YogaGoat Pottery - New for your Trunk at Red Elephant Gallery!

A couple of friends and I were in Manhattan the end of September with a compact list of places to go during the short time we had. The new Museum of Art and Design at 2 Columbus Circle had finally opened and it was at the top of our list. Unfortunately we hadn’t planned far enough ahead so there was no way we were getting in to see the new facility but once the crowds cleared I was able to get a peak into the museum store. There, among all the gorgeous art glass, clay, wood and metal sat a beautiful red hyacinth bowl from YogaGoat Pottery.

Even though it would have stood out had I not been familiar with Amanda Ryznar’s work, we started carrying YogaGoat Pottery this summer, seeing it in this prestigious venue was a nice surprise. We first met Amanda this spring and once we saw what she was doing with bowls, plates, platters, and beautiful handcrafted vases—the exquisite design, the unique color, and the enticing texture – we knew we had to offer her functional handmade pottery to our customers. Here’s how Amanda explains the process:

First, the pieces are thrown on the wheel, either from white stoneware or porcelain. Any trimming is done, and attachments such as handles made, when the piece is "leather-hard". The colored slips are also applied at this stage. When the slips dry a little, Amanda draws through the slip down to the clay underneath. The excess slip is carved away. The piece is fired to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit, then coated in a clear glaze and fired again to 2380 degrees.

The process is rigorous, but the results are simply gorgeous. Please have a look at our YogaGoat inventory then try to decide which piece is your favorite. It’s excellent work and we hope you enjoy it.

Unique Gift ideas for this holiday season

We headed out to a show in Connecticut just as the sun was coming up over the river near our house. I put the mini-van in drive and pulled forward out of the driveway for three feet then stopped. I couldn’t see a thing. What I thought was dew on the windshield was in fact frost. The scraping windshield wipers’ telltale winter’s sound burrowed into my psyche that we are heading for winter here in the Northeast and it’s time to get prepared both physically and mentally.

The frost was gone in a few minutes time under pressure from the de-froster (clever name that) and we were on our way. But the frost started me thinking about Christmas and the timing of gift-buying. I am a practicing procrastinator so for me to be thinking about Christmas gifts before Halloween, is unheard of. The fact remains, however, that I was thinking about Christmas gifts as we unloaded our wares in New London. We bring a pretty good sample of what we have to offer to shows such as these and yes, the selection included great Christmas gifts.

Ornaments: We’ve got amazing ornaments from blown glass to ceramic. From see-through to opaque. From small to large. Click here and take a look!

Banks: These aren’t just any banks, these are the coolest, cutest, ceramic banks ever. Hippos, sheep, dinosaurs, aardvarks, and yes, of course, piggies.

Sushi sets: We have ceramic and glass versions of this popular gift item. They are cool and quite unique being individually handmade.

These are just a small sample of what’s available at the Red Elephant Gallery for you to buy for your family and friends this holiday season. We hope to see you on the site.

Art Glass Pumpkins – Art and agriculture on my mind

In my other life I go to a lot of boat shows. Every fall the classic United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland, calls it’s swan song to those of us in the marine biz and we all trek to the shores of Chesapeake Bay and one of the cutest little towns anywhere. Problem is, almost every year this show happens the week the fall leaves are at their best color in the mountains of northern New England. Never fails.

When I get home after Columbus Day my only consolation is that I can usually make the local pumpkin weigh-in at Frerich’s Farm in Swansea, MA. There are some BIG pumpkins, in the field when I get there, trucked in from all over. Seriously big--hundreds of pounds. Huge. To grow one of these behemoths requires creativity, patience, skill, and innate pumpkin knowledge. To win, well, that’s just way too much pumpkin know-how to even consider with a big dash of luck thrown in for good measure.

But what in the heck does this have to do with the Red Elephant Gallery other than our family makes up part of the weigh-in audience? Not a lot, but something important. Artists, whether they grow pumpkins or blow art glass, are in constant evolution from where they began through where they are in their craft, to where they’ll end up. When we check in with them at a particular time and place, they are somewhere along that evolutionary trail and the fact is we don’t know where. That’s the fascination. How does one person gain so much knowledge that they can grow a thousand-pounder or caress molten silica into something as glorious as Luke Adams’ under-a-pound art glass pumpkins,. What life events brought them to this point? How will they evolve?

As much thought as I’ve put into the behemoths in Massachusetts I’ve put into the fine detail of the delicate specimen on our windowsill. I stare at Luke’s work and wonder how he came to be in the place that he is and how lucky we are to be in the right place and time to enjoy it. How does he do what he does? I don’t know. It’s magic for all I care. Fascinating, beautiful magic.

So do hit the link above and check out his work. And if pumpkins aren’t your thing, they’re not all he does. But take some time with the pumpkins this fall. They’re very cool.

--Michael

Three pandas, some rockets and a bit of Modern Art

I love family trips . . . driving trips . . . long-distance family driving trips. My wife thinks I’m nuts. The kids aren’t sure yet.

Last week was spring vacation and the littlest one has always wanted to meet Tai Shan, the young Panda born at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. He watched a movie on the web from the panda cam in Mei Xiang’s pen of Tai Shan being born as did the rest of us. We’ve all become quite the baby panda fans around here so it was time to go meet him. That’s 10 hours in a car. I was psyched, the rest less so. We did the trip, had some fun, had some fits, and all-in-all survived in good fashion. And Yeah, Tai Shan is pretty amazing.

Washington DC is simply a fantastic city. There are innumerable museums, parks, monuments, and all sorts of activities for an active, inquisitive family. We did a lot, but the most unlikely place we visited was the east wing … not of the white house, but of the National Gallery.

