Winter Art Sales around Seattle

Hello Winter, it is nice to see you again.

If you plan to go buy handmade this season, the next two weekends are full of craft fairs, studio tours and trunk shows. Following is a list of events in Seattle. Check individual listings for specific times and dates; not each sale occurs for the full three days.

December 3, 4, 5:

Seattle Sampling: 11 different artist studios all over Seattle open their doors; each studio hosts several additional artists in their premises

Phinney Winter Festival: juried craft show with 120 vendors spread between two buildings, live music, quilt raffle

Urban Craft Uprising:  super cool, indie, avant garde creativity on display

North End Arts Tour: 30 artists displaying their work at six locations in North Seattle

Beppa Holiday Clothing and Gift Sale: makers of distinctive women’s clothing will appreciate the  chance to visit this local design studio, as well browse their collection of vintage buttons and shop for accessories made by local artists

Soulumination Fifth Annual Artists’ Sale: 27 craftspersons will be donating 25% of their sales to Soulumination’s mission, celebrating the lives of children and parents facing life-threatening conditions by capturing moments of love through photography

Dec 10, 11, 12:

Fatto a Mano:  Italian for handmade, this trunk show offers the work of ten artists in a fabulous, modern Laurelhurst home

Space to Create Studio Sale: popular with parents, kids and budding artists of every persuasion, this Ballard teaching studio is hosting the work of six artists selling gifts and kits for all ages; SpiderFelt kits will be available for sale

13 Artists Sale: 8316 54th Ave S, Seattle (Saturday only, 12-5pm), search Facebook for 13 Artists Studio Sale for artist links and photos

Ballard Art Walk: businesses throughout Ballard open their doors on the second Saturday of every month. Be sure to include the Sev Shoon and BallardWorks studios, at 2862 NW Market St, in your travels. I will be moving into my new studio on the second floor this week.  There are 19 artists on the second and third floor of  the building, and the hallways are hung with new work from outside artists every month.

In an effort to reclaim some balance and peace for my family, I will only participate in one trunk show this year:

Happy shopping to all!

One Bird, Two Bird, Home for a Pretty Bird

In late June, I felted three birdhouses to send as thank you gifts to acquaintances who generously offered their hospitality to our family without knowing us very well or expecting anything in return.

I put a lot of thought into making these pieces everything a perfect felt home should be. A veteran feltmaker instructed me to think about adding embellishments seamlessly when designing a new piece in order to demonstrate the unique nature of the medium. In this case I built a perch and hanger into the design.

The result thrilled me. My mind always trolling for new ideas to create as a working artist, I couldn’t wait to make more. However, as lovely as the design was, I couldn’t imagine selling something so time consuming unless represented by an art gallery. During the summer, I worked on a couple of further variations, allowing the resists to inform the shape.

The blue birdhouse was formed around a plastic mesh onion bag, understuffed with empty plastic bags. The final shape reminded me of an Inuit umiak. Ultimately, I decided to allow the simplest shape to prevail, spending time playing with color and different fibers to satisfy my need for variation and my opposition to mechanical production.

This lot has been delivered to my newest consignment, The Herbalist on NE65th in Seattle’s Ravenna neighborhood. Expect to see them hung in late November along with an assortment of kits and felt soaps for their first holiday gift sale.

Note: thanks to the support this post received, I’ve just added a listing in my etsy shop.