Besides the amazing array of kilts, celtic music, and sports, I was stunned by the quality vendors whose wares were for sale at this show.
The beauty of walking through tents and tents of hand crafted items is that each booth brings you into a different space of being. Whether it's smelling hand carved wooden toys and sculptures, watching the light bounce off hand tooled copper designs, or discovering an amazing new art techniques… each new space brings with it a sense of awe, wonder and amazement. Even better is the opportunity to meet the artist and talk about their work. They're always so willing to share their techniques, their inspiration, and their story. If I didn't have two little girls and a friend with me (all three of whom were exceedingly patient), I could have spent hours with each artist.
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| my necklace from Forge Jewelry |
Katie Hobson and Brian Davis of Forge Jewelry create hand crafted designs based off the celtic knot. They use stoneware pottery fired in a kiln, then enamel the pieces, hand draw the designs, silk screen them on, and fire everything a third time. Somehow they are able to keep their prices affordable, and their designs fresh. A powerful addition to the wardrobe of anyone looking to bring in energy, or interested in celtic design. This beautiful necklace, however, is mine :)
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| Courtesy of http://dragonfire.ns.ca/ |
Finally, I discovered Kevin Dyer of CastPaper.com toward the end of the day. He began his career as a printer, and continued learning paper-related techniques such as embossing. He ended up creating a process called cast paper. It begins with hand drawn designs. Next he builds a relief image over the hand drawn image in wax. He uses the wax design to create a permanent mold. He then fills the mold with a paper pulp which he hand paints after it hardens. The result is phenomenal. Unfortunately, these images don't nearly do his pieces justice. You simply have to see them to believe them.
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| courtesy of castpaper.com |
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