CARAMIA VISICK
We are pleased to welcome to the Festival...she has had a very busy year keeping up with her own business, as owner designer at Hotcakes Design and Favor. She Has also been assisting her husband David with his new restaurant Pompette in Berkeley California.
Talk about fun, Caramia herself is the definition of fun, and so also are her jewelry pieces. Her jewelry line of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, pins and you name it (she'll make it) are reminiscent of Bakelite jewelry in the past, both in design and graphics. Everything old becomes new again and Caramia has put her own fresh chic, clever and creative spin on her pieces that makes them timely and relevant.
LESLIE MCCARTHY
Leslie has sols French collectibles and antiques for many decades. Her appreciation for these items began while scouring antique stores in Cairo, Egypt in the early 1980's and continued during her 24 years living in France. She often goes back looking for unusual and hard to find items. Rarely seen these days at our local shows, she is coming from Arcata, where she resides, to participate in this Holiday Festival. As she heads to France this year, she will be searching for interesting, and unique pieces especially for this event. She will be bringing small gift items and vintage Holiday pieces from France, and other parts of Europe. They will become treasured antique pieces in America.
KATHERINE WEBBER
Katherine's art is inspired by many family influences and childhood memories. Mostly by her very imaginative and colorful Danish Grandmother who came from a family of talented musicians and painters. She made every holiday celebration special. Katherine has continued the tradition of celebrating every holiday to the fullest. She
creates original paper mache sculptures, paintings, and wood-carvings.
Christmas was a wonderful time growing up with many handmade creations and family traditions. As long as she can remember, art has been a passion and her life. After high school, Katherine studied at Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle for two years. She also did folk art pieces for 'Neat and Tidy', a catalog out of New York. She has had her work in many local shops and art shows at local shops. She also does statue restoration. Katherine's heritage, traditions, and memories are all reflected in each of her original pieces.
SUSAN GARDEN
Susan is a local entrepreneur and businessperson. She is the owner of Garden Party in St. Helena CA, which provides plants /flowers and prop rentals for events throughout the Napa Valley. Along the way in her prop collecting came some antique collecting. To say Susan is eclectic with what she is interested in and what she collects would be an understatement. She likes working with her hands whether that be in floral design or staging events with props and antiques. Expect the unexpected with everything you see from her and in what she creates...flowers and upcycled is what she is all about....with an attention to detail.
BEHOLD THE SPECTACLE.....THE THEATRE AT THE COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER IS FULL OF DRAMA AND SURPRISES!
KIMBERLEE EDGAR
Kimberlee by her own definition is a purveyor of fine goods, antiques, oddities and unusual delights. What she finds and creates with those finds is definitely one-of-a-kind and unique. Her displays are always unexpected delights and one wonders where in this world she finds what she does and displays everything in such a way that tempts the senses.
GAIL LAIRD
Halliday House celebrates 25 wonderful years in business this year. Sue Moodie and Gail Laird are partners who specialize in antique folk art with a mixture of a few contemporary folk artists. The American Folk Art Holiday Festival is the best venue for our hand crafted folk art items, and we are pleased to be invited back this year to exhibit. Among our specials will be handmade dolls and animals, miniature painted wooden buildings, and textiles, such as quilts and table coverings. Our antiques come from New England and Texas and we sell from our websites hallidayhouse.com, and a digantiques.com one as well. We call the Dig one our minibarn, while the HH one is our main site, (more expensive stuff) We
specialize in American 18th-19th C country art, decorative accessories, and especially folk art. We also exhibit at shows.
VICKIE NELSON
Vickie is self employed and owns one of the most interesting little shops in the Delta Region of California in the town of Rio Vista. She studied illustration/fine art at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, and has a talent for design. She has impeccable taste and an eye for natural artifacts, curiosities, and all things unusual in nature. Her skills in taxidermy have also added a new dimension to her talent for collecting and curating. She is always on the look out for something that will make
DENI KENDIG
Deni has been drawing since the age of 3. It was Easter time when Deni''s mom told her that she drew a perfect Blue Rabbit with her Crayola crayon. She kept drawing through her childhood and her teenage years, but moved into more three-dimensional art such as bear making, mixed media collage, taxidermy and sculpture...in her adult years. Her heart always seemed to go back to drawing though. Last year she hung up her three dimensional art hat and gave away 30 years worth of craft supplies, and started to draw again. She says there is something so magical and fulfilling about putting to paper what shows up in your dreams. Her drawings are full of animals that are very anthropomorphic in nature, sweet and gentle. Her ambition is to fine turn her work so she can eventually create children's books with her drawings. She loves creating custom work as well. Wedding and party invitations are her favorite. She also creates pet portraits that keep her insanely happy.
