Feature Artist of the Month - Wintermoon Soaps

In case you missed it, we have a new soap vendor at the shop.  Welcome Wintermoon Soaps.

 And as a very special treat, on Sunday October 19th from 1:00 - 2:00 she will be offering a FREE workshop on felting soaps with the purchase of a $10.00 felting kit.

 If you're not a DIY-er, she has a great selection of soaps in the shop.

 Great for your home, for gifts...

...and natural items for every day.  There's  big bowl of felted dryer balls (they actually do work to make your load of laundry dry faster, saving energy and money at the same time), and she has natural laundry detergent.  Can you see the label?  Just rice bran oil, borax, and washing soda.  How great is that?

Come on in to see the great selection.

L'immaginaria Exhibit

If you've been to the Rural Creators' Collective, you will have seen some of the amazing work by Lisa of L'immaginaria. (Find her  on her own website and on Facebook).  And right now, you can see an exhibit of her work at impresario artisan market in Cobourg.  Her work will be on display there until September 30th.

Lisa Martini-Dunk is a formally trained fine artist and graphic designer.  Her company, L’immaginaria, blends creative visual expression and words using traditional media like printmaking, acrylic paint and scratchboard, as well as modern-day digital methods.

See more pictures of the show at Northumberland View.

Welcome a new artist!

The Rural Creators' Collective would like to welcome Marla to the shop!

 Her watercolour paintings are a great addition to the shop.

 Most of the items she has brought in for us are chickadees, bees, and monarchs...

 (These images are from her Facebook page)

There are a few in her Etsy shop, Kittles and Bits if you aren't local.

 And these framed pieces are the ones that are available in the RCC right now...

Pop in, have a look, and bring a bit of your garden indoors!

May Featured Artist - Remembrances

Well, this is going to be an unusual Featured Artist post because the artist of the month at the RCC is me, Remembrances pottery (although I'm AtTheCrossroads on Etsy).  So this time, because I can, I thought I would share what inspires me to create.

 I'm often inspired by nature...flowers, grass, seeds...

...and often, an image gets lodged in my brain until I take the time to make it.

 I will find something I fall in love with, and it stays with me until I find a way to incorporate it into a piece of my work (like the pussy willows on the bowl on the left, below).

The strange thing is, once I've made the piece, it's out of my system and I rarely feel like making another - which is why so many of my pieces are one of a kind.

This series was inspired by the river rocks that are so abundant on our local beaches in my hometown.  There are more in this series than are pictured above because it seems to take a whole collection to make this "feel right" to me.

I'm inspired by my garden.  I developed a series of tube vases because in my city garden, I often end up with "one of these" and a "couple of those".  I found the best way to display my homegrown flowers is to have each kind separated into individual containers (these flowers, however, are from the grocery store as the picture was taken in the dead of winter).

 Antiques and vintage items...I can't seem to get enough of them - if they are the right sort that call out to me.  The flower plate is based on a cut glass piece I inherited from my grandmother...her dishes inspired a set (however, to date, only one has survived the process - this one happens to be on Etsy)

If you are local to the RCC, pop on in to see the assortment of platters - based on an antique stoneware plate I bought years ago (even before I started making pottery of my own).

 Linens --- I can't get enough of linens!  So I thought, why not make a series inspired by textiles... The plate above is a based on a linen dishtowel my grandmother wove and dyed herself for her hope chest.  A few have survived the fires, life on a farm, and a couple generations...I was lucky enough to inherit three of them.

These are inspired by my teen-age son's love of all things argyle (he's pretty stylin' for a teenager).

Quilts...need I say more?

 And finally, I am of the belief that everything we use in our day to day lives should be as beautiful as possible.  I love things that transform a mundane task to a delightful experience.

 I thrive to create items that I think accomplish just that...a drinking cup that fits your hand just perfectly (no matter the size), the glow of a candle while eating your breakfast (or while cleaning the bathroom as my son does), a cereal, soup, or salad bowl that you use daily because it's beautiful...

I would love to hear what inspires you.  Please feel free to leave a comment.

Oh, and I guess I should mention - this month at the Rural Creators' Collective, all my pottery is 10% off.  There is also a draw to win one of my bud vases (with a gift certificate to the flower shop downstairs) at the end of the month.  If you are local (ish) pop on in and check it out.

Also, you can come see me in person at the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile on August 23, and 24th, 2014 in Mountsberg, ON.

Yvonne Parsons Photography - April Featured Artist

A little eye candy for you today.  Yvonne, April's Featured Artist at the Rural Creators' Collective is an absolutely amazing photographer.

She has the ability to capture landscapes with amazing detail...

 ...and has an unbelievable eye for what will make a great shot.

 You can check her Facebook page for many of the sepia toned portraits she captured at last year's Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile (pssst:  she's a returning vendor this year, so make sure you come see her and get an awesome portrait/family picture done).

 Not limited to landscapes, of course - she's great at product photography...

 ...and pet portraits.

Yvonne will be at the Rural Creators' Collective on Sunday, April 13th from noon until 2:00 p.m. doing Easter portraits.  You can schedule an appointment by emailing her at yvonnephotos@teksavvy.com

OR, if you visit her Facebook page and leave a comment in the caption contest for this photo, you could WIN your portrait sitting for FREE and also have an upgrade to an 8 x 10 print.

How amazing is that?

Stones of Time -in the Community

Christine Aiken of Stones Of Time is featured this month at St James Anglican Church (138 Melville Street, Dundas, Ontario)

 The show is running for the whole month of March, every day.  

 You can also see her work at the Rural Creators' Collective

 (address and store hours on the side bar).

 To see the show, contact Christine at seefossilart@hotmail.com  or call 905-526-0523  or

 905-512-8461.  

She can speak to your or your group about the process, about her work, or just leave you to enjoy the display on your own.

 Christine will also be at the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile in August.  It promises to be a wonderful show!

March Feature: Metis Caravan

This month's feature artist at the Rural Creators' Collective is Roni walker of Metis Caravan.  She has been working hard to set up the display.

 To set the mood, she has set up a small teepee on the landing:

Roni has a large selection of items to choose from in the store this month.  From leather pouches and drums,

 dream catchers and earrings,

 necklaces,

 (lots of necklaces, all unique and handmaid),

 to leather items.

And all month, she is offering 10% off any of her items.  Now is the time to stop in and pick out that special item for yourself or as a gift.

Roni chose to write her own feature this month.  This is what she has to share:

"In our Native way...Ojibwa, Seneca, Cree, we welcome the new seasons with a ceremony which includes kindness to one another in the community. We share with each other a pot-latch dinner and a giveaway blanket. In each case everyone from the community brings what they can and everyone goes away full. The giveaway means each person brings a gift (something they've made or something they've used, don't need any more but may benefit someone else. All the gifts are laid on the blanket then in turn each person takes something from the blanket.

In our co-operative store, " Rural Creators' Collective " We try to show cultures in a simpler time, Cornish, Celtic, Aboriginal and others by sharing the traditions, teaching the crafts and selling our own works - antiques, reproductions, recycles, etc.

In March my Native Crafts will be the featured art of the month at the store and I will be sharing the ceremonies to welcome Spring. Since a store setting doesn't allow for a giveaway and feast for the community I will be showing the giveaway by giving out AOK cards to those who visit MetisCaravan at the store all month. This way they will experience the gift of the card and the giveaway of the kindness act (should they choose to participate) and the sense of  Community if they then give the card to someone else.

I'm so excited."