Kelly Thiel found clay in 1999. Interested in all things creative, she grew up with an artistic mother on a small farm in rural Georgia, where she developed her love of playing in the mud. Those formative years influenced her greatly, and since then, she has always been involved in the arts.
A couple of years after graduating from Virginia Tech, Kelly moved to Charleston, SC and began actively pursuing her creative interests. She traveled around the country to study with different artists, like Tom Coleman and Lisa Clague, and to further her knowledge of the clay. She has shown her award-winning sculptures in regional and national exhibitions, and currently participates with the American Craft Council retail shows each year. Several of her sculptures are included in the Art Buzz, Collection 2011, an art book dedicated to the visual arts. Kelly has also recently expanded to offer select pieces in bronze.
While Kelly is known for her claywork, she has always sketched and painted on the side, when time permitted. She finds that working in the different mediums is inspiring and freeing, and the influence from one carries over into the next.
With a studio on John’s Island, SC Kelly is able to stay connected with the natural environment, and has a wonderful view of pasture and pond, with many trees and birds.
QUESTION ON KELLY'S BLOG: What color describes your business?
Stephanie Amos aka SAMOS is a multimedia artist who creates unique abstract figures in bronze, delicate ceramics in bright, funky colors and colorful abstract paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor. She is a Colorado Native that grew up in the beautiful mountains of Salida. Stephanie received her BA from Mesa State College in Grand Junction and studied abroad to further her art education in Florence, Italy.
"Drawing was my first love, and then I discovered many doors that lead to endless creations of the imagination. It's the process that I am drawn to, whether it’s starting with a blank canvas, a ball of clay or a sheet of wax. Each medium I work in has its own unique process, and it's those differences that make it difficult for me to choose just one to work with. I have been painting abstracts since the early 90's. It wasn't until I went back to school that I started to explore other avenues. In 1999, I studied at NYU in Florence, Italy. It was there that sculpture and photography became my main interests and I developed a greater admiration for art history."
QUESTION ON STEPHANIE SAMOS' BLOG: Collaborations: a good idea?
Hello creative souls!
My name is Leanne Wargowsky. I am the creator, dreamer, artist and writer behind From Chaos Comes Happiness. Born, raised, and still living in the Chicago land area, my creative adventure started long before my college days, where I majored in art & theater. While life paved a different road for me (I ultimately spent the past 20 years with a career in health care), I always dreamt of following my heart and creating.
I dipped my toes in a creative life back in July of 2009, when I first discovered the "Land of Blogging". I was so inspired by the amazing talents of so many creative souls in the world, and had an overwhelming desire to share my stories and outlook with others. My support system is wide and deep, with a husband and two daughters who encourage my true self to come out each moment of my days. So, with butterflies in my stomach, I jumped in and began my blog. Sharing my thoughts, fears, dreams was just the beginning. A return to my creative roots had begun, and I loved every minute of it.
In 2011, my professional future in health care took a back seat when I began From Chaos Comes Happiness. I am proud to offer a wide range of creative and whimsical art pieces to inspire a happy life. From hand painted mixed media work, to note cards, prints, bookmarks, magnets and jewelry. Each and every part of my collection shares my inspiring and motivating outlook on life.
THIS is ME. This is my life. Chaotic. Creative. And, oh-so Good.
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QUESTION ON Leanne Wargowsky's BLOG: The hardest part about pursing a dream is….
Alease M. McClenningham considers herself a collage architect. She has always been drawn to the process of creating beautiful things from found objects and sees inspiration all around. Her passion is to breathe new life into bits and pieces of old, worn and forgotten elements and incorporate them into her work. She enjoys implying the rough outline of a story with the images she chooses and by the bits of ephemera she adds.
As a mixed-media artist, Alease participated in several exhibitions. Wishing to market her artistic endeavors, she found little advice available. This, coupled with her passion for education – she tracked her online marketing & branding journey and founded The School of Creative Business.
As an expert, Alease lends knowledge to the press, editorials and serves as a subject-matter expert. She is a sought-after presenter in the areas of creative marketing, personal image, branding and fashion.
