Artist Profile #5:

Business name: Zoe's Gifts from the Heart  




I live on the Washougal River where I have a studio open by appointment and offer day retreats from Memorial Day through mid-October.  I renewed my interest in knitting when we moved here 10 years ago due to the long winter days.  


At first all my fiber was from local yarn stores. Most of my embellishments were recycled jewelry or buttons.  Now, I tend towards hand spun and hand dyed wools from local fiber growers and look for even more vintage or hand-made items that can be used to make my work truly one-of-a-kind.  

Much of my manufactured wool now comes from garage and estate sales and left-over wool becomes pins for hats and scarves.  It gives me great satisfaction to know that I am supporting other local artists and passing on old items that other people have enjoyed.  

My winter goal is to master the spinning wheel and begin to use the 25 tubs of angora rabbit wool we have harvested from our bunnies.  I am also beginning to create fiber jewelry - lots of fun.

What am I going to give this holiday season?

Here's some ideas for the special people on your list:

You still have time to gather up some friends and your holiday lists for this Saturday! Come on out to the Check 'Em Off, Green holiday gift event. All the vendors are locals (the farthest anyone is traveling to be here is Goldendale-everyone else is from Clark County or Portland.) There will be jewelry, hats, clothing, food, toys, experiences etc. Most of the items are hand-made from recycled and reused materials. If you've ever shopped at the Recycled Arts Festival* and would like to buy in a similar way for your holiday gift needs, come see us this Saturday from 12-5 at the Marshall Center. With 47 vendors, there's sure to be something for everyone! Here's some ideas:

• Enjoy a chair massage and buy massage gift certificates for that stressed person on your list
• Got kids? You might like to get them some recycled crayons or a capri-sun notepad, a new hat or a book about a local dog named Metro
• Know someone who likes bling-Get them some hand-made jewelry. We have lots of vendors who make jewelry from fun items, like beverage bottles, skateboards, fused plastic and many others. Or, if they're like me and already have too much jewelry, buy them an upcycled organizer.
• For the DIYer in your family, you can purchase a gift certificate to the Habitat For Humanity store
• Got a loved one that loves their garden? Purchase some yard art or seeds
• Can't find anything for that person-who-has-everything? Purchase a brick or a calendar from the SW Washington Humane Society and your purchase will help pets find forever homes.
• After you've exhausted yourself, enjoy a warm drink and some lunch on-site from Reo's

Also, if you've recently realized you’re drowning in holiday decorations you never use, bring them to this event and swap them out with others, all for free!

We hope to see you there! This event is open to the public.

*Recycled Arts Festival is a super fun annual event put on by Clark County, the last weekend in June

Artist Profile #4: The Reuser (yours truly)

Name: Terra Heilman

Website: Well, that's kind of obvious, isn't it? (You're here!)

Inspiration: I've made upcycled jewelry organizers. They're made of almost exclusively all thrifted materials. My inspiration was that I had a giant jumble of jewelry and I was looking for a good way to easily organize it. I've also made some reusable produce bags-the inspiration for them is trying to eliminate plastic waste in my grocery purchasing.

Why green gifts? I absolutely love the holiday season, but I don't want to be contributing to the problems this planet is dealing with, when giving gifts. I also love the stories behind green gifts. When you purchase a green gift, you're connecting with your community and often, the artist who made the gift. That's pretty special.

Artist Profile #3: Tara Stansberry

My name is Tara Stansberry, I am a 33 year-old self-taught artist living in Portland, Oregon. 

Website: Theshadowgirl.com

I specialize in using recycled materials such as vinyl records, cigar boxes, and canvas. 

Giving green is important to me because it's so much more personal. Every piece you buy from an artist has been crafted by their hands and heart. Growing up, we made gifts because we couldn't afford to buy them from a mall. Each green gift you buy supports an artist, and saves our landfills from being filled with more trash.

Artist Profile #2: Half Moon Farms

Artist: Brenda Lee Calvert 
HalfMoon Farm 
Brush Prairie, WA 

Beekeeper & Artist:  
I am a self-taught artist working out of my studio at my flower and produce farm (HalfMoon Farm) in Brush Prairie. 

My work encompasses many recycled materials; glass, metal, clay, wood, and plastics. Working with such diverse materials lets my creativity and imagination soar. Several different lines of artwork have come from this mixed media including functional, garden and decor. My use of texture along with great attention to color and basic shapes add to the design element of my art.
 
Beekeeping:  I and my husband Bob took up beekeeping around 7 years ago and just love it because it fits into our misson for our farm. We grow a lot of heirloom vegetables, herbs and fresh cut flowers. We also run pasture chickens for fresh eggs. We have 15 Bee hives this year and hope to eventually keep 25-30.  All of our honey is sold in glass containers for better recycling and our honey is Raw. (not pasteurized)  Our goal is to be good stewards of our farm and respect it by using organic practices. 

Artist Profile #1 DukeArt and family

This week, I'll be doing a series of artist profiles. These lovely people are some of the many you will meet this weekend at the Check 'Em Off Green event at the Marshall Center.




Name:  Matt, Steph, Kat and Briayne Dukart

Business Name:  DukeArt, Juicy Jewelry, Pikt - DBA Rock Candy Art

Website:  www.rockcandyart.com

Inspiration:  Finding ways to make fun new things out of materials that some others would have discarded.  Starting this hobby/business has shifted my outlook of things--I now look past the current state of the material and try to see its potential.

Giving green gifts:  'Tis the season of joy and waste.  If we can't reduce the waste, perhaps we can turn that waste into something beautiful. 

The Reuser says: I met Matt about 2 years ago and have since met his beautiful family, as well. They sure are a creative bunch! Above, you saw one of the purses Matt creates out of materials that normally would be thrown away (chip bags and frozen food bags.) 

Here, we see some cute little hamburgers hand-crafted by Stephanie. She makes all kinds of neat jewelry, much of it along the lines of food (a girl after my own heart!) Earlier, when I was perusing their site, I noticed that she made Kat (one of their lovely daughters) a hair clip shaped like bacon.  Awesome!

Their two daughters are also very crafty. Kat makes guitar picks from used gift cards and Briayne makes cute hair accesories, like the one pictured here.