We’d pretty much done the Air and Space museum, oohing and aahing over rockets, spaceships, airplanes, and more rockets and spaceships. The boys were in boy heaven! Heck, so was I! Of course you can’t get through everything in the museum in even a week, but there’s only so much we could absorb at one visit. The boys were satiated, so we asked mom what she wanted to do next. Oops.

The only place that mom wanted to see before we left Washington was something called the east wing of somewhere. Never really did get the name right before we got there. As we walked across the mall, stopping to watch a way-too-serious adult kickball game and take pictures in front of the Capitol building, she told me we were headed for the east wing of the National Gallery, the modern art repository. MODERN ART. The only modern art I thought I needed to know about was 7 white painted panels I’d seen at the Hirshhorn Museum, the Smithsonian's museum of international modern and contemporary art many years before. I know I’ve painted walls that were more intriguing than those panels and I’d subsequently sworn off most modern art. Of course I was wrong. I often am.

We studied some fantastic mobiles both very large and quite small and a great Roy Lichtenstein of Donald Duck catching his own shorts with a fishing rod. There were also a Warhol Campbell’s soup can painting, and a great Jackson Pollock. Upstairs was a room full of very interesting Picasso’s and we just missed the Matisse exhibit that had closed for the day. The boys already knew these artists’ names and had seen their works in books Karen had showed them. It was fascinating for me to watch my kids see with their own eyes what they had previously only seen in books and for that matter on the web. It was a great experience for all of us.


Going to Washington last week reminded me that there’s only one way to see the Tai Shans, Andy Warhols, Washington Monuments, and White House’s of the country. Just Go. Take the trip. They’re waiting for you.

And what does this have to do with the Red Elephant Gallery you ask? Not much other than whatever you order from us was created by an artist and will look and feel even better in person. Don’t wait, order today.

Shayla Su: Decorative Ceramic Handbags

Shayla Su is a really cool artist. Her medium is ceramics and we have completely fallen for her hand-built handbags. She says she was inspired to create them while walking the streets of Venice seeing handbags there she could not bring home. In her words . . .

“When we visited the ancient city of Venice, Italy, in 2003, it was with the intention to view its art and architecture. Instead, I became enthralled by the myriad handbags displayed so opulently in Venice's shops – their sculptural nature was a revelation. Since I couldn’t take them all home with me, I found a lasting way to bring their beauty into my life.”

When we were in Venice last Spring the art scene became completely overwhelming for us. We were really following the glass path, but handbags did come into focus for Karen. It took us until we got to Florence, however, for her to find the one she wanted to bring home. I kept telling her she could have only one, not the hundreds we saw, which was always a difficult conversation. Suffice it to say I spent a lot of time in Italy on the couch. Just kidding. Anyways . . .

Back to Shayla Su. She has a little one running around her house and has therefore been on maternity leave for some time now. This recently created a dilemma for us as we want to sell her handbags but she isn’t planning to make anymore anytime soon. After a brief discussion amongst the principals at the Red Elephant Gallery, we decided to jump in and pretty much bought her inventory. They really look fantastic so please visit Shayla Su’s portion of our site for your share of exquisite colors in the handbags we have.

Red Elephant Gallery finds new Ceramics, Art Glass and Handmade Jewelry at BMAC

Philadelphia Buyer’s Market of American Craft (BMAC), next year we’re actually going to wear the running shoes, not just talk about it!

There is nothing quite like the Buyer’s Market we attended last weekend organized by the creators of Niche and American Style magazines. We walked for two days straight and still didn’t get to see every artist’s work. But we did see some amazing work and slowly but surely some of it will be coming “home” to the Red Elephant Gallery for you to see and, if you like, buy for you, your home, or as a gift.

We attack the market each year with a plan that nearly immediately is tossed aside as we wander wide-eyed down the aisles. We know what we need to fill in our inventory and the rest just cannot be programmed. This is a heartfelt personal industry. The pieces we saw each represents an artist’s passion and talent so picking them based on some pre-thought list of needs borders on the ridiculous. We buy what speaks to us and we hope will speak to you. We buy from artists we like both personally and through their work. We are relationship buyers at the Red Elephant Gallery and it’s these relationships we will be sharing with you.

One of the stronger themes of this year’s buyer’s market was environmental art of all types. This isn’t the traditional meaning of environment in art, as in of a certain environment, but honest to goodness, don’t harm the planet, let’s hug a tree environmentalism. From recycled glass formed into pieces to pieces made from bottles before they hit the recycling plant. From recycled stainless and aluminum pieces to once again, pieces of stainless and aluminum captured pre-recycling plant post consumer usage, formed into truly amazing art. It was phenomenal to see the variety of work in this fast growing genre and you’ll be seeing a good selection coming to the gallery soon to augment what we already have in Willyware and Sea Stones.

So it was a fantastic weekend of strengthening existing friendships, making new friends, and perusing what must be the most amazing buyer’s show in the country. There’s passion, talent, desire, and patience evident in all the artists’ work and we can’t wait to bring the best to you in the coming months.

New for your trunk: Handmade gifts from Sea Stones

Christmas shopping season is nearly upon us, what with “Black Friday” less than a week away. So here at the Red Elephant Gallery we want to take the worry and fuss out of your holiday season shopping routine and have many great gifts in our inventory for loved ones and friends. We wrap and ship, you gain good Karma points.

One of the coolest gifts we’ve found is so simple it certainly falls under the heading of why didn’t I think of that. We are always looking for big sturdy wall hooks for our kids and us to hang their coats, scarves, umbrellas, and even the kids themselves some days, and we live in coastal New England where throwing rocks into rivers and the ocean is a bona fide sport. So why didn’t we see the rocks for what they really are . . . wall hooks. D’Oh!

