Monday, October 31, 2011

Pat Holscher paintings at Carolina Creations November 1 through December 31




Carolina Creations Fine Art and Contemporary Craft Gallery, 317 Pollock Street, Downtown New Bern announces their special events for the month of November.

Pat Holscher of Washington, NC will be the featured artist for November and December.

The opening reception will be during ArtWalk, November 11, 5-8 pm.

Pat speaks about her work "It gives my life purpose to bring pleasure to others through my paintings.  I love to create something unique that finds an emotional connecting chord in another person.  The greatest compliment I can receive is the appreciation someone has for the art that reflects my internal thoughts and feelings, making me the person I am.
Over the years I have tended to work in series; this allows a degree of familiarity which supports experimentation.  Shore birds are my most recent and successful subject matter, giving people familiar shapes to which they can relate.  However, with creative use of composition, color, and texture, I can encourage a new way of seeing those ordinary subjects.

I work in acrylics, pastels, and oils, but my primary medium is watercolor.  Watercolor continues to be my medium of choice due to its inherent fluidity, transparency, and spontaneity.  I enjoy the freedom and loss of control which only watercolor can provide, and I cherish the challenge of letting the paint take over and produce the visuals which cannot be duplicated.  Each painting is an original, for the paint truly is the master and it allows me the joy of "going along for the ride".

Ultimately, I find that painting provides a conduit for me to communicate with others without the use of the written word, gestures, or dialogue."

Pat received a BA and MA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with additional study at Meredith College, ECU and has trained under many nationally recognized artists.  She has been juried into shows throughout the state and received awards ranging from Honorable Mention to Best in Show; most notably, American Watercolor Society's Annual International Exhibition, New York, NY in 2003, 2009 ( winning the Gold Medal of Honor), and 2010 (awarded Signature Status).
Pat was chosen as a 2007 finalist in the 24th Annual Art Competition for Artist's Magazine in the animal art category.  One of the highlights of her career was the publication of a painting with an article in the section, "Master Painters of the World - US Showcase" in the October/November 2004 issue of International Artist  magazine. 

Additionally, her work can be found in the following municipal  and corporate collections:  The City of Raleigh,NC; The City of Rocky Mount; Nations Bank; United Carolina Bank; Wachovia Bank and Trust Company; Glaxo Corporation; Hardee's Food Systems; First South Bank, Washington, NC; Hatteras Yachts, Inc.; Nash County Medical Center; Allied Marine of Florida; The Town of Nags Head; Outer Banks Outfitters, Morehead City, NC, and SAS Institute.

In addition to Pat's show Carolina Creations kicks off the holiday season with their annual Holiday Open House on Friday and Saturday, November 25 and 26.  Enjoy tasty treats and drinks, door prizes, a gift for the first 100 customers during the Open House! Always free gift wrapping. Shipping is available.
To see more of Pat's work click here.

Friday, October 28, 2011

New and Hot!

Brightly colored glass windchimes made from recycled glass $42 To purchase
Hand Blown Oil Lamps by Michael Hudson More Info!

Five soaps on a rope! Hand crafted in North Carolina Purchase here!




Thursday, October 20, 2011

Welcome back Yourkowski

It's been a while since we've seen our friends at Yourkowski Glass so when we did we were blown away with their new work! Since each piece is one of a kind and it is selling quickly we have put just a few pieces on our website.


What's really unusual is that they make most of the dichroic glass used in their studio.  Of course by "make" I mean that they apply their own dichroic coatings to glass specifically formulated for fusing.
 What is dichroic glass?
 
The spectacularly vibrant colors exhibited by dichroic glass are created by a very sophisticated combination of extremely thin, clear, crystalline layers that interact with each other and produce very specific reflected and transmitted colors. There are no absorptive pigments used in this process. This allows all of the light energy to be either reflected or transmitted and, in turn, creates the rich colors that characterize art works created with this glass.

What is dichroic glass?
Dichroic glass is created via the application of many individual thin films on the order of one micron in total thickness. These films are comprised of alternating high and low index of refraction materials that produce multiple internal reflections. By varying the thickness of the layers carefully, different colors can be created, all with incredible vibrancy. The fact that the glass exhibits both a transmitted color and a different reflected color is why it is called "dichroic". Di- is Greek for two, and -chroic is Greek for color, thus combined we have "dichroic", or two color.




