Cape Ann Designs

Sea Glass Accessories

Art

Selling Sea Glass in a Nor’easter….?

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Well, it sounds a bit like selling ice cream to the Eskimos?   As we all know, it’s the Nor’easters that churn up all the great sea glass.    But instead, I drove up to Portland, Maine through a crazy storm to sell my sea glass jewelry and hair accessories on Commercial Street at the Maine Pottery Co. on Sunday.   I went with no expectations as I knew that many travel plans were canceled, cruise ships were delayed or diverted, and airline passengers were stranded.

What I found was a pleasant surprise!  Indeed, there were plenty of hardy travelers seeking “retail therapy” and looking for cozy, inviting places to linger and ride out the storm.  Rather than sit and finish the work I brought with me, I met wonderful people from all over the country.  From memory, I can say that there were folks from California, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, New York, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Caroline, Tennessee, and of course nearby Massachusetts and New Hampshire.   A particularly memorable moment was meeting a woman who bought a barrette at the Cape Ann Museum during the Hopper show a few years back, saw online that I would be in Portland (her home) and came to find another one!  I was so impressed at what a melting pot Portland has become for travelers seeking a northeastern experience!

I had to write this up because it was one of the most unexpected and enjoyable experiences working with a shop as the “visiting artist.”  Kudos to my friends at Maine Pottery Co. for their fabulous attitude and the beautiful selection of work and great location on Commercial Street.  Together, we made a lot of people happy on what could have been a gloomy and forgettable day!

 

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Celebrating Silk Artists at Montserrat| Four Voices in Silk

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Please join me in congratulating my friends at Ten Pound Studio as they embark on a special show and event.  Here are the details.

FOUR VOICES IN SILK (Ten Pound Studio Artists)

August 20 – September 24, 2026
Montserrat College of Art, Hardie (Main) Building Beverly, MA

Four Voices in Silk showcases a vibrant collection of hand-painted silk works by four expert silk artists from Ten Pound Studio, Gloucester, dedicated to preserving traditional serti steam-set technique in the United States. Using resist and dyes applied directly to silk, the artists create luminous wall displays, sumptuous wearable art, and home décor that celebrate color, craftsmanship, and original design.

This rare artist collective offers a unique opportunity to experience a living silk-painting tradition while discovering four distinct artistic voices, dedicated to preserving this unique art form. (Artists: Allyson Christopher, Christine Gauthier-Kelley, Sue Niemi, Leslie Pearlman)

  • OPENING CELEBRATION SEPTEMBER 8, 6-8 PM
  • PUBLIC ART TALK • SEPTEMBER 11, 12 NOON
  • SALE of WEARABLE ART During Events
  • OPPORTUNITIES & HANDS-ON EXPERIENCES
    Classes and workshops TBA

Come experience the radiant world of Four Voices in Silk—where tradition meets contemporary expression, one brushstroke at a time. Four artists. Four distinct voices. One extraordinary medium.  For information call:  781-799-9205 or email to tenpoundstudiogloucester.com

 

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The Power of Community in Life and Art!

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When I looked back at when I last wrote a blog, I was shocked to see if was in the early Spring!  Clearly, I was completely immersed in preparing for the July 6th Garden Tour.  The local tour, put on by the Generous Gardeners is not your average Garden Tour.  It aims high in both purpose and results.  The funds raised from this tour (tickets and sponsorships) plus special events put on several times a year (Dahlia sales, plant sales, etc.) are to raise money to beautify many of the public spaces in Gloucester from the traffic “islands” to the grand swath of land along Stacy Boulevard home to our precious fisherman and fisherman’s wives statues.    The group has nearly 100 volunteers that actually do all the work.

Cape Ann Blossoms @ Cape Ann Museum

When I was asked a year ago to be on the 2024 tour, I knew the gardening preparation would dominate my Spring.  I also knew I had to so some special things to combine the art of gardening with my sea glass art.   The result was a series of sea glass steppingstones that I plan to sell at the event and in my studio.  Beyond this, I also used this new “direction” to create a piece for the Cape Ann Museum’s Cape Ann Blossoms show.  Working with fellow Cape Ann Artisan, Deb Gonet, we made a non-organic sculptural piece for the show inspired by Fitz Henry Lane’s painting “Rough Seas.”  If I hadn’t followed the steppingstone path, I would have never been able to do this.   Fast forward, the piece was entered into the Marblehead Arts Festival and accepted by the jury into the sculpture exhibit.   It is now in its 3rd home as part of the Wenham Museum’s “Art Grows Here” exhibit in a raised bed in front of the museum and it’s for sale with a percentage going to the Museum if it sells. Who knows where it will next land!

