Safiya Mitchell



Know Thyself


Greetings,


I have found another crocheter!!!! Wooo hooo!!!!  I was browsing etsy and ran across some great pieces from Safiya Mitchell.  I will share her bio with you and also check out her etsy page: www.etsy.com/shop/fiyamitch.


Here is some info that she shared with me.


    
Safiya was born and raised in NYC and currently resides in Brooklyn!!!!  My peeps in NYC, show Safiya some love!!

Here is her bio written in her own words:

     My interest in crochet is rooted in my appreciation for all things afro-centric, particularly, Rastafarian culture and natural locks.  I was very fascinated with how beautiful a woman could be with her hair wrapped in a turban or covered in a tam.  I thought, wow… how innovative, how liberating…  It was a movement/lifestyle that I had to be a part of.  

            I began crocheting almost two and half years ago, while on maternity leave with my son.  I came across some wonderful tutorials by tjw on youtube.com and some great starter patterns by Double Stitch Twins.  To my surprise, I picked up fairly quickly and took a genuine liking to the craft.  Fortunately, as time progressed, so did my skill.

            What keeps me motivated to create is being able to express my inner happenings outwardly through my hands.  It’s therapeutic, spiritual, and a reward from GOD!  Every color reflects my mood at the time of creation, and every finished product represents that which has been influential throughout my journey thus far.  What I love the most is being able to connect with others through art.  A sold item to me speaks volumes, stating that I have created something special for someone that I don’t even know.  Such a connection preserves my inspiration to offer to you the “Fruits” of my labor…

Peace…

Safiya

Fruits Boutique

Stay creative and enjoy!!!

Charmel


Safiya has so many wonderful pieces, that I am going to have to do another blog on her and post some of her pics!!! Stay tuned for more of her work.
Now take a look at some of her pieces:




flower earrings





Iylah



tropical pearls

Charmel's Creative Corner: Orese Marketing - jewelry

Charmel's Creative Corner: Orese Marketing - jewelry: " Curvature  Greetings, Take a look at this gorgeous jewelry that I came across once again, on etsy. This sista does some amazing wo..."

Orese Marketing - jewelry



Curvature

 Greetings,

Take a look at this gorgeous jewelry that I came across once again, on etsy.  This sista does some amazing work and you all need to support her.  Here is a short write-up that she sent me regarding her pieces. She resides in Canada!!!!


 I was inspired to start Orese in August 2010, after vacationing in Barbados.  I've been making "play" jewelry for years and years, but this was my first time actually making something serious (and pretty lol).  The feedback to my first earrings was huge, so I decided to start making them for sale.  I found Etsy, and continued on from there :)
 I am of African descent, so I really love to create adornments that tell a story that reflects the beauty, intricacies, and the drama of my homeland.  I own an ridiculous amount of fabric, beads, semi-precious stones, and wire, so I like to create things that are different and fun to wear, especially for summer.  I love bold, bright colors so that is also a must for any Orese design.


 I'm hoping to soon expand Orese to include items for men, and will soon start incorporating more materials into my work for added dimension and texture.

 You can stay updated at my blog: http://www.orese.wordpress.com/, twitter: @OreseJewelry, and facebook: Facebook.com/OreseJewelry

Take a look at these pieces and support this great work!!!

Stay creative,

Charmel





Nova



Adiya



Ma'at



Memory Lane Inn



Footstool for baby Steven Thompson



Good evening all,


I hope everyone had a productive weekend.  I had a GREAT weekend because I was creative.  I went to Memory Lane Inn in Tyler TX, for a scrapbook retreat. I had a BLAST and made some really cool things!!!!  I learned about a lot of crafting techniques that I had never thought of.  I met a lot of crafty women that motivated me to broaden my creative horizons!!!!!  They made the most amazing pieces out of the most simple material.  One of my favorites was a wreath made from an old book and also a lamp shade made out of burlap!!!!  My friend Robin kept telling me that I was going to be inspired and boy was I.  I ONLY took my yarn and crochet hook, but left with 3 completed projects that didn't use yarn.  Let's just say Hobby Lobby and Michael's were glad that I was in town.  My newest obsession is the chipboard book.  The chipboard book is a cardboard like material that is like a blank canvas that is decorated with scrapbook paper and embellishments to suit the needs and theme of the book. Take a look at the book, they can be purchased at most craft stores in a variety of different themes and are a very fun project.  I also made a few other items but will post those after they are delivered to the appropriate parties.  I was able to finish a blanket and a scarf that I had been working on. 

