Meet Breanna and Sarah from Overflowing Creations...
Overflowing Creations was founded by Breanna Ciesielczyk and Sarah Hamilton in 2018. We create original oil and acrylic paintings, hand-painted signs on reclaimed wood, and more! We are new to the business world and our first time participating in an Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show, though, we’ve been creating unique art pieces for many years. Both of us had a passion for creating from early on.
Many of our art pieces are inspired by nature. We love photographing beautiful landscapes, plant life and animals to inspire our artwork. We also have a collection of paintings inspired by Christianity. This is where our business name originated, as it is symbolic of our faith. I believe both of us knew from early on that we had artistic talent. However, we refined this talent while taking studio art classes at Hiram College where we both obtained our bachelors.
First, we get inspired, then we do a rough sketch to outline what we want to paint. After that, we layer paint until we get the desired outcome, (which hopefully, turns out to be a beautiful original painting). Since our business is in its early stage we would like it to grow our clients. Our 5-year goal is to increase online sales, participate in more craft shows, and receive additional custom orders. However, the main goal of our company is to provide beautiful paintings for our customers. If we can continue to do so while receiving supplemental income, we will be very proud of our business. Without art, the world would be a boring place. Liven your world with our beautiful original art pieces.
Meet Janet and Melanie Miller from JM SewStitch…
We are a Mother & Daughter Team that loves to use our God Given Talent to craft things by crocheting, knitting, and sewing, for a few years now. This will be our third Avant-Garde Art & Craft show. We love taking everyday items and making them more fun with different textures, colors, and designs. Then we share these crafts with others to bring beauty to their world. The desire to share these crafts we make with others and be a part of the community is what inspires us.
After realizing we had the desire, we tried doing it and found out we can do it. We started by first visualizing, then confirming a need, then just making it. We still love doing this because we enjoy it and using the money made to help support life. Our message would be that we do the best we can with the materials we use to make the best quality of products that would suit our customers in the best way possible.
Meet Sandy Shoe from JakeWear
I am Sandy Shoe, illustrator, designing all original t-shirts for Cleveland, Cleveland nostalgia, forgotten amusement parks, rock and roll, Cleveland sports, The Great Lakes, and tie-dyes! I am also writing and illustrating a book about Ohio's Amusement Parks, called What Once Was. I’ve been in the business for 40 years and making shirts since 1993. I’ve participated in three or four shows with Avant-Garde!
What inspires me is people and conversations, nature, and observing the city of Cleveland. My artistic talent guided me to the t-shirt industry by using t-shirts as my canvas, rather than the norm of painting ON a canvas. I wanted to sell my art as a "product.” I discovered my talent by crayoning on my mother’s walls when I was three or four years old (she didn't appreciate it though). My creative process is extremely detailed and educational.
I five years I hope to maybe be retired but I really enjoy what I do. Age is creeping in and the t-shirt industry is a heavy business. I have recently dabbled in teaching this year, so maybe even teaching or run for political office later. My message is teaching Cleveland History and all its greatness today and years ago, along with geographical lessons.
Jakewear T-Shirts proudly supports The Euclid Beach Park Now Organization and Western Reserve Historical Society, The Euclid Beach Boys and Eggsheelland @ Richmond Square Mall NOW Friday, April 12 to Saturday, April 20). Jakewear is a member of the Berea Fine Arts Club, and has been sold in over 22 countries and has Numerous Awards and Degrees. Here's my online store to view designs! www.jakewear.com/store
Meet Johnny and Katie from Katie Mae Naturals...
We are a husband and wife team, Johnny Ray and Katie Mae (our real names!), who love to create together! We each have our own specific art/craft forms that we focus on, but we do spend most of our time together, bringing ideas to life. Johnny creates beautiful wire wrapped jewelry, and I make all natural bath and body products. I also like to crochet, and Johnny enjoys painting as well.
If there's any stereotype we fit, we're hippies. We love being barefoot, earthing, and live by the sun and moon. We believe in the physical and metaphysical healing properties of Nature, and we try to tie our art forms together with that bond. My products, made mostly of botanicals, and his jewelry, made mostly with gemstones are both earth inspired. This planet has gifted us with so many different ways of natural healing, we must also take care of her in return! We try to lower our impact on our planet's health with reusable or zero waste products, compostable packaging, and sustainably sourced ingredients and supplies.
