What is in Store for 2016

As we go into each new year we try to keep some traditions alive and add some new!

This coming year will start out with the final days of Brenda Behr's beautiful show of plein air paintings depicting sights along our coast. The final day is January 5. While we always have some of Brenda's paintings we seldom have this many at one time.

On January 6 we will begin hanging the Valentine cards that school children from across the county have lovingly created for us. Each card sells for $3 and all proceeds are donated back to the school art teachers fund. This show and sale runs through February 14.

On February 15 we will begin to hang our Dreaming of Spring show - the  Button Florist will be featured with her bouquets of hand crafted clay flower bouquets and glass wall flowers by Jade Glass.

The button florist creates unique alternatives to traditional flowers, using a mixture of up-cycled and vintage buttons, handmade ceramic buttons, and recycled sweater felt.

While the glass flowers, are created by Scott Johnson. Scott has a passion for glass and the knowledge of casting materials led him to develop extraordinary glass flower bouquets.

These two non-traditional flower artists work will be accompanied by floral paintings by gallery artists through the end of April.

In March we will resume our "Sally's Painting Party" series. It's a great way to get a kick start if you have never painted, if you haven't painted for a while, or paint all the time and just want to try it! Sally sketches out the image and you follow along as she tells you how to do it.

These are four of the images we painted in 2015!

On May 1 we will open a one person show with work by Marvin Maune. This show will run through June 30.

On July 1 we will hang a show with landscape paintings by Sally Anger. Her show will run through August 31.

August 1 through October 31 we will feature work by Alan Cheek.

November 1, 2016 through January 5, 2017 will be our Christmas Ornament show accompanied by mixed media artists.

So that is our line up of shows, other things coming up.

We put much of our pewter on sale before Christmas, that sale along with some Christmas and other items will remain on sale through the middle of January to make room for new work.

Our home will be on the historic home tour, I'll be doing some hand building in our pottery on the first floor, the second floor is my painting studio where I create and we hold the occasional class, and the 3rd floor is our living space with amazing views.

We'll do some traveling around the country looking for new artists and picking up from some we have already ordered from - this is our favorite part! Finding new and exciting work.

They are a busman's holiday, we try to combine some relaxing time along with work (if you can call looking at creations work!). Trips are planned to Florida, the Northeast, and Georgia. Of course Carolina Creations remains open while we are gone thanks to our great staff.

So we are looking forward to a happy and healthy New Year, and we wish the same for you.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our family, friends, local customers and customers from across the country!

We had a great year, thanks to you!

Some of the highlights are our great staff, who we couldn't function without, our artists, who continue to send us new and amazing creations, and our town that we discovered in 1989 and has been our home ever since.

Winter Solstice

This year the winter solstice occurs on Monday, December 21, 2015 at 11:49 PM EST in New Bern, I didn't realize that it could be the 20th, 21st or 22nd, it can change each year! 

Leap year is the changing force.

The winter solstice offers a new beginning of brighter days, it marks the first day of winter for the Northern Hemisphere and the shortest day.

We wish you peace on this day, celebrating the passage from the shortest, darkest day to the return of the light, day by day.

Twas the week of Christmas

Twas the week of Christmas and all through our Downtown
not a shopper was unhappy with not even a frown.

The light posts were wrapped bringing light and good cheer,
to entice folks to shop, eat, and stop for a beer.

Bear Plaza is a winter wonderland filled with trees and deer,
Where kids and adults line up with wishes for Santa to hear.

The store owners are wrapping, restocking and
smiling from ear to ear,

As the shoppers mill, chose gifts and say
we are glad you are here!

We make a special trip to New Bern each year,
to visit family, friends and Carolina Creations which we hold dear.

To find that special gift that we can only find here.

For twenty five years our family has said
they look for that special paper which shows we’ve been near.

And the words "I love it” are said,
even before the paper has been shed.

So we love the fact that Carolina Creations has become
That special place where dreams come from!

Merry Christmas!!

Open this week
Mon-Wed until 8 pm
Christmas Eve until 6.
Open regular hours starting December 26.

http://www.carolinacreationsnewbern.com

The changes we have seen

So much has changed in New Bern since we arrived in May of 1989!

When we left Aspen we spent time in the Florida Keys. While there we talked to people saying we were looking for a new place to live on the water, where we didn't have snow on the ground 8 months out of the year like Aspen, and a place that was on its way but hadn't gotten there yet.

A fellow from Currituck said we needed to look at New Bern.

So we came to look and here we are 26 years later!

When we arrived our airport looked like a bus depot.

We had 2 swing span bridges, both of which have been replaced.

We had no convention center.

There were empty stores, most 2nd floors were empty, electric lines running from pole to pole.

Where our house is now was a dead gas station.

There was the empty shell of a Holiday Inn.

The marina at the Bridgepointe Hote had just opened.

There was no history Center.

Union point had a tank farm adjacent.

Where James Reed Lane is with the fountain was a creepy pool hall.

There was a dime store where the Baptist Church park is.

The Downtown Post Office was in the Federal Building.

There was no traffic circle.

We could see the potential, and now it's a reality!

Christmas in New Bern post 1

Beautiful, beautiful!

We love our little town...

We've been here since 1989 and never tire of looking at our town.

A law office always goes all out!

Our first official Community Christmas Tree.

 

Missed this huge ginkgo at its prettiest.

 

 

 

I usually don't get to walk around this time of the year but couldn't help it today.

