…and we know what that means! Getting ready for Sheep and Wool Festivals and Craft Shows! Jim has been making mountains of wood shavings. I can see 4 brand new completed yarn bowls from where I am sitting. Gorgeous! And I have been dying lots of yarn in new colors! I am loving the Intense Iris! – not sure there will be any left to sell. Sorry!
Wow! This was a really great show for Yellow Dog Farm…and many artists from Grand Isle Art Works! Check out the video!
The truck is packed with every possible bit of fiber and wood. Snacks for the ride and cell phones charged. I think we are ready to head to Hemlock, NY for the Finger Lakes Fiber festival. This is a great show nestled in the countryside of New York state! Love being there. I am actually looking forward to sitting and spinning all day on Saturday and Sunday!
Jim has been turning wood non-stop for the last two weeks. There are several beautiful yarn bowls packed and ready to share!
Next weekend…Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival in Tunbridge, VT – another great show! http://vtsheepandwoolfest.com/
So that is about it. Rain. Rain. And 3 new baby kids! We are still in the naming game – but it seems only fitting to choose wet names like: Thunderstorm, Rain and Drizzle! Picture soon!
Grand Isle Art Works is an undiscovered destination! A new artsy sign by gallery artist, Amey Radcliffe will help put us on the map!
Three years ago, Jim and Ellen were determined to have a place to locate their artwork in their island community in Vermont. They set about to purchase a farmhouse that had seen much better times! In fact, it had been left open, literally, to the weather for over two years. For Jim and Ellen, it was love at first sight. They hardly noticed the tumble down cow and wagon barns built in the 1790s or the driveway the ended right AT the porch.
All they saw were the bones of the building with brightly painted walls and a huge restaurant quality stove in the middle! The farmhouse was deemed perfect and they set off to purchase it. The concept – build a gallery and cafe space that would give Vermont artists a unique place to show their art work. Create a commission schedule that favored the artist first – while still hopefully paying the bills. Make the art space a destination that would entice folks from “off-island” on to the island, increasing the economic vibrancy of not only the gallery itself, but also the islands as well.
The dream is almost complete. Grand Isle Art Works now supports over 65 Vermont artisans featuring art work from many different medias. Jim and Ellen are working around the clock to create “the” destination feel for this art space.
And it’s working…except…the gallery sits on a hill on a piece of State highway with a speed limit of 50 mph. Our current sign is old and drab and blends into the background. We have been told over and over again, “We would have stopped but we didn’t know you were there.”
Enter gallery artist, Amey Radcliffe and her new invigorated interpretation of our gallery logo – bright, sunny – impossible to miss if it were to be on a sign. Add Amey’s logo for our Cafe at the Gallery…and now we’ve got something special.
The wooden sign posts are there. But we need Amey’s graphic designs turned into new signs! That’s where you come in…Help us make this gallery a true destination — we need to brand this labor of love!
Want to help? Click on this link to donate today!
