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.

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

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!

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!)