Sea Stones, a company near us, takes the beautiful rocks that Mother Nature has turned from rough and chunky to smooth and silky and mounts them to sustainably harvested hardwood backing plates. These stones, gently rounded through years of rolling in the rivers and oceans of New England, are carefully selected for their shape, texture, and color. In the spirit of conservation the artists at Sea Stones replace each selected stone with one from a local quarry, which is their stone “planting” program. Additionally, they plant 10 times the number of trees used for the back plates each year.

Sea Stones also makes beautiful cherry clocks and their wine stoppers make great stocking stuffers or housewarming gifts!

Unique Handmade Secret Sister Gifts

If you are looking for something special for your secret sister, (secret pal, friend or even secret Santa) then you have come to the right place. The Red Elephant Gallery has a great selection of Unique Handmade Secret Sister Gifts. We’ve highlighted a few items that have been popular and we make the process of secret gift giving easy!

One of our most popular girlfriend gifts is the interchangeable marble necklace from Studio 220. It comes with a bag of thirty marbles that can switch out to match any outfit! The Love and Peace Bracelets from Sergio Lub are also best sellers. If your secret sister needs a laugh or you want to thank her for all the support she has provided maybe one of our “Flying Buttress” rattles by J. Davis Studio will do the trick. You can also send along a bit of love and environmental consciousness with the recycled glass heart from Fire and Light.

When you get to the checkout section of your order just write in the comments section that your gift is for a secret friend and we’ll make sure we don’t include your name or billing information in the package! If you would like us to include a message for your secret friend just enter that in the comments field as well. Don’t worry your identity is safe with us. Put your information in the “Billing address” and your secret sister/friend’s information in the “Shipping information” section and we’ll do the rest – it’s that easy!

Ceramic Artist Liz Kinder has a new baby girl!

One of our favorite ceramic artists, Liz Kinder, brought a new little ball of inspiration into her world on Halloween. "She's here! Her name is Elizabeth and she was 7lb. 2oz. and 19.75 inches, Liz wrote us today. "I'm so excited to get in to the studio tomorrow. It will be so nice to make stuff without a basketball on my stomach. I'll just have to stop every couple of hours to feed the baby!"

Liz makes beautiful ceramic bowls that we have a hard time keeping in stock. So we're excited she's going back into the studio too!

Random gifting is its own reward

I’m not a very good gift-giver. Being a guy, being so busy, being, I don’t know, name your silly excuse, I’ve never been very good at random gifting. If I know your birthday’s coming or a big anniversary I’m all over it. It’s the little stuff that really means a lot that I mostly miss out on. But, I’m getting better.

Here’s an example. There’s a woman with whom I’ve worked for a number of years. She’s funny, works hard and accurately, and saves my sorry butt on a monthly basis. She gets paid to do her job, sure, but keeping a sunny attitude and desire to do good all in the midst of publishing deadlines for multiple monthly magazines is pretty admirable. Basically, she’s the best and I tell her so. Maybe that’s enough, and I thought so.

Then one week I traveled to our home office and met with a team of people who also do a very good job in the face of goofy clients. These women chase the money that’s owed us and help to put the magazines together every month. They’re solid. I bought them some beer. Well heck, you’d have thought I gave them a key to the universe. Maybe not that, but my tiny extra bit of “gifting” in the form of a couple of glasses of barley and hops, showed them that I actually care a bit and our relationships have grown even stronger both professionally and personally. Fantastic.

So back to my office. I return from my trip determined to do something special for my co-worker and butt-saver. Drink and food are not the answer here so I hit the red elephant gallery and found her the perfect pair of earrings. Simple Kim Caisse Ocean Wigglies looked to fill the bill. They’re inexpensive but not cheap at all, just simple and cool. The cool factor and the color were the strong selling points.

The Red Elephant team boxed them up with their cool, funky ribbon and that great little elephant and I brought them to my co-worker. I didn’t want to make a big fuss, but wanted her to know that she meant a lot to me so I thought of dropping them on her desk with a card, or asking her into my office . . . . What happened was perfect, we happened to arrive at the office at the same time and as we were walking from the parking lot, I pulled the box out of my shoulder bag and handed them over with a simple explanation of thanks. She was surprised and very thankful. Later, after she’d opened them, she told me they were perfect. I glowed inside.

Giving is a tremendous “up” psychologically. There are studies I’m sure that prove that some enzyme or group of cells are stimulated by gifting giving. I also know that office gifting can be a bit touchy in the new politically correct world. But you know what, I don’t care what it is physically, or whether it’s PC or not, giving someone you appreciate a random gift is one of the coolest, best-feeling things you can do so do it soon.

I suggest Mondays. What a great way to start off the week for the both of you!

Michael Tamulaites

“Flying Buttress” Rattles from J. Davis Studio - Sometimes you just have to laugh.

There are many different factors to consider when shopping for the Red Elephant Gallery. Is the work exciting and creative, is it by a new or established artist, does it fit into one of the categories we focus on – Glass, Ceramics or Handcrafted Jewelry. While all of those are important things to consider in operating a profitable business, sometimes the reason to add an artist is somewhat less tangible. For instance, I know that if we decide not to purchase something but I am still thinking about the artist weeks or months later there was something special about the work and we just take the risk and add that artist. This was the case with the handcrafted jewelry by Willy Scholten of WillyWare. I had seen her collection at the Buyers Market but we were already over budget (no surprise) so we ooohed and aaaaahed but walked away empty handed. But I kept thinking about how ingenious it was to create jewelry out of materials that Silicon Valley discards every day and how gorgeous the pieces looked as jewelry. The next show she was one of the first new artists to be added to the gallery.

