I create fused glass in my studio; beginning with sheets of glass, I cut, stack, and shape pieces and then fuse them together to create original functional art. Most are sandblasted and fire polished to give a matte finish to add an extra dimension to the art piece.
Natalie P Robinson
Peculiar Sentiments boasts of completely unique, handcrafted leather cuffs, bib necklaces, and a variety of jewelry and accessories made from repurposed and found items. Though some of our jewelry features unique new pieces, our love is for vintage jewelry, antique buttons, repurposed hardware, pocket watch parts, clock pieces or any other re-loved and re-discovered treasures, clustered together for a vintage look. Each piece carries its own delightful story. Every cuff is unique, featuring focal pieces carefully selected and clustered into an exquisite work of wearable art. www.PeculiarSentiments.com instagram.com/peculiarsentiments 936-870-6993
An artisan, photographer and entrepreneur, Natalie has been creating unique designs since she was 13 years old. Repurposing anything and everything from jewelry, furniture, clothing, and even recipes, Natalie’s driving passion is to turn something old and loved into something new and beautiful, while preserving the heart and soul of the original piece.
In October 2012, Natalie launched her business, Peculiar Sentiments. Creatively combining her only available resources: her courage and creativity, a stock of remnant leather, and vintage jewelry from her late grandmother she began creating unique handcrafted cuff bracelets. Encouraged by her family, friends, and customers, Natalie began expanding her repertoire beyond cuff bracelets, to include bib necklaces, earrings, hats, and much more.
Nancy and Tuz Adams at TheTinArmadillo.com
We take the ordinary tin can and elevate it into an unusual and beautiful piece of art with the help of a torch and hand molding. Every item is hand-cut with no patterns creating a patina and shape unique to that particular can. Just like the armadillo….he’s an enjoyable mystery! Lanterns create elegant illuminations…Planter/windchimes sound from lids…Creatures that make you chuckle….and sculpture you simply enjoy either inside or out in the garden. All cans are donated…creating a circle of useful life for Mr.Tin. TheTinArmadillo.com 713-303-5279
Back in the early Seventies, during Earth Day’s inception, I was a young teen experimenting with torches and metal…copper, tin, brass etc. I came upon the idea of working with the cans, and it evolved into creating saleable pieces, for which I traveled to juried shows that eventually paid my way through The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Flash forward nearly forty years. Yikes! We still have far too many cans going into the trash… My husband bought me a torch for Valentine’s day so we could resurrect my tin art and create new and more mature refined pieces for the twenty-first century.
The Fish Sculpture on our website is an original, now literally a timeless antique!
My technique is meticulous, obsessive, chaotic yet organized and is in every way, just like me. I bring excitement with color, a sense of flow with texture and the intention to provide joy and delight for the viewer. I have chosen one rule as a guideline to my technique, to create any color, texture, line…from tiny strokes. It is my version of pointillism with a twist and the added energy of spontaneous abstract forms. This technique is as much a part of me as every cell in my body. http://www.mmelgar.com
I moved to Houston in June of 2009. Prior to that I had lived in San Antonio for about 15 years! The longest I’ve lived anywhere. One thing I’ve loved about Texas is the sunsets. Although I don’t get inspired to imitate nature per se because I mostly paint abstract now, the feelings I get when looking at the beauty in our world does give me the motivation to create something beautiful of my own.
I’ve been doodling since I can remember and now I doodle with paint on a canvas. I come up with a random form/image/design that I first doodle and from those sketches or doodles I pick what I feel will look good as a painting. When I start a painting I have a general idea about colors and an idea from the sketch what it may look like. However with paint, my doodles do all kinds of things that are unexpected and it’s always exciting to see the final result!
~Monica Melgar
Michelle Hoting Jewelry Artist
With her love of the outdoors, it is only fitting that jewelry artist Michelle Hoting’s designs are a direct reflection of nature. Her pieces combine the elements and textures of nature with the use of natural stone, fine silver, sterling and copper often combined with found natural objects such as acorns and twigs, seeds and leaves. 707-791-4680 www.MichelleHoting.com
It was 20 years ago in a stone cutting class at UT Austin that the ah-ha light came on and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life and only recently that I have decided to do it for me! I’ve expireinced it all, Cartier, Bulgari, I’ve repaired and refurbished jewelry for the finest antique jewelers in the country and I’ve been inspired by them all. I love jewels! I love wearable, livable jewelry. Jewels are meant to be worn and lived in, not holed away in the dark safety deposit box.