It was 70 degrees!

Yet it snows every Friday night from 6-8 in Bear Plaza!

All these spots are within 3 block of Carolina Creations!

Crab Pottery

OK OK

I do listen to our customers!

We like to have new art, new artists all the time so even though we sell something real well we sometimes take a break.

So last year I decided to take a break from the crab pottery we sell by Donna Toohey, but after a dozen customers asked for it I decided I'd better get some for Christmas.

Today we received about 18 serving pieces from Donna!

Slow Blogging 1

Even though we have a lot to talk about it's a tough time of the year to have the time to do it!

We've been super busy at the gallery. 

Wrapping and shipping like crazy, we haven't even had the time to go out and take photos of all the decorations like we like to do, but we'll get it done!

By this time of the year we usually are done getting new things in but we have gotten a few

like....

fish from the Crain's

Crain Art Studio is a family affair consisting of three generations of women: Cathy (Mom), Carie (Daughter) & Sharae Crain (Granddaughter). 

After retiring from a life involved in advertising, jewelry design and fashion, Cathy moved back to Texas to be near the rest of her family. On a whim, she decided to take a ceramics class at the local community college and loved it! In fact, she enjoyed it so much she encouraged Carie, who had been her partner in fashion and jewelry design, to take the class as well. After a few years of working and creating in their individual studios, Crain Art Studio was born. Eventually, Sharae got the bug and joined the band wagon of women in the family who are basically self-taught working and creating with clay. 

Their work reflects their love of animals and a fascination with color and texture.

We probably won't get these on the website until after Christmas - and maybe they will all be gone by then!!

Welcome Peggy Petrey

My friend Deb who used to have a gallery in Denver wore this fabulous bracelet the last time I saw her. It was made by Peggy Petrey, so I had to track her down.

Peggy is a mixed media artist creating abstract wear from recycled liscense plates. Each piece is unique, no two pieces are alike. The finish on these pieces feels like silk!

Peggy was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Boca Raton, Florida. She began creating as a child using treasures she found when rummaging through a trash pile to create a work of art with.

These days she creatse jewelry and mixed media art from the yummy “life-stash” of treasures she's collected since those early years of childhood. Her intention is to use them all before she exits the earth!

Peggy studied at the Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale, worked as an Art Director for the University of Texas School of Business and ran her own design studio.

Learning some intimate details about our artists is a way for us to fall more and more in love with them and appreciate who and why they bring beauty to our world.

Now available at Carolina Creations!

Open House and Christmas Kickoff

We are always excited when we get the gallery all decked out for Christmas. 

We will be having a drawing for this glass vase, register on the 27th or 28th. The drawing will be at 6 pm on the 28th. You need not be present to win.  

In addition we will be giving a gift with every purchase of $25 (one per person)

So stop in for a cup of spiced cider and some Dunkin Donut munchkins!

Friday 10-8 pm.

Saturday 10-6.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Doing what we can to help

Each year we try to do some kind of fund raising project.

This year we did our Annual Valentine Card Show and Sale and raised over $1500 for the School Teachers Art Fund.

We donate to many causes and do what we can to help.

This month we are doing something a little different - SoleMate Socks, woven in North Carolina are partnering with us. They will donate a pair of their seconds to our RCS for ever pair we sell.  As of the 22nd we have sold 59 pairs, we still have a few days to go so we hope you'll stop in and get some great mismatched socks!

You can also purchase a few colors from our website by clicking here.

Blown Glass Pumpkins

We were one of Paul Lockwoods first customers and we continue to be thrilled with every piece we receive from him.

My very favorite we have ever gotten are these gold pumpkins.

Stunning!

Of course we love all of them.

Let us tell you about Paul.....

Glass has always been mysteriously captivating for Paul. His physics professor made several attempts to speak with the art department about getting him to spend more time in the science lab. It's no wonder that his senior thesis physics project won the all student art show. Glass has given Paul an outlet to speak artistically while allowing him to challenge himself with the ancient techniques of glass blowing.

Sand, soda and a twist of lime. It's not a martini, but at 2000 degrees Fahrenheit you have glass. Gathering glass from a furnace filled with molten glass is a lot like gathering honey out of a pot. Each time Paul gathers a new layer,he has the opportunity to add colors, textures and reshape the design of the final form. Once he is happy with his creation, it goes into an annealing oven to gradually bring the glass to room temperature, ready to find a home.

Paul first learned the art of glass blowing at Hastings College in Nebraska. His instructors, John Elias, Tom Kreager, Lino Tagliapietra, Elio Quarisa, and Dino Rosin have inspired and encouraged Paul through out his career as a glass blower. He has traveled to many studios throughout the nation and continues to take courses at "The Studio" in Corning, New York.  

Stop in and see all his pieces!

Handcrafted Ornaments Make a Nice Inexpensive Gift

Every year we search high and low for hand crafted ornaments! Here is a sampling of this years collection....

Tear Drop - blown glass

Raku Ornaments

Stained glass 

Felted garland

Glow in the dark icicles

felted ornaments

New Bern Ornament

And another 

Stoneware ornaments from the Outer Banks

Reindeer

and there is more!

We hope you'll stop in to see them all, and don't forget out Christmas Open House

Friday, November 27 10-8

and 

Saturday, November 28 10-6

Refreshments

A free ornament with $25 purchase (one per customer)

enter drawing for a glass vase!