The footstool that I made a few weeks ago, was delivered this past weekend, so now I can post a picture of that as well.

I encourage everyone to get creative if you would like to.  If you don't feel like you are creative, I am pretty sure that you can find something crafty that you enjoy doing.  I can't draw a straight line and I LOVE being creative!!!

Stay creative,

Charmel

chipboard book!!! My newest addiction!!

Just me

100% cotton scarf

Good friday afternoon everyone,

I decided that I will write a post about myself and share it with you all.  Let's see, I love, love, love to create things and come up with new projects.  At the present moment I am working on some crochet blankets and scarves.  I am working on  a blanket in particular for a mentor of mine that is ill.  She doesn't know that I am making it for her so it's a secret (shhhh!!!).  I just finished making a decorative footstool for someone, but I can't mention them either because they have not received it.  So, those are the projects so far, oh I learned how to make baby booties and am sooooo excited because they are quick and fun to do, crochet that is.  I will post some pics of them soon along with other items that I am working on.

Oh, next weekend I am going on a scrapbook retreat with a group of friends in Tyler, TX and I am really looking forward to that.  I have projects to take down there and work on as well.  I am not going to be scrapbooking, probably just crocheting.

I am going to an Etsy party tonight, it is like a world-wide craft party and one of the sites is here in Houston.  I can't wait to mingle and meet new crafters like myself.

I am getting a really positive response about the blog so far and am happy about that.  I usually search for my crafters on etsy, facebook and a few other sites and that is how I find people.  So, if you know of anyone that wants to be featured on the blog let me know.  I am going to post a few things that I have made now.

Have a good weekend and enjoy!!!!!

Stay creative,

Charmel






baby blanket



decorative footstool, you are looking down on the stool



Clementine Hunter

Clementine Hunter is a world-renowned folk artist from Louisiana.  Her artwork has had lasting impressions on my Louisiana natives.  If you have not heard of her, check out this bio and some of her pieces.


This excerpt was taken from: http://www.nadersgallery.com/ClementineBio.htm

Hunter was born on Hidden Hill Plantation near Cloutierville, Louisiana; a place so isolated and harsh that local legend claimed it was the real-life inspiration for Uncle Tom's Cabin. As a child, her family moved north to the Cane River area, eventually to Melrose Plantation near Natchitoches, where Hunter spent a lot of her life picking cotton. She attended school for just 10 days and never learned to read or write. Later, she cooked for the Big House, using her creative spirit to make dolls for the children, as well as quilts, baskets and lace curtains.