Dichroic films are applied in very sophisticated machines called "vacuum vapor deposition systems". In these machines an electron beam is used to vaporize materials. These materials then evaporate and are deposited onto the glass suspended above the evaporation sources. This results in a very pure, crystalline film. These films give rise to incredible colors and patterns. All of us who admire dichroic glass in art have the military and space programs to thank for this exciting new art form.





Speaking about their work "Most of the inspiration for our designs comes from our appreciation of nature. We try to reflect the beauty and importance of plant and animal life into our glass. Our pieces are also heavily influenced by the Art Nouveau style.

Being self-taught, our glass art is distinguished by their absolutely unique designs and the vibrant, bold colors of dichroic glass. We try to change the perspective of glass as a rigid, sharp, tangible substance to give the impression of flowing, growing, organic design.

We began creating fused glass in 1991 and now run a full-time studio. During the last 20 years we have created literally hundreds of sculptural glass pieces for private collectors across the United States. In addition we produce an extensive line of unique hanging ornaments. Our work is notable not just for it’s unique style, but also because we produce our own dichroic coatings."

Stop in and see!!     Click to see their page on our website.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Donna Robertson New Paintings





 

View other paintings and collages by Donna or to purchase click here!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Fabric Angel Demonstration with Shirley Erickson





We sell dozens of Shirleys angels every month, there is an angel for every special occasion you have. They fit into a card, great for get well, Mom, wedding, Christmas! Starting at $8.
Thanks Shirley! We enjoyed having you spend the day with us!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Polymer Clay Sculpture with Karen Britton

Karen explains how she makes her polymer clay figures!




Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Copper Jewelry Demonstration by Gayle and Marche George

Gayle and Marche George demonstrated their copper jewelry at Carolina Creations during American Craft Week, Wednesday, October 12!




Their jewelry is very popular! Stop in and see thier pieces!

Sunday, October 09, 2011

Dan Nelson kicks off a week of demonstrations at Carolina Creations





Yesterday Dan Nelson drew a crowd painting in front of Carolina Creations. Dan is quite an artist and showman! He loves to interact with the crowd. He'll be painting in front of Carolina Creations again today (Sunday!)!

Tues Oct 11-Sun Oct 16, demos every day Here's the schedule!
October 8 Dan Nelson Plein Air Painting
October 9 Dan Nelson Plein Air Painting
October 11 Jan Francoeur Clay Sculpture
October 12 Gayle and Marche George Copper Jewelry
October 13 Jan Francoeur Clay Sculpture
October 14 Karen Britton Polymer Clay Sculpture
October 15 Shirley Erickson Handkerchief Angels
October 16 Janet Lokken Crochet Jewelry

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Dan Nelson artist demo

Don't miss this chance to meet artist Dan Nelson and watch him perform in front of our gallery on October 8 and 9 during MumFest. Perform. You might ask, don't you mean paint?

Well watching Dan paint is more like watching a performance, he loves a crowd!


Dan Nelson started amazing people with his art-on-the-spot magic over 35 years ago. As a college student he did large chalk drawings with black light special effects; as a youth worker he produced 100-foot-long sand sculptures on the shores of Lake Michigan; he went on to create enchanting theatrical sets, award-winning street paintings, clandestine “art happenings” and non-stop party entertainment.

In 1998 he began painting on an 8 by 10-foot sheet of vinyl, washing off each scene to make room for the next ephemeral masterpiece.

You won't want to miss this chance to see Dan in action!  11-4, Saturday and Sunday, October 8 & 9. We'll have a show for Dan in March so stop by to get a preview!

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Computer Clocks

Why didn't we think of this? We have gone through so many computers in the past 20 years it make my head spin!

These great
computer clocks are individually handcrafted high tech timepieces. 


Most are one-of-a-kind clocks incorporate a hard drive platter or a CD as the clock face and an embellished circuit board as the background. Other models are crafted from CDs, floppy disks, drive housings, video laser disks or main frame drive platters. 

Each clock offers a whimsical view of our rapidly changing technology, preserving it as art rather than landfill. In addition to their functionality they help contribute to the overall recycling effort by utilizing obsolete, discarded or surplus computer components.


A great gift for those hard to buy for guys or techy ladies. See more on our website by clicking here!