A few more snow photos on the last day of 2010

It is funny that we are so enthralled with snow here in New Bern, we lived in Aspen before we moved here where we got over 300 inches of a snow a year - it's just that it is a rare occurrence here.

This is the last day of a great year for New Bern - we had many wonderful events and achieved a lot of goals.

Enjoy

breathe deep

drink to the future

but savor the past

sing an old song

say a blessing

CELEBRATE!

(Seltzer)

Happy New Year
Jan francoeur

What's on Tap for the first half of 2011

We'll star out the New Year with an art walk in January - we haven't done that in many years - but this one will be special. We'll be promoting the empty bowl project to feed the hungry. January 14 5-8 pm. We'll be selling Blessing Bowls for a $20 donation. We'll deliver the bowls to the Arts Council as a donation in your name. If you go to the fund raiser in February you will get a bowl to take home. I'll post more details next week.

We'll also have the Valentine cards up for our annual fund raiser for the Craven County School Art Program.

The following Thursday, January 20,  will be an opening for the public and the school children for the Valentine show. Original Valentines, $3 each, all funds donated to the School.

The March ArtWalk will feature a booksigning for Karen Dodd's new book and perhaps a lampwork demo (still working out the details on that)

I have a show in Carrboro at the North Carolina Crafts Gallery in May, while Jude Lobe of Mebane has a show at Carolina Creations.

The July ArtWalk will feature paintings by all our gallery artists.

Personally in addition to my show in Carrboro I have lots of paintings floating around in my mind, quite a few commissions lined up and some more clay garden sculptures sketched out.


There is always too much I want to do and just not enough time to accomplish it all. But I'll never quit trying.


Jan Francoeur

Slow Blogging In Christmas Recovery

The week between Christmas and New Year's is still a busy time for us - our customers come in with their gift certificates - we have a few exchanges - but the best part is that we get to see the families of all our customers who are here to visit. We've been in business here for long enough that we've met the kids when they were small, watched them grow, now they are married and bring in their kids. It is a lot of fun.
So too busy to write much but here are a few more photos of our beatiful Downtown.

This is the view out my studio window, I LOVE it!

Our City Hall bear with a wreath for a necklace.

Across the street from Carolina Creations

Another shot across the street.

Hope you all have a happy New Year!

Jan Francoeur

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas at Carolina Creations this year and we're looking forward to the coming week!

This week we'll see the families of our wonderful customers and friends from all over the country.

Thank you to everyone on our Christmas Committee who helped make this the best ever Dickens of a Christmas in Downtown New Bern.  Me (Janet Francoeur, Carolina Creations), Lisa Edwards, - Salem & Associates,, Joan Ziemba - The Accidental Artist, Vicki Vitale - New Bern ArtWorks, Greg Smith - Mitchell Hardware, Bob Klein - The Haymaker's Wife, Rick Lang - Twice as Nice, Darlene Brown - New Bern Area Chamber of Commerce, Carol Tokarski - Craven County Council for the Arts, Nancy Fisher - Salvation Army, Mary Davidson - The Four C's.

I've posted photos on our Downtown New Bern, NC Blog of scenes around our beautiful Downtown this Christmas. Click here to see the photos.

 

For me the next few months is probably my favorite time of the year. It's when I get to do some painting of things I want to paint, we go on a winter vacation - this year to the Florida Keys, and it's all around just a low key three months until things start picking up again in April.

Some of the projects I am going to work on - a painting for the Spring Home Tour, I have a show in Carrboro in May so am going to do some local paintings for that of Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, I'm scheduling a show for myself at Carolina Creations for November,  some new New Bern souviners, some new clay projects including some more garden sculpture - hmmm doesn't sound too low key now that I write it down!

I also will be doing a presentation in NYC in February on blogging and we'll be going to some shows in Orlando, NYC and Philadelphia.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Jan Francoeur 

Christmas in Downtown New Bern

Here are a few photos I shot this Christmas in our Downtown. More to come!