But in the late 1940s, one of the many artists who visited the plantation left behind some tubes of paint. Plantation curator Francois Mignon encouraged Hunter to try her own hand at painting. During the next four decades, she created thousands of paintings. Hunter worked all day at the plantation Big House and took home washing and ironing to be returned the next day. Once home, she took care of her worthless husband.
It was often midnight before she was free to ''mark some pictures,'' as she once said for her painting; using cardboard, paper bags, lumber scraps, milk jugs, the insides of soap boxes and other throw-outs. Almost all of her works were ''memory paintings,'' showing plantation life as she remembered it: picking cotton, gathering figs, threshing pecans, weddings, baptisms, funerals and other scenes of everyday life. Her titles were often intriguing, too.
Some simple ones were selected by collectors and were merely descriptive of their content: Watermelon, Flowers, Ducks and etc. When collectors did asked for a title, Hunter gave her own, such as Trying to Keep the Baby Happy, She's Not Pretty But She's Strong and Saturday Night at the Honky Tonk. Visitors to the plantation would buy her paintings, starting at 25 cents and 50 cents in the 1940s. Contemporary collectors consider these early works her best. Eventually, her various patrons were able to get her work into shows, the first big one being the New Orleans Arts and Crafts Show in 1949.
A June 1953 article in Look magazine brought her to national attention. In 1957, some critics dubbed her ''the Black Grandma Moses.’’ And, in 1979, Robert Bishop, director of The Museum of American Folk Art in Washington, called the artist, then in her 90s, ''the most celebrated of all Southern contemporary painters.’’ By the 1970s, there were large public and private collections of Hunter's work, and by the 1980s, several important traveling exhibitions featured her paintings. The prices for her work had risen from 25 cents to several thousand dollars.
In the last years of her life, Hunter left her rented cabin and moved upriver, living in a trailer she bought with money from selling her paintings. She painted until the last few months of her life, dying at the age of 100 on January 1, 1988. Hunter was more modest about her abilities. ''God puts those pictures in my head and I just puts them on the canvas, like he wants me to,'' the artist said.


Reference:
Black Women in America An Historical Encyclopedia
Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Darlene Clark Hine
Copyright 1993, Carlson Publishing Inc., Brooklyn, New York
ISBN 0-926019-61-9


Here is another interesting tidbit I had found. She was illiterate so she couldn't sign her name to her paintings. She began to initial them by copying the initials of Cammy Henry, the owner of the plantation, but she worried that it would cause confusion, so she made a backwards C. Over the years the backward C worked its way across the H, until Hunter's identifying mark became uniquely her own.
Now for some of her artwork:


Washday, 1950s







Bowl of Zinnias, 1939



A funeral at Isle Brevelle, 1966

Here is a link for more information about Clementine Hunter: http://www.clementinehunterartist.com/index.html#anchor1487990

Gabby Girl Designs and Accessories



Greek organization pens




Greetings,

I ran across this fantastic designer on one of my friend's facebook pages and asked her to share her story with me.  I was going to re-type it but decided just to paste the email that she sent me regarding her start.  I feel as though reading it from her will give you a better perspective on her passion for her craft.  The name for the company is her daughter's name, Gabby.

Gabby Girl creator's words:
I am a mother of 2 girls, an  8 yr old and a 2 yr old. I am from Shreveport, LA.  I Love all things girly ...pink, zebra, bows, glitter, you name it!  In the past, I have always purchased my daughter's hairbows from custom places like boutiques or little girls specialty stores...money was never an issue for me in buying their bows...the issue for me was having to drive to the store, place my order & then come back later or another day to pick it up! I am the type of person that likes to go to the store, get what I need to get... AND GO!    ...the only time I ever really "order" anything is when I order online---and at least then I don't have to leave my house to place my order!  One day I decided to pick up some ribbon while I was at Hobby Lobby (one of my favorite stores--I LOVE to decorate!) to just experiment making some bows.  When I saw my final product, I thought to myself---"hey, I'm pretty good at this!"  I received lots of positive feedback from the pictures I shared of my bows, so I just continued to make them and tried to add more creativity to them as I went.  While I was making bows, I began to come up with other creative ideas...and began to put my thoughts into action   ---On my job, I have to wear an ID badge, so this is want led to the idea of decorating retractable ID badges...I decorated a few at first and got some positive feedback on those as well, so as with the bows, I continued to make more of them.  Many creative ideas just began to flourish when I sat down to make my bows and ID badges...this is what also led me to begin decorating flip flops, pens, t-shirts....etc.  Somehow, I feel as though I always try to challenge myself, because there are soooo many other creative people here in Northern Louisiana that make similar items...but the question is---what sets me apart from the rest????  I try to add a personal touch to all of my creations...

Now here are some pics of her items.  She can be reached at GabbyGirlDesign@aol.com for any questions or to order items.

Stay creative,

Charmel





ID badges



hairbow holder



personalized flip flops



 

adorable hair bows




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neon green and black hair bow