Wenham Museum “Art Grows Here”

Getting back to the Garden Tour, after all the hard work, the experience itself was simply gratifying and joyful.  The group is totally professional and well organized with excellent communications.   The week before the official tour, I had a chance to view the gardens of the other people on the tour – many are neighbors.  I was SO impressed with all the work everyone had put in and the wonderful surprises in their gardens.  And it has to be noted that many adjacent neighbors who were not officially on the tour upgraded their gardens too.  As we had shared many stories while preparing and afterward, the experience brought us all closer together.  At the “after-party” to thank the volunteers, many of us continued sharing our stories.  Among the favorites was the incredibly successful lemonade stand run by the grandchildren of one of the neighbors on the tour.  If you missed the tour, there’s a wonderful video created by the North Shore Horticultural Society.

My studio was open during the tour.   I had steppingstones downstairs with two lovely friends who volunteered and sent people upstairs where I shared my work and space.   I so enjoyed meeting new people from all over and also seeing community friends who had never been to my studio.   I can’t wait to see some of these faces back again when they have more time.  I was truly grateful to those who left with a piece from my collection, and I donated 20% of my sales to the Generous Gardeners.

I cannot express enough how honored I was to be part of all of these community events and programs.   The Cape Ann Museum’s Cape Ann Blossoms is so elegant and thoughtful.  The Generous Gardeners Tour is intimate and engaging – opening up visits to neighborhoods in Gloucester that no one even knows about.  The volunteers in Marblehead were incredibly welcoming.  The Wenham Museum is a delightful and very important cultural asset on the North Shore and so inventive in all it does.  What I’ve experienced is that community drives art and art drives community.  The two are inseparable and equally important.   On Cape Ann and the north shore, we have both in abundance!

 

 

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Filed Under: Art

Sharing Creativity| A Boundless Gift We Can Give Freely

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Sharing Creativity| A boundless gift we can give freely

The many forms of creativity

Working late at night in my sea glass studio!

Creativity comes in many forms.  I grew up in a household dominated by a family business, where creative problem solving was a regular guest at the dinner table.  Interestingly, neither of my parents had the luxury of actually pursuing a creative career path when they were growing up.  For parents who remember WWII and other such global tragedies, it was all about getting a job – thus my father encouraged me to be an accountant or an engineer.  I did neither.  I chose to complete an English & History undergraduate degree and later an MBA in Marketing – somewhat of a compromise.  However, they did encourage us to have a creative outlet as a hobby.  My brother and I dabbled in theater, piano, dance, and took summer classes.   Later I turned to writing and ultimately jewelry design to pursue a separate creative path.  My mother truly had a creative soul that came out later in life in the form of humor and innovation where she wowed her fan club with presentations on the importance of laughter and left me a book of her “Ideas” that will take a lifetime to absorb.  She was so excited about my hair jewelry business, she completely changed her hairstyle to wear my barrettes.   My father, a true engineer at heart is still baffled, but fully supportive nonetheless!

Despite one’s upbringing, creative pursuits are still not part of everyone’s personal or professional DNA.  That’s actually good news.  It opens up a wide range of opportunities for those of us who are blessed with some creative strain.    Given the mental and physical challenges of our current global climate and health challenges due to the CV, I don’t know what I would do without the chance to go into my studio and immerse myself in jars of sea glass and the treasure hunt to find just the right pieces that fit together for a piece of jewelry.  I feel blessed.  Likewise, my husband can sit down and lose himself at his piano.  In the ideal scenario,  I am motivated when people actually purchase my work, but in the meantime, I am finding other ways to use my creativity and a good part of it is SHARING.  This comes in many forms and here are my observations which I hope inspire YOU to do the same.

It’s not just the end product, it’s the process 

Some of these earring pairs are destined for the custom shop!
When you create art, you rarely end up with a result that you expect. That’s part of the joy. Interviewing artists recently for @1623Studios #ArtWaves I am learning more about each person’s process. The process creates an emotional… Share on X

When you create art, you rarely end up with a result that you expect.   That’s part of the joy.  Interviewing artists recently for a new collaborative show @1623Studios #1623ArtWaves,  I am learning more about each person’s process.  The process creates an emotional roadmap from which the viewer can benefit.  I have started down that path with my own work – a rather simple idea, but one that would allow my clientele to semi-customize the pieces that I have started.  Artists who are capable of sharing their process in some way can provide inspiration for others and also break down the barriers for those who might not understand the end product.    I could write a book on a piece that I morphed over the last year until I finally got it to work right!   I will reveal it when we launch the new Cape Ann Artisans brochure.

It’s time to “dabble”

Many people wait until they are retired from the “real world” (whatever that is) to pursue their creative interests.  Some are lucky enough to do it in parallel without sacrificing income.   Either way, the stillness and forced isolation of the current environment is handing us this opportunity on a platter.  Pick up that paintbrush, oil up that sewing machine, plant that garden, pick up that needlework, glue those old pieces of ceramics together or start writing that book!  It could be life altering or simply a great way to stay mentally stable.

