Part of my summer fun is attending art fairs. I have such admiration for the artists who spend much of their summer on the road, navigating from one fair to the next, packing and unpacking their artwork… So what happens once the season is over? In a continued effort to provide independent artists with more visibility, here is a little shout out to give them some extra exposure to reach art lovers outside of the art fair sphere.

If your mom is like mine, she might need a little diversion from the habitual “mommy” gift that is usually a piece of jewelry, a luxurious scented candle, a spa getaway… Not that these things aren’t absolutely lovely, but here’s another idea, just in case Mom happens to be an art lover or simply needs a break from the bling thing.
How about some adornment for… her walls (home, office, cottage?). I mean, a hand-picked, original piece of art that will make her think of you every time she looks at it. There are some great online galleries where otherwise unknown [...]

Straight from the dumpster? Yep. Tammy Roy, dumpster-diver par excellence can make scrap look good like it’s nobody’s business. Thankfully, One Eighty is her re-use design business.
Tammy trained in graphic design but went on a tangent after she realized that she couldn’t shake the dumpster-diving bug she inherited from her mom, also a recycle-based artist. She learned how to weld the reclaimed metal treasures that she found (metal disks, rebar and machinery parts from salvage yard and various waste from steel manufacturers) to design these wonderful and functional objects.
I’m seriously eyeing her Steel Pebble Holder to use indoors or out. [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
One of my favorite toys growing up was my dollhouse. I spent many hours playing make-believe with it. It was a very basic square construction made of wood, with no stain or paint finish. My doll furniture was a mix of mismatched plastic pieces with a few wooden handmade ones my father had lovingly crafted for me. My dolls were a variety of stuffed animals, Barbies and an assortment of different figurines.
On a search to recreate my own childhood memories for my daughters, I came across a sophisticated and oh-so-stylish version of my own basic [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
I first discovered Audrey Heller’s photographs at the One Of A Kind show in Chicago and have “run” into her art work since.   Although Audrey calls San Francisco home, she travels much of the year showing her photographs. With a background as a lighting designer for theater and a great sense of humor, Audrey was able to use her unique abilities to create distinct and playful photos.
As you look at the photos they look like everyday items; a cup of coffee, a martini glass or a bowl of strawberries.  Taking a closer look each photo [...]

I’ve seen Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi’s ceramics at a couple of art fairs in the Chicago area and find her work completely charming. Given the time of year, I wanted to mention her ceramic hearts as perfect Valentine’s Day gifts. Whimsical, colorful and utterly delightful representations of the Valentine’s Day symbol. And, as a décor item to be displayed in permanence, just one of Laurie’s colorful ceramic hearts can exude the expression of lovely feelings all year round.
You can read about Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi’s training as an artist here and shop for her ceramic hearts (and her other inspired ceramic work) [...]

By Scott Roeben, Contributing Editor – Photography
Note: The Succulent Wife is honored to welcome an “old” friend & colleague as our first male contributor! Scott is a talented writer and photographer and I am quite excited to be bringing you his articles on photography. He will be providing tips & tools to make the amateur photographer look like a real pro. Thanks Scott!
Capturing great photos of children can be a challenge. But there are simple steps you can take to dramatically improve your photography, virtually overnight. Try these tips, and you’ll be taking great photos of your kids in [...]

Judy Ebert (she goes by artist name jbEbert) is one of the fabulous artists who displays her jewelry on 1000markets, among other places. I think that her work is simply arresting. There is such an abundance of jewelry makers out there that when I find a – pun-intended – pearl like Judy, I need to tell everyone I can.
It appears that her talents were obvious very early on as she was hand-picked, at the age of 8, to train and apprentice in the art department of Carnegie Tech (I’m not sure that I could even tie my own shoes when [...]

I’m thankful that Madeleine at ArtQuiver contacted me to tell me about the $5000 giveaway that the gallery is promoting. I’m happy to share that with you, at the bottom of this article, but really, aside from the tremendous giveaway, I’m mostly excited to share about the ArtQuiver online gallery concept because, The Succulent Wife loves, more than anything else, to discover – and promote – independent artists and businesses and endeavors. So, let me tell you…
The ArtQuiver online gallery just launched this last April. It showcases original artwork from hand-picked artists. “Meritocracy” is the method of selection from a [...]

When I think of The Wizard of Oz, I usually only think of it as a political and economic allegory about the status industrial society at the end of the 19th century. This is where Oz and the Yellow Brick Road represent gold, the Tin Man represents the industrial worker, the Scarecrow is the Farmer, the Lion the politician, the Munchkins are the ordinary citizens, etc..
But, thank goodness that there are people like Julienne LaFleur who still see all the magic of the movie. Julienne, in her first book, Lessons From Oz, has created a philosophical allegory. It’s a fun [...]