Total Art Soul - for artists

It's with much pleasure I write this feature. Jan is a very cheerful and upbeat creative soul and has been a real asset to this site.

She is recently retired from her job so that now she can play all the time. Her problem is that she has four very clear areas of interest and they are all tugging at her. She is a fiber artist turned beading artist, then onto polymer clay artist and finally lampwork artist. Each area of interest lead to the next. She calls it her "fiber journey".

She wanted to add beads first to her fiber arts so she started playing with small beading. This lead to the need for more interesting beads so she started playing with polymer clay and really fell in love with the tactile part of playing with clay and in all the wonderful colors that she could create with it. After playing with the clay and creating beads she moved onto pendants and jewelry, which was fun but it wasn't what she had set out to do.

She really fell in love with the look of lamp work beads and was trying to create them with polymer clay. She was never really successful and eventually moved onto lamp work. In learning the craft she was mesmerized by melting something solid into a fluid state where she could manipulate it into something completely different. She's gotten totally side tracked with the original purpose of all of this and hasn't touched her fiber arts in over two years. She knows that she'll go back to it eventually, she goes into the studio and strokes the fabric from time to time but so far nothing has caused me to start a fiber project. In the meantime she's really enjoying playing with the glass, there is something so seductive about it that when she can't be at the torch she is searching the web for photos of glass to quieten the call.

I can really see why she is so passionate about this art form as I too am fascinated by it. You can find more of Jan's creations

where they are available to purchase.

One of the very first paintings I ever did was of the Venice Carnival.  French people seem fascinated by it and frankly, I didn't know much about it at the time. Doing research on the subject meant looking at the most amazing costumes. Such drama, color and creativity all in one place was a sight for sore eyes.  I enjoyed doing this painting very much and I later sold it to a restaurant owner in Vienna, Austria. At the time I could never understand why the Austrians seemed so fascinated by this event.  This lead me to start searching for more information.

The Venice Carnival is the most internationally known festival celebrated in Venice, Italy, as well as being one of the oldest.  The oldest document pertaining to the use of masks in Venice dates back to 2nd May 1268. Finally the rise of the French and later the Austrians curbed the celebrations, but they effectively ended when Napoleon invaded Venice. After an interruption lasting almost two centuries, the Carnival was resurrected in 1979 and today the masked revelers are an icon of Venice tourism. For a very long time it became prohibited to wear masks in public but during the second Austrian government it was once again permitted to wear masks. This explains the French and Austrian interest and why my painting was sought after there.

The Carnival starts around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras), the day before Ash Wednesday. Carnevale is derived from the Latin and means to give up meat and implies a farewell dinner of steaks and stews that the Catholics would later refrain from during the weeks before Easter. The masked pageant harks back to the Roman tradition of a fertility festival where the aristocracy and the slaves wore masks.

Today it's an appreciated cocktail of tradition, entertainment, history and transgression in a unique city, a festival that attracts thousands of people from around the world each year. It is a festival that celebrates the passage from winter into spring, a time when seemingly anything is possible, including the illusion where the most humble of classes become the most powerful by wearing masks on their faces.

One day I hope to be able to visit during the time of the Carnival. With all that color and vibrancy, how could you not feel inspired.
 

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Mooaany, aka Carmen Trueheart (love that name) is a valued member of this site. She takes a very active part in the forum discussions and understands the spirit of the site.

After leaving Corporate work Carmen resorted to some of her hippy ways. One being beaded jewelry. As her interest progressed with silversmithing, PMC certification, collecting massive amounts of vintage beads and gemstones, classes and destroying metal, she finally has some jewelry of which she is proud. Carmen's main artistic jewelry work is now with Precious Metal Clay and the embellishment of such.

I love that many of her designs are nature inspired and find the little paw prints particularly cute. Here are some of my favorites.

As an advocate for the welfare of animals, she contributes 20% of all proceeds to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. You can visit

to see what we can all do to help love the Animals.

You can find Carmen's jewelry

to purchase. She's very approachable and open to custom requests.

I must say that I have been very impressed with the way this duo have gone about setting up their business. They have been systematic and methodical, setting goals and achieving them. They are an excellent example of how well this site can work for other members too so check them out to see what they do to get exposure.

So, apart from being impressed with their business skills, I also greatly admire their designs. They make the most detailed, exquisite masks, hair vines, fascinators and tiaras. If you need something special for a ball or your wedding day, then do check these out. You will never find anything like this anywhere else so if you wish to stand out in the crowd, these are perfect.

These beautiful pieces are made entirely by hand, no soldering or glueing involved. The frame is wire bound at key points then a web of fine beaded wire is woven across the panels. They look very delicate but are remarkably strong!

Grin Grimace and Squeak are a very approachable couple and they will happily take on any commission you may have for your special occasion. You can contact them through this site or they also have an

etsy shop

.