Also, it is rare that I will walk away from something that makes me burst out laughing…hence the addition of the “Flying Buttress” ceramic rattles from J. Davis Studio. Those little cellulite filled butts just made me laugh. So I bought them on the spot, no thought what so ever about the budget or if someone else would actually buy them. I didn’t really care. The fact that my girlfriends and I got to share a bottle of wine and many laughs while naming the little ladies was just icing on the cake.

Hope they make you laugh too!

Fused Glass tableware by Sarah Hirneisen of Mediums to Masses added to Red Elephant Gallery

Mediums to Masses glass tableware is designed and handcrafted by Sarah Hirneisen in her California Studio. Sarah received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Rhode Island School of Design with a concentration in glass. She also studied at the Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass and the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has worked with glass for over 10 years for a variety of glass studios in Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and California before opening her own glass studio in 2005.

Sarah combines her love of glass with that of textiles to create her unique line of tableware. Vintage fabric patterns are hand silk-screened onto each glass piece using ground up glass enamel in a multi-step process Sarah developed. The resulting works give the fabric patterns a second life while creating a juxtaposition of vintage with modern.

When we saw Sarah's work we knew we had to carry it at the Red Elephant Gallery. The Sushi set was what first caught my eye. It is such a fabulous shade of mint green it reminded me of the old (now considered retro) serving pieces my mother used to have.

Handmade jewelry offered as fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

Red Elephant Gallery offers "Pebble Series" of handmade jewelry by Newport Artist Kathie Narcizo as Fundraiser for Leukemia Cup Regatta in Rhode Island

Aug 16, 2007 - Bristol, Rhode Island –

We lost a friend to Leukemia 11 years ago and since then we've supported the Leukemia Cup Regatta held in August on Narragansett Bay in various ways. This year we've selected some of our favorite jewelry pieces to entice you to help. These pieces are from the "pebble series" created by Rhode Island artist Kathy Narcizo. She sculpts each pebble by knitting an individual silver strand to its finished size, pulling it out, and pressing it between two large stones to create the unique textured appearance. The work is painstaking but the results are well worth the effort!

Here's how you can help! Each of the pieces shown in the photo, is available in our gallery. We will donate 20% of the purchase price of each piece bought before October 1, 2007, directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thank you!

Karen & Michael, Red Elephant Gallery

Website: http://redelephantgallery.com/
Phone: 1-888-973-3353
Email: Karen@redelephantgallery.com

Searching for Hand Blown Art Glass in Venice

The Red Elephant Gallery research team, namely the two of us, recently spent some time in Italy on vacation. Fact is, however, whenever we go on “vacation” we seem to spend a considerable amount of time visiting crafts people and studios in the areas we visit. If you’re romantic, we are, and if you’re in Italy, which we were, you have to visit Venice. It’s just not possible to miss this fantastic artistic city that seems determined to sink into the marshes from whence it came. There is nothing like a city of such history, such vitality through the ages, with amazing surprises at every corner to extract every last bit of culture out of you. And there are no cars, no bicycles, no mopeds, no Harley Davidsons with straight pipes, no skateboards, or scooters. In fact there are very few wheels to be seen anywhere as there is a canal to cross, a bridge to traverse every 100 feet or so which leaves walking and riding boats. Venice is a city of perfect pace ranging, from quiet contemplation to outrageous bursts of creativity.

This creativity is expressed through many media, but the one that is closest to our hearts is glasswork. The galleries and shops in Venice parlay an unending variety of glass, which is created on the nearby island of Murano. Yes, the Murano that inspired the Nissan SUV but more importantly the Murano that creates amazing hand blown glass that is shipped to galleries stores and homes around the world. Murano is reached by vaporetto, the city “buses” that are actually 40-foot passenger boats. The ride out is nice but when you land, actually crash into the steel dock, the amazement begins. There is a lot of hype in the travel and art world, but Murano is the real deal. The level of variety and quantity of production is simply head-spinning. We’ve seen a lot of glass in our time at galleries and shows throughout the US, but this was over the top. And to think it all starts its journey away from Murano on a 20-foot DHL delivery boat.

For me the most amazing pieces were the chandeliers. Although most of them weren’t really my taste and were totally inappropriate for our little home in Bristol you have to appreciate the work and sheer number of pieces of glass that go into each chandelier. There was everything from modern to enormous "how the heck did they get that thing up there” pieces that look like something straight from the movie Marie Antoinette (if you haven't seen this you should!)

On balance, however, despite the sheer number of styles and sizes of every type of blown and hand built glass we saw, at the end of the day I get more satisfaction from visiting the smaller glass studios of the artists we carry in the Red Elephant Gallery. The pieces that caught my eye in Venice reminded me of the artists we work with and admire here. In fact it was hard to find something I loved that I knew I wouldn't be able to find at home. I said hard, but certainly not impossible. In one section of Venice we visited a number of times we found a glass gallery owned by the artist and his wife with whom we spent a lot of time talking and learning. They also have a factory in Murano*. I found a pendant he’d designed with Murrini's in gorgeous colors that I just had to have. It’s similar in style to one of my favorite glass artist's in our gallery, Elodie Holmes, but I’m sure that just like our relationships with artists here the human connection made the piece all the more special. We understand this to be true for our customers as well, which is why on our site we identify all the artists and package each piece with an artist’s card that gives you a bit of detail about the piece’s maker.