New Bern City Hall

One of our windows at Carolina Creations

Caroling in front of Carolina Creations

City Hall and the street lights in front of Carolina Creations

One of our neighbor B&B's

City Hall again!

In my opinion the only way to see the boat parade this year - it was freezing. This photo is taken from our living room where we sat in front of the fireplace and watched the boats sail (or power) by!



Jan Francoeur

Hand cast pewter

We have the fortune to represent many artists that work in pewter. and we have some great pieces! Some of my favorites are boxes by Don Drumm.

These tiny treasures make a fabulous keepsake.


Since our local theatre has just completed their production of "The Nutcracker" we thought it was only fitting to include this wonderful set of ornaments in our collection.

The set is created by Vilmain and is beautifully boxed.

 

To see the details and To purchase click here

We have just discovered House of Morgan Pewter. Kent Morgan was born in New Bern but currently lives in Mount Airy with his wife Martha. They began working in pewter after a 1978 visit to Colonial Williamsburg.

Pineapple

Bear

Kent a former accountant and Martha a former teacher have been making their pewter pieces full time for the past ten years.

We see Patrick Meyer several times each year and he always has something new that is really fabulous. Patrick made his debut in 1985 as a metalsmith and jewelry designer. Having completed his studies in art and design at the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Pas, he joined the world of Parisian high fashion. He relocated to the US in the mid 90s and specializes in functional and decorative cast pewter for the home.

These are just a few of our pewter artists. We also carry the work of Kaycee Binns, The Chapmans, Bonnie Bond and John Caraberi, Cynthia Webb and Mary DeMarco - we'll show you photos of their work in our next blog entry.

- Janet Francoeur

Sarena Mann Flying Papier Mache Ladies

We have featured Sarena Mann's sculpture on this blog before, but we have just gotten in some new beautiful pieces we wanted to share with you.

Sarena talks about her work "Movement, form and texture have been infused into the images I love to create. This body experience has always intreeigued me. Following the movement, using the space, and changing the materials has allowed me to continue to explore the basic issues of my life.

The fun- and spirit-filled flying women have been the mainstay of my work for 35 years. I love the whimsical, colorful, flighty figures that hang anywhere and lighten the load. They move about with intent, freedom and spirit. In the evening they cast shadows and continue their dance. Over the years they have changed; some have retired and some have returned for new adventure. Made from wire, paper, fabric, paste and patience, they each have their own identity and place in the world. These "girls" still make me smile, and challenge me to keep them fresh and reflect the changes we all share.

We have been representing Sarena for ten years and the popularity of her work continues to grow appealing to both young and old.

To see more of her pieces click here!

Jan Francoeur

DYNOMIGHTY Mighty Wallet

I was introduced to the mighty wallet in NYC two years ago when I met Terrence Kelleman who is its creator. A young enthuastic Terrence got his idea for the mighty wallet while working at MOMA.

These wallets are made of Tyvek which is the very strong material Fed Ex envelopes are made of. They're very lightweight and it’s impossible to damage them, since they stretch to handle whatever you’re carrying around because they are folded like oragami not stitched!

Designs range from the NYC Subway Map to a shot of the Brady Bunch, Star Trek, an AirMail envelope and lots more.

Other treats created by Dynomighty  include cute, durable luggage tags and big totes that holds up to 25 lbs.

You can order online by clicking here.

Very cool, Jan Francoeur

Carolina Creations Christmas 2010

We are all decked out for Christmas!

December Newsletter

We now have our newsletter available online! Click here to read it.

In it we introduce
-new artists

Janet Francoeur's bowls for "Empty Bowl Project"

-give a calendar of what's going on downtown this month
-introduce our get a clue card
-give ideas for 15 gifts under $15
-talk about our featured artists for the month Shirl & Jim Parmentier and Brenda Behr
-show our 2010 Christmas card - we've been doing a New Bern Christmas card each year for the 20 years we've lived here!
-show who's on our current bridal registry
-talk about our participation in the Empty Bowl Project
-and give you an incentive for reading our newsletter each month

-Have a great day!      Janet Francoeur