THOMAS KURTH
Thomas prefers the notion that, as life, a home is in a beautiful state of ebb and flow. In today's disposable culture, he is looking for quality and longevity. Finding inspiration inthe broken....Here are some words that describe what he sees, oddities, familiar objects, unconventional, curious, rare, organic, erratic, primal, and powerful.
Dolph's is Internationally known as Father Christmas, because he had been collecting vintage Christmas objects, dolls, toys and ephemera. Dolph has designed many Holiday exhibitions using his vast collections.. He allows each viewer to imagine a personal story or memory. His installations are known for their imaginative and whimsical content. combined with a strong design concept and dynamic visual imagery. His deigns have been featured all over the world. Dolph is also an author he will have his recent book "Wonder and Delight" : A Dolph Gotelli Christmasat the Festival for you to day
.
KAREN L HOWARD
Karen likes to say she creates carvings on the cutting edge. Each carving is one-of-a-kind and tells a story. The stories she carves are not always obvious.... one must really think about the message in her detailed carved creations. It is outsider folk art for the thinking person. Her work is also for the person who has a good sense of humor and just gets it ....what she is trying to convey, and also what message the work is telling them.
VICKIE LAMOE
Vickie is always on the search for antiques everywhere she goes. She has a house in California and one in the mid-west as well. So, her antique hunting can be anywhere in between these locations and may even extend farther east. She has quite a collection of items in storage, which is located near her home town of Durham CA. She especially loves to collect primitive Americana, and has an extensive private personal collection of Halloween collectibles from a variety of Halloween artists. If Vickie doesn't have what you are looking for....she may know where she can find it.
ANNOUNCING OUR STELLAR CAST OF FOLK ARTISTS AND ANTIQUE DEALERS
( Additional CAST MEMBERS TO BE INCLUDED)
MELISSA TERECK
Melissa has dedicated her life to creating art. She had an early career as a clothing designer, but her true love is the art of paper mache. She takes pride that her hand made work is created in the USA in her home studio. She is inspired by vintage paper mache art. Her work is in many collections. She has been working on paper mache houses the likes of which would be suitable homes for fairies and gnomes. These little abodes have gained the attention of many collectors, and are something truly unique. She is also proud to add workshop instructor to her resume, as she recently held her first workshop on creating these little houses that have been her brain child.
CARON HIBBENS
Caron joined us last year. Her enthusiasm for life and for what she does is contagious. You will see it in her smile. She is dedicated to the art of creating original vintage jewelry, and has made a commitment this year to become, in a variety of ways, even more involved in the art world. For many years she has specialized in making watch band locket bracelets, but has been expanding her expertise with other vintage jewelry components. She is always on the search for vintage watch parts, lockets, cameos, buttons, anything old, sparkly, and French.
SUSAN ARNOT
Susan steps into a bygone era when she creates her vintage Victorian inspired Folk Art. Her creations are known as After Midnight Folk Art. She was motivated to create her own work because of her love of vintage holiday pieces. Her creations are sought after because they are individually created with many vintage materials, to name a few; old sheet music, glass beads, crepe paper, vintage fabric and trim, and assorted other finds. The vintage and otherwise doll heads that are an important part of her work are imported from Germany. She has a studio in Sacramento California and when she combines vintage materials with sometimes new findings, and materials... the results are magical.
VALERIE RAVEN
Valerie's dolls combine a passion for found objects, fashion, art and the wonders of the magical world of fantasy. She listens to inner stories and is rewarded as her dolls "'appear"" creating their own amazing personalities. Every doll is a one-of-a- kind collectible that uses paper clay for the delicate heads and body along with a variety of other materials incorporating an extensive collection of antique jewelry, silks, rare textiles, and natural oddities. Making dolls is such a multi-faceted art form that continues to satisfy Valerie's artistic curiosity. She believes art should be mysterious and consuming. Valerie received a BFA and MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. She is an art educator, doll workshop instructor, jewelry designer and a book illustrator.
DAVE HUDDLESTON
Dave is the artist who designed the amazing graphic for our HoliDaze Label this year.
Dave is an artist celebrating life one painting at a time. He is a landscape and nature artist, as well as, a muralist, book illustrator, and stage painter. He is man for all the seasons of art, and he says he enjoys painting anything that is two colors or more. He has been a professional artist doing both fine art and commercial art. He has been an instructor and has conducted workshops traveling the world. He has been a mentor to many . His work has garnered hundreds of awards over the years. and a following of collectors throughout the country. He is well known and respected in the Bay Area. Many of the walls of local Napa homes and businesses have murals Dave has worked his magic.
CHARLENE GEIGER
Charlene's work is one-of-a-kind. She studied design at Louise Salinger's School of Design, but her talent for design has always been innate...in other words a part of her essence since birth. She has a way with organic materials that compares to none other. Her figures and other creations are ethereal ...other worldly. The materials she uses are both vintage and new, but they blend together seamlessly, as if they were a treasure from times past.