Italy was a vacation in the end but what we learned in Venice will carry through our work here at the Red Elephant Gallery. The beauty, the pace, and the aura of Venice need to be experienced firsthand and our lives are far richer for the time we spent there.

Handmade Jewelry by artist Ann Hynes makes a great Mother's Day gift!

My mother was just visiting this past week and I hadn't seen her in a while. It was good to catch up and watch her spend time with her two grandsons. In the constant friendly battle between my sister and me for our mother's affection for our children I've decided to buy a locket for my mom for Mother's Day and put my kids' pictures in it. You see the Modern Locket has two sides and two sides only. There is no room there for my sister's brood!

For my mother this is the perfect gift. Not so for yours you say. Just click on the Mother's Day link you've just read and you'll find yourself amid a glorious selection of possible Mother's Day gift ideas brought to you by the Red Elephant Gallery. These are great gifts for any day and you may even find something for yourself.

So back to the locket that my mother will soon be wearing at my sister's house. Beyond the fact that it has just what I need as far as numbers of images, it's a truly wonderful piece. Designed and made by Ann Hynes, the Modern Locket is individually handcrafted with recycled glass, lead free pewter solder, sterling silver wire and in some cases freshwater pearls. The patterns in the metal are hand-etched and then polished to a rich shine. No two lockets are exactly the same making each an original piece. The Modern Locket is funky, functional and easy to use and is available in bracelet, necklace or pin form!

Recycled Glass Hearts for your favorite environmentalist

I was walking on a rocky beach near our house with our two little boys recently and found that a recent storm had tossed a number of bottles up on the beach. That same storm had broken a number of the bottles leaving shards of clear, green, and brown strewn underfoot. While I was turned away, one of the little rugrats picked up a neck and dropped it on a rock adding more broken clear glass to the collection. I was mad at him and told him why, but it got me to thinking. Where could I take my boys to learn what happens to the glass that we recycle everyday in our green recycle bin. Maybe there's a place where we can go to throw bottles into a large metal or concrete container and watch them shatter. Who wouldn't have the urge in a controlled environment to smash the bejeesus out of some pre-recycled glass?

I haven't found where to go to smash the bottles, but at the Red Elephant Gallery you will find a lot of post-recycled glass. It's all made by our friends at Fire and Light. The artists there use up to 90% recycled glass in their gorgeous plates, glasses, and vases. The desire to be environmentally friendly and all of our desires to be good to our mothers on Mother's Day has put Fire and Light's tremendous recycled glass hearts in mind as a truly unique, handmade gift to warm your mother's heart. Each heart takes three days to make from smashed pieces to sculpted wonder and each bears the distinctive signature of Fire and Light.

Handmade jewelry artist Jeannine McKenzie joins Red Elephant Gallery

Red Elephant Gallery is thrilled to add Jeannine McKenzie to their handmade jewelry collection! Jeannine has been a jeweler for more than 32 years. She displayed her work on the art show circuit for more than 11 years from 1974 to 1986, winning numerous awards at some of the finest juried shows in the midwest.

Jeannine began as a watercolorist and painted for a number of years before becoming a designer of handcrafted jewelry. Although primarily a self taught artist, she is well rounded in her medium and her work is very diverse delicate mixtures of textures and forms. Through the years her techniques have included casting, electro-forming, etching and fabrication.
"I've always had a deep love for jewelry and it seemed right to express my creative drive to design and made jewelry. To me designing in metal is like playing, it's fun, exciting and adventurous." In 1992 Jeannine's husband Charles joined her to form the partnership and they now display and sell their work in over 75 galleries across the United States from Alaska to New York. They are avid outdoors man and fishing, camping, rock hunting and nature photography.

Jeannine was born in 1945 in Alexandria, Virginia to a career army officer and lived the life of a typical "army brat" moving from state to state and country to country. For 33 years she lived in a historic 1854 Greek revival home and raised her five children. 1n 2004 after 10 years of "rough camping" 4 weeks a year, they sold their home and were able to buy 80 Acres of land in a remote wilderness area of Michigans Upper Peninsula. Wolf, Moose, Black Bear, Bald Eagle, beaver, Bobcat to name few. Their only contact to the outside world is a cell phone which is wired to a booster and a hard antenna outside the cabin. ( A far better option than the $4,800 the phone company wanted to bring a land line in!)

Handmade Jewelry Artist Kendra Roberts on HGTV's That's Clever!

As excited as we are to meet new artists and learn about their specific interpretation of handmade crafts, three days on the show floor at the Philadelphia buyers market can get a bit mind-numbing. It's a form of decision-making that we adhere to--if an artists work is still as intriguing on day three as it was on the first day, we're going to invite that artist to join the Red Elephant Gallery family. It's a darn good test in the end.

Kendra Roberts passed our test with flying colors and we're still jazzed by her work. Her jewelry designs depict a magnificent blend of the Native American techniques of mosaic stone and shell inlay with the simple elegance of contemporary design. Possessed of a dramatic flair for color, from the blues and greens of turquoise, to the vibrant red of spiny oyster shell, the regal look of lapis and the soft colors of lavender jade and yellow jasper, each stone in her work is hand cut and hand polished, making no two pieces identical.

We love her work. Turns out the folks at HGTV's "That's Clever!" show agree with us. Kendra will be a featured guest on the show and will make a turquoise money clip in her New York City studio. The show airs Friday April 6, at 1 pm ET/PT.

Check her out on our site and on TV and we think you'll agree that she's all that and more.

