Ellen taught all levels of art, including Painting and Advanced Art, for thirty five years at William Tennent High School and served as the K-12 Fine Arts Curriculum Coordinator for the Centennial School District.  She retired in June 2008 in order to devote full-time to her art.  As a versatile painter, Ellen enjoys watercolor, gouache, acrylic, oil and mixed media which all reflect her personalized colors.  She has also developed a unique technique in which she manipulates watercolor paper into 3-D shapes.

Ellen’s description of her 3-D watercolor technique:

Even as a child, I was fascinated with shadow boxes. I enjoyed creating colorful objects and arranging them in layers. As an adult artist over twenty years ago, I was determined to manipulate watercolor paper (not paper pulp) that I had embellished with vivid personalized watercolors and color pencils in to 3-D shapes. After much experimentation, I accomplished my goal.

I’ll never forget the moment when I held the first radiant seemingly fragile and yet permanently shaped piece in my hand. I was so excited that I telephoned my sister long distance. “Sis, I just created a 3-D shape from a piece of watercolor paper! I don’t know what I am actually going to do with it yet, but I am going to have fun!” Over the years, I have refined my first attempt into a technique that (as far as I know) is unique.

Pauline Suder’s greeting and note cards are made using her actual photographs, which are encased in top quality holders. The outside of the card can be plain or can be special occasion cards: Happy Birthday, Sympathy, Happy Holidays, Thinking of You, etc. The inside of the cards are always blank. The artist handwrites on the back the location of the scene, and signs the card, indicating that it is her original photography.

The cards are less expensive than those that are mass-produced and sold in stores, and on top of that, they are original works of art!

In 1998 I took an absolutely wonderful class at Peter’s Valley (Layton, NJ) and learned how to dye yarn.  I started Dancing Wind Weaving shortly after that, weaving in my basement, and playing with yarn all over again!  Originally a Jersey girl, I have since moved to Bethlehem PA, and my loom has been promoted to the living room.

I’m always amazed there is a new part of life to be learned in each day.  Observing all the differences and similarities that exist create a challenge of the simple versus the complex.  Life stimulates the senses and evokes various emotions that form enigmatic creations that ultimately represent my interpretation of the world around me.

Featured on:

HGTV’s “That’s Clever” (featured artisan)
ABC’s Mary Talks Money on LiveWell HD

But with all the great things NICHE has to offer, we must say that their almost-daily postings on Facebook are something we look forward to.  Whoever is in charge of their social media, we thank you!  By being a fan (or “Liking” their page, a new feature that is essentially being a fan) of the NICHE page, we are able to see their posts that link you to interesting articles that they in turn have found online, anywhere from tips on writing to-do lists to uplifting reports of the rebounding economy.

Another aspect of NICHE is their Awards, both in independent artists and craft retailers.  Being nominated for a future award in the top retailers category (possibly for our website?) is one of our main goals for the next few years, and to see past winners is truly inspiring.  Many of the winners from 2009 are not too far away from us in the tri-state area.

With all that said, we thank NICHE magazine for showing us that there is success out there for fine craft retailers and artists, and that though our gallery is not award-winning (yet!), what we represent is being appreciated and celebrated.

The majority of my work is thrown on the wheel, but I have recently been experimenting with hand building methods, and I’m happy with the results.  I use both porcelain and stoneware clay and a variety of glazing techniques.  The bulk of my work is high-fired and is safe for food, drink, dishwasher, and microwave use.

I have been finding the debate between “fine art” vs. functionality very interesting of late.  Why can’t a work be both functional as well as a piece of art?  I’m working on making that line between fashion and function all that much finer.

Out of Our Hands will be adjusting our hours starting May 1st to be open every Sunday from 10am-2pm while the Market is going on.  Stop by and browse our new inventory or just to say hello!  We are looking foward to eventually offering some events and mini art projects for youngsters on Sundays…more info on that to come.

Our Sunday hours will be lasting until the end of the year (January 1st, 2011 is when we’ll make the switch back to our winter hours).  We are looking foward to offering more shopping hours to our customers.  We’ll see you soon!

Rich says, “Because we have our own tile business, we have access to all kinds of unique and unusual materials.  I really enjoy mixing these elements to form a table that can be a collector’s item.”

Linda’s design background shines through with her frame creations.  “I too love working with different textures to create a one-of-a-kind frame,” Linda comments.  “We love marketing our creations at art and craft festivals on the east coast and we are displaying at several galleries and gift shops.”

Linda and Rich both love nature and are inspired by it.  One of their real joys is working directly with a client on a commissioned piece.  In blending the client’s creativity with their color and tile knowledge, they are able to produce ART!

A pysanka (or the plural form pysanky) is an eggshell decorated using a written-wax batik method.  The egg yolk is carefully removed by blowing it out through a small hole in the shell.  Using a stylus or pin-head, the artist “writes” out the design using bees wax and then dyes the tiny areas with many vibrant colors.

These eggs date back to pre-Christian times and were originally decorated with nature symbols to worship the Ukranian sun god and to celebrate rebirth during spring.  With the acceptance of Christianity, the meaning behind Pysanky eggs was changed to celebrate Easter and the rising of Christ.  Typical beeswax designs include flowers, fruit, geometric patterns, and Christian symbols.