Sallys Painting Party Barn and Hay Bales

Our next Sally's Painting Party will be Thursday, March 31 - 6:30-9 at Jan and Michael's Studio. $55 includes all supplies and snacks. Sally will have the painting sketched out for you. This party is good for beginners and experienced painters alike! Paint your own version of Barn and Hay Bales!

For more information and to sign up click on this link.

Our Garden Spinners in Action

These are so neat!

See more by clicking here.

What do travel and art have to do with one another

Part of this blog is about our travels -

You might ask what does that have to do with art and creating it - in my case a lot!

1 - When at home I get caught up in doing commissions, creating pottery that we sell every day and preparing prints for sale, doing the bookkeeping and the advertising.

2 - When we travel, just what we see along the side of the road, even if it's a forest, does something to my brain, miles of forest help erase all I have on my mind of the the things I HAVE to do.

3 We visit shops and galleries and see what other people are doing.

And it all inspires me.

Not long ago we visited Cedar Key, Florida. I've been intrigued by it since the 1960s reading John D MacDonald books about Travis McGee, who lived on a house boat there.

It reminded us of the Keys 45 years ago. Old Florida, didn't know there were places like that that still existed.

Driving out there we drove through 18 miles of forest before we got to the mangrove, then series of little keys, then the island.

Very funky, very neat.

Would not want to be here in a hurricane however!

Lots of fishing and raising oysters.

Driving out to the Key

Saw lots of birds and boats, will have to go back and stay a while!

Hearts Hearts Hearts

Valentine's Day, is also known as Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine is a celebration observed on February 14 each year.

Named after an early Christian saint named Valentinus. The day was first associated with love during Geoffrey Chaucer's time.  

Hearts are the most notable of the symbols related to the holiday.

Well we have the heart symbol covered at Carolina Creations!

And don't forget ArtWalk this Friday, February 12 5-8 pm.

What's coming up for 2016

What's in Store for 2016!

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

On January 6 we hung 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, metal garden spinners, and metal flower garden stakes.

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.

Spinners by Carol Roeda are made from a nice gauge metal, they come with a bracket so you can mount them on a fence, wall, pole, tree, or purchase a separate stake to free stand them in your garden. One piece on each sculpture spins with the slightest breeze.

Metal flower sculptures by Steven Cooper come in all sizes from 18 inches to 6 feet!

New flying birds by artist Randal and Holly Smithey are powder coated steel, put the wings on one way and they move, turn the wings over and they are stable. (Arriving this coming week!)

And of course our ever popular garden art poles, the artist comes out with new ones regularly!

These 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.

On May 1 we will open a one person show with work by Marvin Maune called  "Looking Up".

This show will run through June 30 with the official opening during ArtWalk, Friday, May

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 Jan Francoeur paintings and clay wall hangings.

November 1, 2016 through January 5, 2017 will be our Christmas Ornament show with art from gallery artists.

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

Our (Jan and Michael's) 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.

 - Looking forward to it!! 

Button Bouquets How Clever is that

Just in time for Valentine's Day we have the perfect, long lasting, bouquet for your honey!

Hand crafted in North Carolina by Celia

The Button Florist creates a unique alternative to traditional flowers. Handmade ceramic buttons are pressed and formed using a collection of found objects. 

Celia uses everything from peach pits to vintage glass light fixtures to add one of a kind textures and designs to her ceramic buttons. 

The buttons are simply and creatively twisted onto wire stems to build whimsical arrangements that will last a lifetime.

Celia talks about herself - My name is Celia Barbieri, and I am The Button Florist – 1 part hippie: 1 part mad scientist: 1 part world traveler: Shake together vigorously and serve!

I create unique alternatives to traditional flowers, using a mixture of up-cycled and vintage buttons, handmade ceramic buttons, and recycled sweater felt. I create flowers to commemorate special occasions such as weddings and anniversaries, but also to brighten up a room everyday!

I suppose my love for both nature and art is apparent in all my creations. I have always loved small trinkets and such. As a child I constantly picked up little treasures that I would find, from seashells on the beach, to things that other people considered trash. I’ve always had dozens of ‘collections’ as a child, as I still do now. I began making button flowers over 10 years ago and continue to evolve and expand different aspects of my business. Since then, I have branched out into new types of button flowers using ceramics and felt. This is my dream job come true!

Contact us for a special order! info@carolinacreations.com.

New Kinetic Art for the Garden

New Kinetic Art for the Garden has just arrived!