Blown Glass Artist Elodie Holmes

Since spring is now over and we have returned to winter here in the Northeast, I tuned into HGTV's "That's Clever!" today to see what artist was being showcased. I was quite surprised to find that Glass Artist Elodie Holmeswas showing the world how she makes her gorgeous glass vases. She happened to be showcasing a piece we have in the gallery at the moment - the Lapis Figure vase. Although technically I know how the figures are blown into the vase I've never actually seen it done so I learned a few things. She also shows how to make her infamous crackle glass eggs which are truly spectacular!

If you would like to see how the Figure Vase is made check out the images from Elodie's segment of That's Clever! The link can be found near the Lapis Figure vase.

Fun with Fused Glass

I'm always looking for creative ways that people use the arts in their fundraising activities. This summer the Red Elephant Gallery created Fused Glass Jewelry in conjunction with Art as a Catalyst as a fundraiser for the Rhode Island Leukemia Cup Regatta. We also participated in a Month for CERF (Craft Emergency Relief Fund) during September where we donated a portion of our Art Glass sales to CERF. In both instances we had fun and the proceeds went to benefit three great non-profits; Art as a Catalyst, Leukemia Society and CERF. Well I just came across this news flash in which fused glass in conjuction with wine is being used to help build a new Visual Arts Center in WA. Read on...and order wine!

The Arts Council of Snohomish County, Artspace, Inc. and Northwest Cellars, which produces and distributes wine with custom-designed labels, are working together to raise funds for a new Visual Arts Center. The Arts Council and Artspace, both nonprofit organizations, are collaborating to build a multi-use visual arts education center and live/work studio space for artists in downtown Everett.

In this first series, a collection of five wonderful Washington and Oregon wines crafted by Bob Delf of Northwest Cellars are coupled with five fantastic reproductions of original artwork by five local artists. The artwork represents five of the thirty-five individual 8” x 8” glass tiles that make up a Glass Quilt. The Glass Quilt Project represents local area artists, coming together to produce a wonderful glass quilt comprised of 35 painted, etched and fused glass tiles. The Glass Quilt debuted March of 2006. An anonymous donor purchased the quilt for $20,000 and donated it back to the Arts Council for its permanent collection in the new center. The Glass Quilt is currently on display at the Wall Street Building - 10th floor waiting room in downtown Everett.

Any wine retailer or restaurant can carry the Artist Series One wines. Proceeds of $2 per bottle of wine go directly to support the visual arts center project. For more info visit www.artscouncilofsnoco.org

Handcrafted Jewelry by Fitz & Fitz features the designs of Somers Randolph

Somers Randolph is a nationally recognized stone sculptor who lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a seven-year-old boy, he began carving under the watchful eye of his great uncle, Superior Court Judge Alfred Adams of Nashville, who was known as "the Whittling Judge" because he would hear cases while whittling on cedar sticks behind the bench.
"In the Tennessee mountains each summer, when I would run up and say hi to Uncle Alfred", remembers Randolph, "he would inevitably greet me with, "Son, let me see your pocketknife." He then rolled up his starched white sleeve and proceed to try to shave his arm with my knife. If it wasn’t sharp enough, he would say, "Son, go sharpen your pocket knife and then come talk with your Uncle Alfred." So, you see, a sharp pocket knife became my ticket to the company of the grandfather figure of my childhood. Uncle Alfred taught me how to sharpen my knife and how to whittle, and a great deal more besides." Randolph graduated from Princeton in 1979. Majoring in art history he studied sculpture with Tony Smith, Alice Aycock, Jim Huntington, and Bill Umbright and his thesis was a sculpture show. By 1984 his sculpture sales were paying his studio bills and he was able become a full-time artist. In 1998 he moved to Santa Fe to take advantage of the thriving art market.
Somers Randolph devoted his attention to silversmithing for the first year, then returned to his primary medium - carving a labaster and other soft stones into elegant abstract sculptures. Throughout the years, he developed the habit of keeping the pieces that split off the large stones while composing his sculptures. In leisure moments, he would take these stone fragments and whittle small, intricate, jewel-like carvings, digging so deeply along the grain that he exposed the final, pure essence of the stone. He began to amass a large volume of these delicate works of art, simply for his own delight.
Then the blade met the crucible. Into Randolph’s life walked the beautiful Hillary Fitzpatrick, fresh from a dozen years in the top echelons of the New York fashion and retail world. She was captivated by the tiny stone carvings, the large sculptures, and most of all, by the artist himself. Randolph is, as his wife describes him, "six feet seven inches of large, earthy man". As he whittles his miniature sculptures, his hands envelop both knife and soapstone. To see the elegant results dwarfed in his palms is magical.
When Fitzpatrick asked Randolph if she might wear one of his small pieces as a pendant hung from a silken cord, he was most obliging. He remarked that they were very likely to break, which was not a problem since he had a twenty-year accumulation. He was constantly producing more, so he told her she was welcome to break as many as she liked. At that point Fitzpatrick revealed what she actually had in mind: she planned to cast them in solid sterling silver and gold. Within a year she had developed over fifty pendant designs and a series of bracelets and earrings. They created Fitz & Fitz Jewelry - a handcrafted jewelry firm to showcase Randolph’s creations. The firm has swiftly gained momentum as museums, major department stores and galleries across the country join the growing number of Fitz & Fitz clientele.
The art of Somers Randolph has now come full circle, from carving stone down to its innate form, to casting it in precious metal, itself a product of the stone. The story of the handcrafted jewelry he has created with Fitzpatrick is as romantic as the way this dedicated artist and talented businesswoman found each other.

Art Glass, fused glass, lampworking

Toledo Museum of Art Glass Opens


The Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion made its debut during a week of preview events, August 22-27, 2006. Nearly 10,000 visitors from around the world marveled at the Glass Pavilion as architectural masterpiece, pristine new home of TMA's world-renowned glass collection, and active glassmaking studio space.