As an educator, Alease is committed to her students education, furthering their exposure and considers their success a direct reflection of herself.
Question on Alease M. McClenningham's Blog:
God has blessed Sonya with a rare gift of conceptual vision backed with solid design skills. She has more than a decade of experience delivering print, web, and multi-media projects to clients. Sonya's willingness to become fully involved in a project, from concept to completion, ensures that every client project has a successful outcome. Sonya is a fashion graduate of O'More College of Design and a continuing student at Nashville State, where she studied visual communications. A dual platform graphic designer with the ability to master most design tools and media.
For many years Sonya worked in the fashion & newspaper industry. She worked as a buyer/manager for boutiques & mass merchants. Sonya's love of cowboy boots and western wear comes from studying this culture while buying this unique apparel for a mass boot merchant in Tennessee. Later, working for a publishing giant, Sonya mastered the art of publishing from advertising to editorial while creating her business eastwind productions.
The love of her children inspired Sonya to petition her FATHER to care for the gift of her children and on July 14 - 2008, Sonya quit the best paying job she ever had. With a huge mortgage and car note ... Sonya began her journey of learning to depend completely on him.
Sonya also has a natural love of photography & gardening. Early childhood exposure to French and European culture provide the foundation for Sonya's unique design sense and style.
Sonya enjoys collaborating with her creator and is simply blow away by HIS power, each and every day.
Question on Sonya McCllough's Blog:
Jean Simrose: I’ve loved creating things as long as I can remember. I learned to sew, knit and crochet when I was very young. My sisters and I were always doing crafts of some kind.
I always loved jewelry and when I moved to Seattle in 2005 I took a Silversmithing course at a local college. I’ve continued to take classes and make jewelry ever since.
I started by making gifts for my family and friends. As my passion increased, I experimented with different mediums and made more jewelry. I started my blog and opened my on-line etsy shop in 2009. Since then I have enjoyed participating in craft fairs and art shows in Canada and the U.S.
I hope people enjoy my jewelry as much as I enjoy making it.
Question on Jean Simrose's Blog:
jan avellana is a mixed-media artist with a passion for art making, books, deep conversations, and seaside adventures with her three favorite men (ages 5, 7 and 41). jan spent the better part of her adult life trying very hard to be a grown-up with a traditional job. the birth of her two sons released her to follow her heart and reclaim the artist she has always been. in 2007, jan created a line of silver hand stamped jewelry under the hazelnut cottage brand. today, she revels in mixed-media messes, making heartfelt connections with others through art and words.
in print, you can find jan in “The Pulse of Mixed Media”, “Inside the Creative Studio”, “Artful Blogging, Winter 2011” and “ClothPaperScissors Studios”. in life, you can find her immersed in the studio or at the beach (with paint in her hair). online, you can find jan here:
Question on jan avellana's blog:
What do you need to STOP DOING in your business?
Nolwenn Petitbois is a self-taught Mixed Media artist.
Dreamer. Lover. Passionate. Gratitude Warrior. Bookaholic. Cook. Art Journaler...
She came to Mixed Media because she could not decide on only one medium to use in her artwork and it makes her feel more free to experience whatever her heart feels called to.
Nolwenn's artwork usually represents powerful whimsical women (she called them «Nixies») who have a strong positive message to deliver to the Universe, to you. She believes in the strong power of Positive Affirmations and of Gratitude, that both guide her all along in my creative process. She is an eternal learner, and loves to unravel new ways to make her path lighter and stronger. Healing is a huge part of her life path, she is now also a Practical Reiki Master and noticed how it shfted the way it affects her way to do her art.
Nolwenn is also an art journaler and is currently a teacher in the art journaling collaborative playground 21 Secrets that just opened its doors.
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Question on Nolwenn Petitbois' blog:
Success in business is defined as…
Question on Kelly Warren's blog:
The “balance” question – what does this mean for you and how is it working for you?