Designed by Michigan artist Carol Roeda, made off shore (we don't like that!), but the quality is very nice, heavy metal, and a part of each piece spins in the slightest breeze.

We've been following Carol's work since day one, we started our art careers at the same time in the early 1970s, about 100 miles from each other. Carol started working in clay and gradually added other mediums to work in. For the past few years her preferred medium has been metal.

Her latest are these kinetic sculptures. All but one of those pictured measure 18" across.

Each piece comes with a bracket that you can screw to a fence, a pole or whatever and the sculpture slips into it. If you wish to have it free standing in the garden we also have poles that go into the ground.

Blue and Aqua Flower on Yellow

Pink Dragonflies on Yellow

Tree with Fuchsia Dots

 Purple Dots with Yellow Flower

                                                 

Red Cardinal with Leaves

 

Yellow Flower on Blue

Valentine Cards Clay Glass Flowers Dreaming of Spring!

For the February Art walk in addition to the Valentine Card Sale, 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.

Stop in for a taste of spring! 

This years art for the New Bern Home and Garden Tour

For ??? years I have painted one of the homes that are going to be on the Historical Society's Home and Garden Tour 2016.

Here is this years artwork, 212 New Street.

Our home will be on the tour this year as well.

Spring Historic Homes & Gardens Tour
April 8 and 9, 2016, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

On Friday, April 8 and Saturday, April 9, homeowners will open their doors so the public can visit some of the most beautiful and interesting homes in New Bern’s historic district. The 2016 Spring Historic Homes & Gardens Tour will provide a behind-the-scenes look at homes and gardens that are important to our town’s past and present.  Patrons will tour the living quarters of these homes, learning about the original architecture, renovations, and furnishings. In addition to the homes and gardens, many downtown houses of worship will be open for tours.

Among the gardens open to the public are the gardens at Tryon Palace, which should be in full bloom. Tryon Palace’s Annual Heritage Plant Sale will also be held on the Palace grounds during the tour. That weekend, Spring Homes Tour TICKET holders will have the opportunity to purchase discounted ADMISSION passes to Tryon Palace/NC History Center.

Be sure to grab a homemade boxed lunch to go or enjoy it in a quaint porch setting at the Blades’ Veranda Cafe. Boxed lunches are an $8 donation and include a sandwich or salad plate, drink and a sweet treat for dessert. This year there will even be an option for people with gluten sensitivities.

Tickets are $18 in advance, $22 day of the tour and $15 for NBHS members, and active duty military and their dependents with ID. 

Tickets are good for both tour days, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Call the New Bern Historical Society to volunteer with the Spring Historic Homes & Gardens Tour.

The Spring Historic Homes & Gardens Tour is a collaborative event presented by the New Bern Historical Society and the New Bern Preservation Foundation and is a major fundraising event for these non-profit organizations.

Celebrate spring in New Bern!

Art Comes in Many Forms

A while back while traveling through South Carolina we stopped at Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden.

It surrounds his home and he has done work in several of his neighbors yards, as well as the stop sign at the end of his street AND the median of the highway!

The hours are 10-4, you just pick up a map and walk through his yard.

It was raining the day we were there but still beautiful.

Here are some of the photos I took.

From his website -

Since the early 1980s, Pearl Fryar has created fantastic topiary at his garden in Bishopville, South Carolina. Living sculptures, Pearl’s topiary are astounding feats of artistry and horticulture. Many of the plants in Pearl’s garden were rescued from the compost pile at local nurseries. With Pearl’s patience and skilled hands, these “throw aways” have thrived and have been transformed into wonderful abstract shapes. 

Pearl Fryar and his garden are now internationally recognized and have been the subject of numerous newspaper and magazine articles, television shows, and even a documentary, A Man Named Pearl. Today, the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden draws visitors from around the globe.

Visitors to the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden experience a place that is alternately beautiful, whimsical, educational, and inspiring. Pearl’s garden contains over 300 individual plants and few are spared from his skilled trimming. His extraordinary topiary is complemented by his “junk art” sculptures placed throughout the garden. Pearl’s garden is a living testament to one man’s firm belief in the results of positive thinking, hard work, and perseverance, and his dedication to spreading a message of “love, peace and goodwill.”

In 2006, the Garden Conservancy and the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden, Inc. formed a partnership with Pearl Fryar. Through this partnership, they hope to preserve and maintain the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden and to further Pearl’s message of inspiration and hope.

Here is a link to the documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcYaZCOCMBg

If you are ever close to Bishopsville, SC you should stop!