On display in specially designed cases and cabinets is a large portion of the museum's 5,000-piece glass collection, the oldest of which is 4,000 years old. Among the highlights: the clear-glass chandelier-style sculpture by Dale Chihuly in the Monroe Street lobby; Vitrana, the colorful mural composed of 33 glass panels by Dominick Labino in the Glass Study Room, and the Libbey Table and Punch Bowl (1903-04), the largest cut glass in existence, made in Toledo to exhibit at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.

The museum has two spacious hot shops where artists will demonstrate the craft of glassblowing, a lampworking studio for torch work, glass casting/kiln room, and cold glass shops for stained glass and flat glass. These facilities can accommodate students, local artists and even celebrity guest artists. Also in the lower level is an area for glass conservation work.

For more information visit www.toledomuseum.org

Art Glass, Blown Glass, Dale Chihuly lawsuit

SeattlePI.com: This time, litigation between Chihuly and Rubino really is over

Famed glass artist Dale Chihuly finally settled a lawsuit against Bryan Rubino, a former employee and member of his glass blowing team. After months of heated debate and criticism for both sides it is nice to see this finally come to an end. Although it has been interesting for me to follow this suit (and provided great discussion and blog material) I think that neither artist would really benefit in the end. However, had the suit actually gone to court, it would have provided an interesting study of our copyright laws.

By Regina Hackett, P-I Art Critic

"The terms of the settlement are not disclosed, and the parties have agreed to keep them confidential," Wakefield wrote.

The suits were dropped after a busy week for Chihuly. He presided over a series of hot shop performances at the Museum of Glass to wind up a "Chihuly in Tacoma" celebration. And he was criticized in a series of articles in The Seattle Times.

This time, everybody agrees it's game over for the Chihuly/Rubino litigation.

Chihuly, 64, does not regret his self-promoting, Barnum & Bailey approach to art, his assembly-line production, his think-big aesthetic. He does regret his foray into court against Rubino.

"Never should have done it," he said.

He's not saying the same about his suit against Robert Kaindl, the person who asked Rubino to blow the glass that Chihuly found objectionably like his own. The suit against Kaindl remains unresolved, as does Kaindl's countersuit against Chihuly. Chihuly's suits against a handful of galleries that showed the work were quietly dropped months ago.

Ceramic tableware and purses by Shayla Su

The Red Elephant Gallery is proud to add Ceramic artist Shayla Su to the Ceramic section of the Gallery. Shayla Su began her ceramics training at the University of California at Berkeley, where she also studied Art and Architecture. She graduated with a B.A. in Art History in 1991.

Through this training, she came to believe that all aspects of art should be equally valued: concept, quality, technique, medium, function and design. This sense of balance, combined with her personal experiences, is what characterizes her work and forms her ongoing inspiration.

The collections on this site represent a shift from a focus on wheel-thrown wares to an interest in slab work, and with new motifs. In them, her architectural background emerges. Simple, elegant and functional, Shayla's work strives to convey a modern experience, where form and function meet in sleek new designs where subtlety is the key ingredient.

Shayla’s handbags were inspired by a trip to Venice Italy in 2003. While exploring Venetian art and architecture, she became enthralled by the myriad of handbags displayed so opulently in the city’s many shops. In an effort to come to terms with the dichotomy of art and fashion, she began making handbags in clay. Each work is unique as a ceramic piece, and as ceramics works, they make original vases.

In her tableware collection, she found interesting, artful and functional ways to enhance the tactile and visual pleasure of a lovely meal. Thought modern in design with their folded edges, each bowl’s simplicity make it a great match for traditional tables as well.

Shayla has participated in numerous exhibitions throughout the 1990’s until the present. Recent exhibitions have include Vitrified Clay National: Form and Content, juried exhibition, Rockport Texas, Illuminations, a joint exhibition at Ruby’s Clay Studio and Gallery, San Francisco, Blues: Tonality II, juried exhibition, Tierra Solida Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, Recent Works joint exhibition with Phil Simon, Christensen-Heller Gallery, Oakland, CA the Silver Celebration Art Auction, benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association, San Francisco, CA, and Furniture as Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco, CA (all in 2004). In 2005, Shayla set up her own “studio in the garage” and participated in the Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft Shawn and International Gift Show.

She is the winner of the 2006 NICHE Wards in the Home: Lamps Category and a finalist in the 2006 NICHE Awards in the Ceramic: Hand-built category.

Art Glass, Smyers Glass, handblown stemware

New for your Trunk - Smyers Glass

Glass Artisan Stephen Smyers is one the true innovators of the contemporary glass movement. For more than thirty-five years, the simple elegance of Smyers Glass has graced fine tables worldwide. Renown for their artful innovation and classic appeal, Smyers' award winning designs have placed the company in the vanguard of contemporary glass studios.

In the creative atmosphere of the studio, where Smyers and his assistants mouth blow and hand finish each piece individually, glassware of lasting beauty and style is made with impeccable quality and artisanship.

Beginning with his first award-wining stemware design, the company has steadily grown to international repute. Smyers Glass is included in the permanent collection of the Corning Museum of Glass and in numerous private collections. It is sold exclusively in fine art stores and galleries throughout the world.

Versatile and well-balanced, Smyers glassware comes in twelve engaging collections that are boldly original and classically beautiful. Clean, fluent lines and smart motifs make Smyers Glass the perfect complement to a formal table setting or an intimate dinner, special celebration, or everyday repast.

