for the store.
We found Tom Vosler and his lovely wife. Tom is most known for his incredible knives with intricately carved bone, wood, and antler handles. He has started to cast his carvings in resin and selling them as pendants. We picked up several for Allegory Gallery and are super excited about them!
This is an example of his work. It was originally carved bone, but is made of a cast resin with a walnut-colored glaze. I love the attention to detail he has and how his pieces have so much life. This owl piece is going to live with me!
Another talented vendor that we picked up for the store is Keysha Koi. She does borosilicate lampwork beads and vessels! They are incredible and simply glow! They remind me of hobnail vessels or ethereal Antilope vases by Rene Lalique. I'm a smitten kitten with her work!
Check out this amazing perfume vessel! It has such a gorgeous green color and sparkles in the right light. This treasure is going to live with me! For the store, we picked up a few hanging vessels, some bumpy vases, and a selection of glass beads. So very excited! I love how organic they are... almost like they are fruit of a magical tree or found on the altar of a powerful sorceress containing an enchanted elixir or potion.
We had a fantastic time at the show! We got pulled pork sandwiches and saw familiar faces! We found new artists for the store and we made it back to the car before the monsoon rains started falling! Happy day!
1 comment:
Looks and sounds like fun. I love Gina's work, and I believe I was first introduced to it on your blog, so thank you!
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