Take your work in new directions

If you already have your creative legs in motion, this is the time to step it up a notch – open up the Pandora’s box of creativity and let it rip.  I’ve heard this from a number of artists who are amazed at what’s showing up on the canvas.  It’s also a great time to sign up for an online class to learn new techniques.  If you don’t do it this time around, at least use the time to do the research.   If you are commercially oriented, there are many classes underway to hone up on your digital marketing skills.  My good friend and fellow artist, Beth Williams set up her online store.  I managed  to photograph ALL the work I have in the studio, make some different types of jewelry (new hair forks & a ring), add gifts (soap dish, paper weight)  and get it onto Flickr and I hope to even learn more about the functionality of my digital camera.  I know there much more I can do to improve the photos of my work.

Help others find their creative spirit

This is the ultimate way to share creativity.  If you have a strong creative bent, offer to coach friends, family, and colleagues who want to explore their creative side.  Once they choose the path, and start something, stay in touch and offer feedback, examples of others who have done something in their genre, articles that might be of help.  Just pointing out to someone, hey, you always coordinate colors so well, did you ever think of putting them together on paper?   Your voice is beautiful, have you ever recorded anything? Cooking is a great form of creativity.  My 83 year old father has taken to using “HomeChef” to wow his wife with newly minted cooking skills.  It’s never too late!!!

Just return to or increase the volume on  something that makes you feel good

Thematic Masks for my friends at Virgilio's Bakery!
Thematic Masks for my friends at Virgilio’s Bakery!
A fishy mask from an old set of curtains!

Beside my creative business, I have plenty of creative hobbies (defined as things that no one will ever pay me to do) –  cooking, sewing, gardening, and decorating that give me a sense of accomplishment.  Thanks to YouTube, one can find videos on nearly everything online.   I have been so impressed with entertainers (famous and not so famous) who have opened their doors and are singing from the balconies, or giving concerts online.  I was completely touched by the raw and real One World Together at Home virtual event.  My husband has been playing  his piano on family video calls, and I have taken to making masks just for family and friends to ensure their safety, and sharing all my favorite kitchen creations around town with my friends who have rigorous remote work schedules or child care duties.

The bottom line is that creativity is a gift that most of us have deep inside even if we don’t know it.   We can all help each other today and always by motivating each other to find it and pay it forward in one of many ways.  It might be fun to make that creative “to do” list and check in with it a year from now!

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My Interview with MSONEWSports by Rick Moore

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Rick Moore is a pro!  A beloved, retired Math teacher, Rick has found another calling, interviewing athletes and artists (among others) for his amazing internet radio venture.  Go Rick!  Here’s my recent interview with him.  I am humbled by his generous spirit.

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The real story behind my sea glass jewelry design business and how it landed in a business book.

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The real story behind my sea glass jewelry design business and how it landed in a business book.

Dr. Sharon T. Freeman & Jacqueline Ganim-DeFalco at National Press Club, Washington, DC

A few month ago, a dear friend and author asked me “What do you know for sure?”  Then, she challenged me to write up my answer in a 1000 word essay for a book she was about to publish.   At the time, I didn’t know anything about the other essayists and that I would be part of something as powerful and honest as 33 Gems| Wisdom for Living Pieces of Life’s Puzzle.

Having only 24 hours to identify the topic and a few days to complete the essay forced me to quickly think about what has impacted me the most in life.   The author (Dr. Sharon Freeman) wanted me to focus on my creative endeavor, sea glass jewelry design.  Some of you know, my professional training is in marketing and that I have always had a business focus.  BUT, the more interesting story is about all the forms of creativity that have led me to this particular moment in life and effectively, the kernel of “what I know for sure.”  Philosophically speaking, it’s a stretch to say we know anything FOR SURE!  But it’s a thought worth contemplating.  My essay is titled, “This I know for sure| Creative endeavors are much more than hobbies.  They can feed our souls, relationships, & pocketbooks at the same time.”

I can’t give any more away because I really do want you to buy the book. My essay aside, it’s the other essayists that opened my eyes and quite frankly humbled me in their accomplishments told in the most honest, and intimate manner.  As a society we have debated issues of diversity, socio-economic challenges, education, immigration, fiscal responsibility, health care, politics, regional, national, and international cultural issues, immigration, etc.  Through personal storytelling from people of highly diverse backgrounds, these and many other topics are addressed in ways that really hit home.

What stands out to me is the strength of human character in this microcosm of society – good over evil, high road over easy street, recovery, resilience, and giving back.    I do not know any of the people in the book other than the author and one other essayist and her 11 year old son – but I want to meet each of them.   When you read the book, you will feel like you have met each of them and take away a valuable new perspective and potentially relationship that will help you with your life, business, family, or simply feed your soul.   And of course, the best is saved for last.  11 year old Negash challenges the adult world to think about the future and what will be left to his generation. To learn more, please visit Gems of Wisdom.   To order the book, click here.

 

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