And still one more!

Lady Di's Creations:

I studied fashion design in the UK. I worked in London as a merchandiser for Debenhams and for Wallis Fashion Group as a production assistant. I eventually started my own small business selling women's separates to a few boutiques and the local Camden market.

I worked in Bangladesh for a few years, (via VSO) helping to orient the handicraft products to western tastes and for more income for the rural women. I incorporated the local women's hand sewing into garments and instigated the formation of Bangladesh's first handicrafts forum: ECOTA.

Now I live in Asheville North Carolina. Here we have many dance and theatre performers. I like to hear of dancer's dancewear dreams!

I love to dance; and have done so all my life; ballet, jazz, bellydance, burlesque, contact improv. I have seen many different types of dancewear. I decided I needed to make practical yet beautiful clothing.

I love to see how fabric moves on the body, how it drapes and how to best flatter the body and make it more beautiful. I get inspired by either fabric or designs I see around on the street, at festivals or in dance class. Typically I will make two or three pieces in the same fabric; but in slightly different designs.

I occasionally recycle fabrics from vintage dresses or skirts.

I believe in the revival of local economies and slow design. The slow design movement promotes design that looks at longer cycles of human behavior and sustainability and manufacturing with local/regional materials and technologies. Slow Designers support local industries, workshops and craftspeople.

And yet more about the artists!

Repose Jewelry, by Renee Gaudet:

The mechanics of nature have intrigued me my whole life, whether it be the wings of a butterfly or the veins of a leaf. So inevitably, my art reflects my love for nature and extends to humans' imitation of nature. In a sense, my art gives me reason to be on an endless scavenger hunt. Each piece I create is inspired by found objects or specimen: retired butterflies, small watch gears, animal bones or what ever else catches my eye. The process begins with each new object or specimen found. The eclectic finds are then used to inspire my work. After looking at all the found relics I piece together my vision.

I have experimented with a few mediums in my work, including glass, metals and resin. In one collection I have made pendants through a non-lead stained glass technique pressing butterfly wings, leaves, ferns, spider molts, insect wings, and other specimens in between two pieces of glass to preserve the beauty.

In another collection, I have incorporated my interest in blacksmithing with my jewelry design. I delicately forge nails into wearable jewelry. The industrial sense of this collection is elegant, but bold.

Most recently, I have been experimenting with resin to create 3-D pendant collages. These pieces have a story to tell.

I hope this jewelry inspires you to enjoy nature. Questions and custom orders are welcome. Please contact my by email: reneegaudet1 'at' gmail.com or visit reposejewelry.etsy.com.

More Artists of 2nd Saturday/Shop West Asheville

Roberta Mattson is the creative force behind Piece Blossom. She lives here in lovely Asheville, NC and has been crafting for many years now. She started out in the world of sewing and then picked up fabric dying, batiking, beading, crocheting, and most recently needle felting.

From Roberta:
"I love the feeling of finishing a project and putting it out in the world to make someone else smile."

You will definitely smile when you see these sweet creations!

Shop West Asheville/Holiday Artist Market

Meet another of the talented and creative artists who will be showing his fine work at Crazy Green Studios on Saturday, December 12 from 12noon - 8pm:

Gabriel Shaffer

From his website biography, by RC Miller:

Gabriel Shaffer is that rare artist who fiercely explores his own vision and refuses any easier life as a compromise. Gabriel’s talents are born out of an endless reservoir of ideas and a necessity to share what he cannot control. He has no choice but to paint, and generously offers his viewers realms beyond immediate understanding.

We are arrested by his three-headed feathered reptiles wearing evocative bone masks of erotic woman and lively mystics. We dwell in his rigid cities awash in biblical comedy, onionskin shadows, and the gore of a gallbladder burst. Sometimes a childlike innocence invades his canvas, providing an incubator of relief while outside red blizzards burn the ocean to crust. Through his intense paintings, drawings, and collage, Gabriel Shaffer reminds us that freedom from the known is the only way to survive.

2nd Saturday Holiday Artist Market

This Saturday, the 2nd Saturday Holiday Artist Market joins forces with the 2nd annual East West Asheville Holiday Art Walk and the first annual Shop West Asheville event! Whew that's a lot to say, but if you're following any of them you'll be following us! The festivities begin at 12 noon and go until 8pm. On Domino Lane, both Crazy Green Studios and Mimi Strang Designs will be hosting guest artists.

Let's meet some of the artists that you'll find inside Crazy Green Studios:

Regular visitors to the 2nd Saturday Artist Market will recognize the friendly, smiling faces of George and Noel Weber and their delightful fused glass creations.

For the Holiday Artist Market, George and Noel will be featuring some holiday ornaments along with cool new bottle toppers, jewelry and sun-catching window decorations.

2nd Saturday Holiday Artist Market!

2nd Saturday Artist Market is very pleased to join Shop West Asheville for a great neighborhood holiday event!

Since the 2nd Saturday in December falls in December, we're having a much more abbreviated and intimate Market. Crazy Green Studios will host artists inside (and if we get a freakishly warm day, maybe we'll have some special guests outside while the sun's out!).

In addition to

Pottery by Lori Theriault,

we're pleased to host:

Gabriel Shaffer

Glasswear

Piece Blossom

Lady Di's Creations

Renee Gaudet

Mimi Strang Designs, also located in the Studios at Domino Lane, will also be hosting artists next door, so plan to make Domino Lane a stop during your Shop West Asheville experience!

2nd Saturday takes a hiatus for October and November

...but stay tuned for the Holiday Art Market!!

It's been an adventurous first year for the 2nd Saturday Artist Market, and we send thanks to all artists and supporters who have made it an incredible experience.

October and November hold several scheduling conflicts that make it hard to devote the necessary energies to our monthly Market, so the decision was made to focus more attention on our December Holiday Market. There is a chance that the Market may fall on a date that's technically NOT the 2nd Saturday, but it will be the 2nd Saturday Artist Market none the less!

Stay tuned for more details - artists who are interested in participating go ahead and get your applications in, and as always, thank you for your support!