We live on my family’s century farm in Medina. During the summer months, we have beautiful gardens, which is also a passion and great inspiration. We have two teenage girls who we hope to instill in our values of taking care of Nature, and being true to your creative self.
We have been interested in and creating art for many years, but the recent ventures are new. I opened an Etsy shop in 2017, but as the universe would have it we weren't ready for it at that time. I finally got it up and going last November (2018) and the outcome has been amazing, so much more than I imagined. A lot more work than I imagined as well! This will be our first Avant-Garde art & craft show, and our first craft show ever! We used to help with my grandma's booth at the medina farmers market, and my brother sells at the valley city farmers market through the summer, but Johnny and I have never done anything like this ourselves. We're pretty excited for this opportunity to see what it's all about!
It is a funny story about how Johnny discovered his wire wrapping talent! Once upon a time I ordered a wire wrapped Amethyst necklace from an Etsy store. I thought I was ordering silver, but when it arrived it was wrapped with gold wire and a had gold chain. I am not a big fan of gold. Johnny looked at my new Amethyst necklace and said, “I could do better than that!” We went out and bought some wire and that night after I went to bed he made his first wire wrapped pendant. It is a simple style, but it's really pretty and unique. I made a listing for that style of wrapped Amethyst in our Etsy store, and it is one of our best sellers. His very first, simple newbie wire wrap is the most popular! He has learned all kinds of complex techniques since, but that very first attempt at wire wrapping is still everyone's favorite. I think it's kind of funny.
For me, it was learning about all the unhealthy ingredients that are in conventional bath and body products. It is estimated that women put over 100 chemicals on our bodies daily. Not only is that terrible for our health, but all of the chemical production and the plastics to packaging them is bad for the Earth as well. When nature has provided us with so much, turning to chemical compounds for hygiene and healing is totally unnecessary. I started with a simple homemade deodorant recipe, and it grew from there to soaps, lotions, and more!
What inspires us to create? Nature. Gardens in full bloom. Our love for the Earth and the wonder it creates. Stones, crystals, plants, flowers, colors.. The feeling of giving energy and life to an idea that formed in the mind and turning that into a physical object. Its magical, really. Johnny and I are a bit different when it comes to our creative process. My creative process usually goes in stages: idea strikes, brainstorm, research, fit all the puzzles pieces together, trial and error (usually multiple trials and errors), then finally judging the outcomes. Johnny's creative process goes something like: Eureka!, spontaneous idea/s, flowing feelings, effortless concepts, instinctive design, heavy concentration, beautiful creation. We often refer to each other as the Brain (me) and the Heart (him). They are two very different things, but complement each other perfectly, and are necessary for the other's survival.
We would eventually love to build our business into a brick and mortar store. We have given ourselves a timeline to do this by the time we are 50. So we have more than five years, but we should be well on our way by then. Our message is that Mother Earth has given us so many natural and beautiful gifts of healing. Our message is to use what we've been given by nature, with respect and intention, and she will keep giving. We create Earth-friendly goods to soothe your body, mind, and soul.
Meet AnneMarie Kovach from Slated in Spirit Designs
Slated in Spirit Designs made its debut in 2014 and was birthed from the creative mind of crystal lover and wire artist AnneMarie Kovach. Since then she has worked diligently to perfect her craft and expand her product lines. Today her collection includes a selection of handcrafted aromatherapy jewelry, one of a kind wire-wrapped pieces, and her signature Tree of Life designs. Slated in Spirit Trees are available as both wearable art and home décor.
Inspired by nature and crafted by hand each piece of Slated in Spirit jewelry has its own story. As AnneMarie creates each piece of jewelry, she knows it is for someone special. Sometimes that piece needs to find its way to the heart it is meant for; so, take your time to peruse all the Slated in Spirit collections. With a little luck (and some divine intervention) you may find that one-of-a-kind design that stops in you your tracks and makes your heart smile. If you don’t find that unique piece in an existing collection, please ask AnneMarie about designing something spectacular just for you. She loves working with clients to create jewelry as unique as you are that helps you tell your personal story. Inquire today to begin the magical journey that is her creative process and together you can design something that is truly YOU.
2019 Medina Spring Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show
Saturday, April 27, 2019
10:00am-5:00pm
Medina Community Recreation Center
For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at Becki@ag-shows.com