Old Line Publishing, LLC Announces New Glass and Pottery Magazine for Collectors

New source of information for Art Glass and Ceramic collectors

Old Line Publishing, LLC has announced the scheduled release of a new publication specifically designed for today’s glass and pottery collector. The monthly magazine entitled "The Glass and Pottery Collector," will make its debut with the November 2006 issue, and will be packed full of informative articles and beautifully detailed pictures regarding the antique and collectible glass and pottery market.

Well first, we want collectors to be excited about getting this publication and anticipating its arrival on a monthly basis and then we want them to be able to use it as a resource over and over again
The magazine will be all inclusive with respect to American and foreign made glass and pottery. Glassware and pottery manufacturing has had a long and wonderful history and there are so many different genres of each collecting area. Glassware can be collected as Art Glass, Depression Glass, Early American Pattern Glass or Carnival Glass, just to name a few. Pottery can be collected as Art Pottery, Early American Pottery, Fine Porcelain, Dinnerware and more. Craig Schenning, principal owner of Old Line Publishing, LLC, says that "No matter what kind of glass or pottery you collect, you will want to see, read and keep this magazine.

The magazine is expected to present the traditional world of glass and pottery collecting in a new and updated format. The magazine will be laid out with a fresh new look that combines beautiful pictorials with well written educational material. It will contain original color photography in an easy to see large format. It will also contain informative articles which deal with the current collectible market as well as educational articles regarding historic glass and pottery companies with pertinent information about their patterns, designs, artists and products. The magazine will also provide activities such as crossword and word search puzzles.

Old Line Publishing, LLC is very excited about their new magazine. What do they hope to achieve by issuing a magazine of this type? "Well first, we want collectors to be excited about getting this publication and anticipating its arrival on a monthly basis and then we want them to be able to use it as a resource over and over again," says Schenning. "It’s unfortunate how the number of collectors has dwindled over the years. Sadly, many of us as experienced collectors, have not inspired younger folks to get involved in the world of collecting and collecting is one way, we as individuals, help preserve the history these wonderful arts," says Schenning. He would like above all else, "to have this magazine bring new people into the wonderful world of glass and pottery collecting."

Old Line Publishing, LLC was established in 2006 specifically to produce magazines and books pertinent to the collecting world. Craig Schenning, the owner and principal of the company is the author of "A Century of Indiana Glass" which was released in October 2005. Old Line Publishing is always looking for free-lance authors and suggestions for material. For additional information on this new publication, contact Craig Schenning or visit www.oldlinepublishingllc.com.Advertisers are encouraged to call and reserve their ad space or to inquire about advertising rates.

Fundraiser: Fused Glass Jewelry, Leukemia Cup Regatta

Red Elephant Gallery Joins With "Art As A Catalyst" Selling Fused Glass Jewelry in Fundraiser for Leukemia Cup Regatta in Rhode Island

June 13, 2006 - Bristol, Rhode Island – The Red Elephant Gallery is joining with Art As A Catalyst to raise money for the Rhode Island Leukemia Cup Regatta, scheduled for Friday & Saturday, August 18-19, 2006. The gallery is selling special edition art glass jewelry to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society before the regatta through web site sales of the special edition fused glass & metal jewelry. They will also sell the one-of-a-kind jewelry on site during both days of the summer sailing event.

The Regatta Series of fused glass jewelry came about when owners of the Red Elephant Gallery, Karen Zagorski and Michael Tamulaites, had an inspiring talk with Gary Rosenthal at a gallery buyer’s market and decided to use the Art as a Catalyst program as a fundraiser for the Leukemia Cup Regatta in Rhode Island. They gathered a group of family and friends, all of whom had been affected by a blood-related disease, to help create mosaic sheets of ocean-colored glass from small pieces glued to a glass-tile back.

Art as a Catalyst is a social entrepreneurship program founded in 2003 by Rosenthal, an artist and sculptor in the Washington, D.C. area who has been producing unique artwork for over 30 years. Together with a team of talented craftspeople, he creates one of the most popular and unique lines of Judaic art in the country. His contemporary and functional works of art, known as the Gary Rosenthal Collection, are made of mixed metal and brilliant fused glass.

These tiles were sent to Art as a Catalyst in Maryland, fused in the kiln at the Gary Rosenthal Collection Studio, and then cut and used to create the beautiful jewelry and money clips for sale here. The Red Elephant Gallery purchased the finished glass jewelry from the Art as a Catalyst program and in addition to the website will sell it at The Leukemia Cup Regatta with profits going to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

About Art as a Catalyst : Through Art as a Catalyst, Gary Rosenthal’s organization works with groups nationwide to create community-based fundraisers to provide jobs and training for special needs groups. Glass and metal art pieces are created through collaboration between an organization and the Art as a Catalyst program, and are then sold to raise funds for such diverse causes as literacy, autism awareness, and arts enrichment. Rosenthal is inspiring others to become involved in service through art and believes that art can be a catalyst for building community spirit and drive.

About Red Elephant Gallery: The Regatta Series of fused glass jewelry and accessories shown here was created through a collaborative effort of Art as a Catalyst, the Red Elephant Gallery, and friends brought together by a common goal—fighting blood-related diseases. The proceeds from each piece sold benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Website: http://redelephantgallery.com/
Phone: 1-888-973-3353
Email: Karen@redelephantgallery.com

Art Glass Perfume Bottles

New for your Trunk - Glass perfume bottles by Robert Burch

The Red Elephant Gallery is proud to introduce Robert Burch's beautiful perfume bottles to its art glass line. Watching Burch in action explains his conscious choice not to further expand his thriving business. Clearly i