Holiday Arts Tour Stop: House of Flowers & Cake Shoppe, 100 N. Vienna St.
House of Flowers and The Cake Shoppe is a lovely (and tasty!) stop on the tour. Winner of the 2013 Holiday Arts Tour Judge's Choice Award, artist Julie Crews' oil paintings beautifully capture simple moments and familiar scenes. Leigh Buffington's paintings, prints and boxes offer serene embellishments for the home.
Julie says of her work, "When I paint... I am also excited to push the limitations of my current skill level and challenge the tendencies of my past work, like rendering all my subject matter too tightly. Sometimes I paint from observation, documenting life as it happens, and other times I use study sketches and photo references. Sometimes I paint and ask myself, “What rule can I break? Will I be successful?”, and I measure my success through my experience of the process and product." To view more of Julie's work, check out her website at juliecrews.com.
An artist of various mediums, Leigh focuses on the "duality of flesh and spirit" to guide and unify her symbolic and ornamental work. Leigh says, "I am drawn to the ever present reality of the spirit world," and our experiences in the flesh are "vital to our process of learning" in this life. When you view the sense of balance of her carefully composed jewelry and art works you may sense your own spiritual awareness heightened.
Holiday Arts Tour Stop: Rumo's Barber Shop, 203 W. Alabama Ste.3
The charming barber shop known as Rumo's will be hosting Todd Maggio during the Holiday Art Tour. Todd Maggio screen prints objects that people use in their everyday lives such as journals, cards and CD covers, infusing these mass-produced objects with the vitality and spirit of the artist's hand.
Todd will be screen printing tattoos on Saturday, be sure to stop by and get yourself a (nonpermanent) fun tattoo work the weekend!
Holiday Arts Tour Stop: Beau Monde, 206 N. Trenton St.
Fiber artist Rachel Johnston will have a variety of work for sale at Beau Monde, one of Ruston's newest boutiques. While Beau Monde has its own variety of must-have scarfs and leggings, you may also have to take home one of Rachel's fabric creations as well!
Rachel's offerings include handspun yarn and cold-process soap. She admires that what to her is a craft of joy, was once a craft of necessity to past generations. In Rachel's own words, " I need to be involved in this process of turning a raw fleece into something beautiful, something useful, or both. At the end of the day, my hands might be blistered. They might be rough and calloused. And I am okay with that because it means it means I’ve done something. It means these hands have created something that I can be proud of."
Rachel will demonstrate with her spinning wheel on Saturday. Don't worry Cinderella's, she'll be careful not to stick anyone! To view more of Rachel's work, check out her Etsy page at nomadnaturals.etsy.com.