Recently I have been taking old vintage and antique jewelry finds and giving them new life by reinterpreting them into something modern and wearable. My repurposed jewels are a balance of metals and textures, old and new, real and faux, wearable, livable art. “
I use natural fiber such as wool, alpaca, and angora as my media, transforming the raw fiber by hand dying and using a variety of felting and surface design techniques in my creative process. My style is expressive and impressionistic and centers on vivid colors and textures to create striking visual movement. My representational art is primarily landscapes and botanical images. I also creates stunning non-representational art in the process of exploring composition, medium, and color. www.michellebowersart.com 281-299-9049
I am an emerging fiber artist in the Katy/Houston Area. I began my artistic pursuits at an early age studying sketching, drawing, painting, and writing in a multitude of venues from academic courses to artist’s cooperatives. In recent years, I have transitioned from a casual painter and artist to a career artist. I think of my artwork as inner reflections of the outer natural world, full of color texture and experience.
My work reproduces familiar visual signs, arranging them into new conceptually layered pieces. This work has always been grounded in pleasure and aesthetics. Felting is my key to sharing this inner landscape with the world. Hand dying and wet felting started it. From the beginning, the process of transforming fiber into cloth has struck me as magical. And, over the years, that magical process has had its way with me, leading me from hobby to art.
Felting fills me with a sense of accomplishment and integrity, and has proven a most amenable vehicle for translating inner vision to outer reality. I felt from the inside out. Though I work quite deliberately, consciously employing both traditional and innovative techniques, my unconscious is the undisputed project manager. The organic nature of this work frees my imagination and provides many opportunities for happy accident and grace to influence the finished product.
Moving to Texas has opened new vistas that resonate deeply with my fiber work. Inspired and invigorated by a renewed sense of continuity, and awed by the mystery of how creation occurs, I am now exploring the many patterns, textures and colors of this new land.
David Mercado is an artist who resides in Austin, Texas. In the beginning, his imagery focused on the beauty, strength, and movement of hummingbirds—a series that gained him national recognition by their popularity. As his career progressed, however, an exciting new abstract collection emerged which illustrated not only his range as an artist, but showcased the evolution of depth and complexity within his work.
It is the striking imagery of Mercado’s latest venture, however, which reveals a much more personal side of the artist. His “Virgen de Guadalupe” series gives a profoundly intimate glimpse into the faith and heritage which have inspired him. The series unveils an incredible transformation of traditional, iconic imagery into complex, abstract renderings of the Virgin’s image onto board, paper, and furniture pieces. Mercado’s style flawlessly blends the old and new to produce this new intriguing mix of vivid, soul-jarring, and contemporary pieces. @davidmercadoatx Email David
Austin native John Mercado works primarily in painting and book deconstruction. He often uses found objects and mixed media to create his geometric artwork, which can be viewed as aesthetically minimalist with constructive and collage elements.
John has been a full-time artist for more than fifteen years participating in juried art festivals across the country and has shown in galleries in New York City, New Haven, CT, Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX and Austin, TX. Instagram: @johnmercadoart https://www.jmercadofineart.com/
Lorraine D. Martin of The Butterfrog Studio
Original fantasy fine art created in acrylic, oil, digital, graphite, epoxy clay & wood. Work available in pendants, canvas, resin & paper prints. www.thebutterfrog.com 713-501-4564
I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember on everything and anything I could get my hands on. My father was my biggest cheerleader when it came to my art, but got frustrated with me drawing in his beloved books. Because of this, at age 6 he had me in basic children art classes. These classes opened a door for me that lead me to my beloved art teacher Fran T. May. At age 8 Fran came to my art class and asked me if I would be interested in attending one of her adult art classes. Of course I did and that one move truly changed the way I viewed myself and my ability as an artist. I stayed in her class until I turned 18, at which point she told me there was nothing more she could teach me and encouraged me to explore my own ability. I am eternally grateful to Fran for the love and guidance she gave me.
Today, I have a booth at the Texas Renaissance Festival (#670 Wizard Way) called the Butterfrog. During off season of faire I show at a few other renaissance festivals in Texas & Oklahoma, White Linen in the Heights and First Saturday Art Market.
Doing this has allowed me to place my pieces in private collections and help many charities and local families in need.