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Question on Nolwenn Petitbois' blog:
Success in business is defined as…
Hi! I'm Kelly, the force behind Happy Shack Designs. I live in a happy little shack on the river in Jacksonville, Florida, with my husband and twin daughters. Happy Shack Designs is a dream long in the dreaming. I've wanted to create my own business doing some sort of artwork for as long as I can remember.
Before venturing into my current numerous creative outlets, I spent countless hours working on various needlecraft and sewing projects, skills learned from my mom and my grandmother. I can credit my foray into artisan jewelry to my girls. When they were born, I wanted a mother's bracelet. I saw several styles in catalogs, and all were approximately $100 for a simple double strand. That's when I decided to teach myself how to make jewelry. From there, I was hooked, Happy Shack Designs was born in 2004, and I am self-taught through trial and error.
I’m also a fine art photographer and have loved playing with cameras since I got my first “big girl” camera in the 7th grade. I learned dark room techniques in college but have now fallen in love with all the creative options digital photography brings. My photography often contains layers of texture that add an added dimension to the works.
Lastly, I discovered mixed media and book making in 2009 and have since become addicted to all things paper, paint and stitch! Having a very short attention span serves me well in the variety of art forms I work with.
Outside of my art, I love the outdoors, play the guitar badly, play the piano fairly well, sing somewhere in the middle, love to bake, and have the most adorable red-headed twin daughters ever seen (comin' from a proud Mama); they are the light of my life. I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications, a Master’s degree in English and work full-time in higher education as the Director of Student Life and Leadership Development (and part time Professor of English!) at a large four-year college in North Florida in addition to my Happy Shack, so it stays pretty crazy in our world most of the time. Oh, yeah, and I’m a little goofy.
Before venturing into my current numerous creative outlets, I spent countless hours working on various needlecraft and sewing projects, skills learned from my mom and my grandmother. I can credit my foray into artisan jewelry to my girls. When they were born, I wanted a mother's bracelet. I saw several styles in catalogs, and all were approximately $100 for a simple double strand. That's when I decided to teach myself how to make jewelry. From there, I was hooked, Happy Shack Designs was born in 2004, and I am self-taught through trial and error.
I’m also a fine art photographer and have loved playing with cameras since I got my first “big girl” camera in the 7th grade. I learned dark room techniques in college but have now fallen in love with all the creative options digital photography brings. My photography often contains layers of texture that add an added dimension to the works.
Lastly, I discovered mixed media and book making in 2009 and have since become addicted to all things paper, paint and stitch! Having a very short attention span serves me well in the variety of art forms I work with.
Outside of my art, I love the outdoors, play the guitar badly, play the piano fairly well, sing somewhere in the middle, love to bake, and have the most adorable red-headed twin daughters ever seen (comin' from a proud Mama); they are the light of my life. I have a bachelor’s degree in Communications, a Master’s degree in English and work full-time in higher education as the Director of Student Life and Leadership Development (and part time Professor of English!) at a large four-year college in North Florida in addition to my Happy Shack, so it stays pretty crazy in our world most of the time. Oh, yeah, and I’m a little goofy.
Question on Kelly Warren's blog:
The “balance” question – what does this mean for you and how is it working for you?
Hi there! My name is Robin Norgren and I am a creative entrepreneur. If my life were given a tagline it would be Artist. Writer. Mama. My creative aesthetic is funky. hippie. retro. In 2009 I officially started my first online business called Well of Creations. In 2011, I brought to fruition my second vision which initially started as a blog to highlight Christian artists called My Creative Peace.
In 2012 I decided to begin to integrate my creative business experiences with my educational background. I hold a bachelors degree in business management and worked in retail for more than 20 years before I made the decision in 2000 quit my job and stay home with my newborn babe. I also hold a Master's Degree in theology which I earned while staying home with my girl. All this AND I am a military wife who had the privilege of living through back to back to back deployments from 2008 to 2011 (yep 3 years!). So needless to say I have learned a thing or two about stress management, time management, multitasking and everything in between.
Question on Robin Norgren's blog:
