MEET THE ARTIST - SARAH JAMES...

One of Spectrum's jewelry artist, Sarah James lives here in Wilmington. Her bright smiling face is always a pleasure to see when she drops by the gallery.

Sarah's passion is creating fun and contemporary jewelry. Her line of jewelry is an artistic avenue that helps bring balance to the other parts of her life: being a wife, mother and an active member of the family business.

This past summer Sarah attended Penland, the renowned craft school here in North Carolina. She took classes in metal fabrication, allowing her to creatively use more metal in her design work. Sarah uses a torch technique to make her own glass beads, which is the hallmark of her jewelry. She has recently brought in many new pieces, all reflecting her intention to create casual, playful and uniquely beautiful jewelry. We feel very fortunate to carry her work and love wearing it!

Have a joy filled day! Kathleen

AN EASY RECIPE FOR SUCCESS...

I just discovered the perfect hostess gift!
A Hilborn Pottery dish with its own wooden spoon, filled with your favorite spread! Our Hilborn serving pieces come in several beautiful colors and can be popped in the oven. This pinch pot is one of the many items we have for $30.00 or less.

I'm enclosing Nancy's favorite pimento cheese spread recipe that would be ideal to put in your new Hilborn dish and make this a very memorable presentation!


PIMENTO CHEESE SPREAD

2 cups of shredded cheddar or jack cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 oz. jar of pimentos
a dash of hot sauce to taste

in a food processor cream the mayonnaise, cream cheese and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Add the jar of pimentos and liquid, pulse until lightly combined. Stir in the shredded cheese and hot sauce. This will firm up after being refrigerated for several hours. Enjoy!

Wishing you a warm and festive Thanksgiving, Kathleen

MEET THE ARTIST - DOTTIE BOSCAMP

DOTTIE BOSCAMP works in molten glass because she likes the "responsiveness" of that medium. Dottie graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor's degree in art and now lives and works in Fort Collins, Colorado. One of Dottie's most inspirational mentors was Jack Wax, a renowned glass artist and instructor. Dottie also loves photography.

I've found a video of Dottie blowing a piece of glass, that looks like one of her olive oil/balsamic vinegar bottles that we have here at the gallery. It's fun to see her in action. I was amazed to see her pull the molten glass out of the furnace then dip it in water without having it break, just give it a crackled appearance! The varied array of colors she achieves with her work is amazing!

Kathleen

MEET THE ARTIST SERIES

Blogging is a great venue for introducing people to the many artist that we represent here at the gallery. Jane and I will begin a series of blogs on these artists to give you a little information about each one.

With original art there is a connection and bond that one has with the artist, even if they have never met. Artists create from the heart and have a distinctive piece of themselves in each and every piece. Knowing the artist helps all of us understand and appreciate their work even more.

Please feel free to let us know if you have any tidbits of information about an artist that maybe we don't even know! You may have a piece that has an interesting story or has evoked a deep emotion, we'd love to hear about it!

Enjoy!

Kathleen

THE MAGIC UNFOLDS

The elves here at Spectrum have been busy this week!
Nancy has put up a gorgeous tree in our front window, filled with our hand blown glass ornaments. It's a feast for the eyes! Luke Adams' stars, flowers and swirls, coordinate well with the brilliant colors in the Glass Eye Studio round ball ornaments

We also have made some displays to offer inspiration as you begin to shop for the holidays. We have showcased gift selections of many items in the under $30.00 and under $75.00 ranges. There are so many possibilities to chose from! We are also encouraging everyone to fill out or update a WISH LIST. Why not have the gifts you would enjoy the most!

As we go into the SEASON OF JOY our Spectrum staff is dedicated to making your shopping experience easy and fun.

See you soon, Kathleen

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING...

AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE!

Whether or not you like things organized you will definitely find our hand made earring trees both functional and fabulous. It's a great way to see all of your earrings, and decide which ones best coordinate with your outfit of the day! You'll be amazed at how beautiful your earrings look as you create your own ever changing piece of art!

As you pick up some earring trees for gifts, make sure you get one for yourself!

Kathleen

A LIGHT IN EVERY WINDOW

The holidays seem to be the season of light... lights on the tree, lighting the menorah, candles in windows, and warm crackling fires!

There is something about candle light that just can't be duplicated by electricity! The light of a flame extends its brilliance, warming our hearts and stirring emotion. It's wonderful to have candles at any time of the year, but they seem especially appropriate now at the holidays.
Becky Hemby from the Outer Banks has created some of the most beautiful candles. Her candles are all made by hand and embedded with magnificent shells. The process she uses allows the candle to burn in the center leaving the decorative outer surface untouched, so that the glow of the flame illuminates the shells. Her candles make great gifts. Enjoy some for your home too.

Paint Around 2010

Stop by the gallery and see the finished paintings from our second annual "Paint Around". We had a ball creating and reinterpreting each others work. If you are not familiar with our Paint Around format...four artists started with a blank canvas, easels were positioned around a central still life setup. After 30 minutes, the artists moved to the next canvas and painted for another 30 minutes. At the end of two hours we had four unique and beautiful paintings. Below you can view the progression of each canvas. Originating artist's name is listed first and then the artists as they painted are listed second.
Come and pick your favorite (it's hard to choose, they are all gorgeous!). We are selling raffle tickets - $5 each or 5 tickets for $20, what a bargain...and ALL of the money goes to Dreams of Wilmington. Drawing will be held Saturday, November 20th.

Nancy Noel May

Two for One

Nancy is up to it again! She has recently created a selection
of beautiful bracelets. Two for one, because the bracelet
can be used as a necklace. So, you can wear it as a necklace or,
wear it as a bracelet. Come in and check these out the next
time you are out and about!

See you soon!

Jane

WISH LISTS MAKE FOR HAPPY MARRIAGES!

So what is your heart's desire for the holidays, or a birthday, or anniversary? Surely there is something that has caught your eye here in the gallery! Has your husband or significant other ever bought you something that you didn't like? Why not turn them into a hero by choosing something that you know you will love! And he will love you for making his shopping so easy!

It's not too early to be thinking about those special gifts that you would like to receive. Please stop by and let us create a WISH LIST for you. You can have fun dreaming and adding all the pieces you like to your list, and it will be here waiting for family and friends to look at when they come shopping for you.

Kathleen