Ephemera: Something Meant to be Discarded

I am intrigued by the old, the 'antique', the cast away. 

Items that show the signs of use, whether gently or greatly.

Lately it's been paper ephemera and old worn out books.

I have been using bits and fragments of these in my art.

My collection keeps growing,

an autograph book belonging to 8th grade Anna. Page after page

of little ditties that for her were a sweet memory of school friends.

Well worn readers, spelling and astronomy books. I imagine them being used year after year.

Chemistry notes from 1941...

and my prized possession  a ledger book from the 1800's.

I love to bring these items out to use in ways that never would have been imagined when they were first used.

In my curiosity boxes I try to present these lost bits and fragments of life in an artful way.

Here my newly created fabric bird, is living with pages from old books, 

game pieces, old stamps and nature items, in a box made from a found drawer.

Recycled, up-cycled, re-purposed.

Hopefully not to be discarded too soon!

Sue DiGilio

DiGilio Designs

The Quest for Materials

There are many reasons to love summer; warmth, flowers, swimming, fireflies, grilling, gardening, and spending time outdoors.  One activity that I look forward to every summer is going to yard sales.

On the Saturday mornings that we have no plans, my husband and I have a ritual. We search through Craigslist for local yard sales. We usually don’t have to travel too far and rarely come home empty handed. Often, we meet interesting people in our town.

Today, we went to a barn sale, which was actually a garage and driveway sale,  and a flea market that was held on the grounds of a local church, and included multiple vendors who were selling vintage items. While my husband ran an errand,  I  was able to visit my favorite place for gathering supplies; Hoffman’s Barn in Red Hook, NY, which sells used vintage furniture and housewares.

At garage sales, my husband usually searches for computer parts, gardening tools, and musical instruments, while I search for materials to use in my mosaic pieces. I look for items that have a wooden base, china dishes, bottles, boxes, silver plated dishes, old photos, and vintage books.

Today, we both got lucky. I came home with a vintage wooden framed mirror, a wooden bread tray with handles, 2 vintage bottles, 4 flowered china teacups, a silver plated plate, and an aluminum bowl. My husband came home with a computer to refurbish, a mechanical drum set, and after having a conversation with a garage sale seller, he was offered one a free ticket to the Clearwater Festival for tomorrow!

Jenny - Reclaimed Designs

Meet out New Members! Spring edition

It's that time again: new member time!  I'm pleased to welcome our two new members to the Hudson Valley Etsy Team. They create some truly wonderful things and I hope you'll say hello to them.  Oh, and happy spring!

Glass Pumpkin in Matte Winter Ivory with Dark Amber Stem by LukeGilveyGlass

Luke Gilvey of LukeGilveyGlass works with hand-blown glass in Beacon, NY.  He has a variety of pumpkins and gourds in some really excellent colors, as well as bowls, glasses, ornaments, and even a lovely glass apple.  He even has a coupon code available to celebrate spring. Check out his shop for details.  Welcome to the team!

Deer Hoop Art, Embroidery art, Applique, Floral Animal Silhouette by KitschAndStitchNY

Sarah Grange from KitschAndStitchNY spends her time in Millbrook, NY.  Not only does her shop feature lovely stitching, generally in the form of hoops to hang on your wall, but the kitsch comes into play with her collection of vintage home goods, prints, and other odds and ends.    And to top it all off, she has a collection of cute greeting cards as well.  Glad to have you!

I hope you'll check out their shops and say hello.  Don't forget to shop local and help out your local artisans - they might just be your neighbor! 

Until next time,

Amber

Earth Day

Tomorrow is Earth Day and while we have come a long away being more socially conscious, we still have a ways to go. The members of the Hudson Valley Etsy Team don't need a special date or month in doing our part to help the environment and recycle goods.

Noelle from Moonfire Studio has a fun activity in stored, "My kids and I are making recycled paper for Earth Day. We use my scrapbooking scraps and other acid -free papers and dried leaves and flowers from the garden. We also iron different textures into the paper with lace shapes that I have - butterflies, leaves, etc. We did it last year too and it's alot of fun."

Judy from JSWMetalWorks.etsy.com uses vintage components in some of her pieces like in her Light Blue Vintage Japanese Bead Byzantine Necklace , "I just got a bunch of old jewelry and antique keys that used to belong to my grandmother which I'm planning on incorporating in to my jewelry."

Gwen from Beyond The Picket Fence uses produce from the local markets to make her soap and will only use natural, sustainable ingredients.

Jenny from ReclaimedDesigns mosaics are made with recycled and repurposed items.

Visit tomorrow for an entry by Neely from NellsBelles on her discovery of simplfying and new use for old materials.