NICOL SAYRE
Nicol's dolls are reminiscent of antique dolls. Each figure is a one-of-a-kind creation made by hand , clothed in vintage fabrics and completed with either handmade or found collectible accessories. This attention to detail gives each doll their personality. Her sewing skills are extraordinary, and she is always searching for the perfect find to use in her next creation. Nicol sometimes travels to Europe, and afar to find the perfect vintage finds she needs. The favorite time period from which Nicol draws her inspiration is the mid-1800's. Please meet Nicol and her ladies.
DOLPH GOTELLI
TERISA BROOKS HUDDLESTON
Terisa has always been an entrepreneur. from the moment she graduated from UC Davis, she brings the best of herself to everything she does. She has always been involved in the arts in some way. She has had a career as a hat and clothes designer, as well as a tutorial instructor. She was the owner of a costume shop, and was a pioneer in using recycled materials in her art. She currently is the creative director of Moche lifestyle and Our hands for Hope, which finds ways to expose the art of women's apparel. Her companies create clothing to hire people as opposed to hiring people to create clothing.
SUZY CROOKS
We are happy to welcome Suzy to the Festival. She has had a long history of collecting antiques. She has a special penchant for collecting holiday items particularly anything Halloween and Christmas. She currently has a permanent vendor space at the Blue Door Antiques in Livermore, California. We think you will be excited to see her eclectic collection of vintage pieces. She is passionate about collecting and animals.
ANNA CORBA
Anna is an artist of many talents. She knows what she needs to make her varied creations when she sees it. Her materials are vintage, such as : vintage sheet music, grade school grammar books, scraps of materials, bits of yellowed papers, antique buttons, laces, ribbons etc. and most anything French . She builds her creations using layers of these vintage found objects. If you are lucky enough you may may take one of her workshops when she is in your area, you might be interested in creating a memory book, a collage, assemblage, a notebook, paperweight, and many other lost art form from another era. She prefers letting the materials lead the project. Their story evolves in a very loose way to create a new story they have never lived before. Anna is also an author of several books, one of which is.....Vintage Paper Crafts, which many say in an artistic book that is an artistic creation itself.
ARTISTS and DEALERS
MARCIA HARMON
Marcia has collected stuff since she was a child. The last 15 years she has been designing UBU jewelry and networking within the Northern California Bead Society, which has vastly expanded her knowledge and creative use of found objects. She is the owner of Cottage Jewel in Danville where there is an offering of every form of EMBELLISHMENT for you or your home......plus monthly Lectures, Appraisal Clinics, altered-art Workshops, Trunk Shows and More. When she is not hosting parties or participating in local shows, she will also provide Estate Liquidation services. She will be bringing to the Festival numerous one-of-a-kind treasures including antique, vintage, hand-made artful novelties and earthly finds.
DEBBY ANDERSON
Debby is a self taught jewelry designer, metal smith and mix media artist who works from her home studio in Desert Hot Springs, California. She began her design career about 11 years ago, with the creation of her jewelry business, Romancing the Bling. Debby''s intricate and distinctly feminine designs are influenced by various time periods ranging from the Renaissance era through the Art Deco period. Her designs incorporate religious icons, whimsical French collages, inspirational quotes, sparkling beads, and stunning rhinestones. Most jewelry components begin as objects found at flea markets, and antique shops. These vintage pieces are then repurposed by altering the finish, adding paint, deconstructing, or combining the pieces in unique configurations. Her creations are original and developed without sketches, or the use of computer-aided design programs. Each piece takes on its own identity, and a piece is never complete until both front and back sides are finished. Debby will also be a guest instructor, as well as, a presenting her work at the Festival.
KERRY HOWARD SCHMIDT
Kerry is a fourth generation folk artist. Ever since she was a girl she has been creating whimsical fun creations. In the fourth grade, she started selling to stores some of her first creations. While in college she designed for two wholesale companies to help with college expenses. With an entrepreneurial spirit she started her own line of folky dowel critters called “the silly barnyard”. She had three companies selling her work to stores throughout the west coast and, the Museum of Folk Art in New York City. Now, after achieving her MBA and spending time in the "real world", she has a home studio and creates one-of-a-kind primitive sculptures out of felted wool.
SUSAN BARTOLUCCI
Susan creates one-of-a-kind folk art....always with a pun! For her the journey of creating art is as important as the resulting art. She is almost always on a new artistic trip somewhere, most often without any preconceived notion of where. To forget any artistic techniques and to experiment is her freedom in creation. Her art may take the form of figurative sculpture, ornamentation, collage, assemblage, or torched tin....... using a variety of materials such as; found objects, fabric, clay, papier mache, paper, wire, tin, canvas, paint, etc. Nothing is held sacred. Anything can become an art object, or art material. Inspiration is drawn from surrounding raw materials, which she tries to look beyond their original intent and form. The art of Halloween is a particular passion.