Ruby Lane's Creative Hands Newsletter for August 2004

Creative Hands
Ruby Lane's monthly newsletter celebrating the Arts & Crafts
community
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Welcome to Creative Hands!

IN THIS ISSUE:
o Featured Artist: Heather Lambert, FirePearl Artisans
o August Craft Shows
o August Shop Sampler
o Share Creative Hands With A Friend

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FEATURED ARTIST: HEATHER LAMBERT, FIREPEARL
ARTISANS

The Autumn I turned 16 my mother invited me to travel with her
to Italy. She would be working and I would be free to explore
and shop! We visited Pisa, Rome, Florence, and Venice--a typical
Italian trip. Of course I shopped and explored the museums and
artisan shops that were so very different from anything I had
seen back home. I fell in love with art and artisanship on that
trip, and in a very real way it was the beginning of my path to
becoming an artisan myself.

Time passed and I attended college, majoring first in Interior
Design then switching to Art History. As part of my curriculum I
took a metalsmithing and jewelry design course and began to
experiment with jewelry-making. I had always loved the jewelry
in fashion magazines so I took some advertisements into the
professor and asked for instruction in various techniques. My
first creations were simply attempts to emulate the jewelry I
loved. Then on another trip to Europe I was mesmerized by the
beauty of the glass beads in Venice. The luminosity and bright,
beautiful colors of the glass; the ancient techniques and
generations of artisans creating beautiful, little works of art
truly inspired me. I began to incorporate traditional Venetian
lampwork and mouth blown beads into my own designs. I took more
classes and made more jewelry. While still attending college, I
decided to try to sell some pieces to my favorite boutique. I
thought, ëif I can sell my designs here, I could potentially
sell them anywhere' and those first steps were the beginning of
FirePearl Artisans.

Truth is--like most artists and artisans--I have always been
inspired to express myself through creating. Jewelry through the
ages and nearly all mediums of art are a continual source of
motivation. I travel often and find inspiration in the colors of
the natural and man-made world. I have been fortunate enough to
make buying trips to Venice and Europe a regular part of my life
and as I select the beads and baubles for my designs I dream of
bringing a special little piece of these ancient cultures to my
patrons.

Today, I am engaged to be married in September to a wonderful
man who is also an artisan. We hope to live our lives simply, to
make our art our work, to travel the world, and spend our days
creating. We aspire to make every piece of FirePearl jewelry and
ceramics one of a kind creations, handcrafted with a love for
color and ingenuity.

Fire Pearl Artisans featuring the work of Heather Lambert
&Casey Porter, currently wholesales to shops across the U.S. and
retails exclusively online at Ruby Lane.

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AUGUST CRAFT SHOWS

Here's list of upcoming shows for the month of August:

Aug 3 - 8, 2004 Art &Craft Show, Belz Factory Outlet Mall,
Orlando, FL

Aug 5 - 7, 2004 Nautical City Festival Art &Crafts Show,
Courthouse Lawn, Rogers City, MI

Aug 5 - 8, 2004 Fort Armstrong Folk Festival, Riverfront Park,
Kittanning, PA

Aug 6 - 7, 2004 Sandwich Professional Arts &Crafts Show, Henry T
Wing School, Sandwich, MA

Aug 6 - 8, 2004 Country Folk Art &Craft Show, Alameda, County
Fairgrounds, Pleasanton, CA

Aug 10, 2004 Summer in Saratoga Arts &Crafts Show, Historic
Congress Park on Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY

Aug 12 - 15, 2004 Amish Acres Arts &Crafts Show, Amish Acres
Historic Farm, Napanee, IN

Aug 13 - 15, 2004 Country Folk Art &Craft Show, Fairplay,
Pomona, CA

Aug 14 - 15, 2004 Downtown Monroe Art Fair, Downtown, Monroe, MI

Aug 18, 2004 Artists in the Park, Downtown, Wolfeboro, NH

Aug 20 - 22, 2004 Festival of the Arts, Chase Park, Chatham, MA

Aug 21 - 22, 2004 Gloucester Waterfront Festival, Stage Fort
Park, Gloucester, MA

Aug 26 - 29, 2004 American Craft Exposition, Henry Crown Sports
Pavilion, Evanston, IL

Aug 27 - 29, 2004 Country Folk Art &Craft Shows, Phil Long Expo
Center, Colorado Springs, CO

Aug 28 - 29, 2004 Newport Arts Festival, Fort Adams Park,
Newport, RI

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AUGUST SHOP SAMPLER

Visit these Ruby Lane shops and enjoy a wealth of creativity:

Siah Designs: Artisan jewelry for the woman who creates her own
destiny.


John Berg Fine Arts: Fine paintings, drawings, prints and
sculpture. Old Master to Contemporary.