Tag: Shops of Saddle Creek

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WinterArts Holiday Artists Market Kicks Off this Weekend

CREDIT: Facebook/WinterArts

If you think winter is coming, Jon Snow, you’re wrong. It’s here. You are going to need a dragon, or whatever crazy creature that artist Becky Zee has imagined into existence from her Pots with Personality studio. I hear she’s got a new one named Gordo that might be ready for the 2020 WinterArts holiday artists market.

This curated show and sale highlights some of the finest artists, makers, and craftspeople in our region.

Artists like Michael Talbot, who will be showcasing his Shaker Boxes, work tirelessly at their craft in preparation for the show. The boxes are made of thin, curved wood sheets and fitted with tops. The antique painted poplar wood boxes will be sold individually and in stacks.

Facebook/WinterArts

All I want for Christmas is Gordo the dragon.

“After being cut in a strip, the wood goes in for a 14-minute steam bath. Then it is wrapped to the drying form. Santa’s shop is really a mess during this busy time,” says Talbot.

Look for fiber wearable art, too. Vickie Vipperman is part of a movement called “slow cloth” that promotes sustainable practices and values high quality over large quantity. She weaves and dyes from her home studio using mostly silk, cotton, bamboo, and hemp yarns. Like many of the artists at the market, due to the custom aspects of her work, she only sells at shows like WinterArts.

Find these and many other exceptional and unique handcrafted works in glass, metal, wood, fiber, and clay, plus jewelry and more.

WinterArts, Shops of Saddle Creek, 7509 Poplar in former Sur La Table location, starts Saturday, Nov. 28, and continues through Friday, Dec. 25, free entry.

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For holiday shoppers who think outside the big-box stores, there’s Winter Arts, the annual sale featuring the works of some 30 area artists. There are paintings, sculptures, woodworking, jewelry, glassworks, and on and on — pieces that are unique and meant to be treasured. Among those treasures are the Pysanky eggs by Ansley Larsson. The creation of these beautifully intricate objects follows a centuries-old art form using a stylus to write designs with wax that are then filled out with a color wash. Larsson’s eggs at Winter Arts range from $20 for a quail-egg ornament with a simple two-color design to $1,200 for an etched ostrich egg. Larsson recently answered some questions about her work.

Flyer: How did you get into Pysanky Writing?

Ansley Larsson: In 1980, I saw a demonstration of Pysanky Writing and was fascinated. I bought all the books and supplies and went home to teach myself how to do it. I’ve been doing it ever since.

How long does each piece take?

That question is impossible for me to answer. Some pieces take mere hours, but some take days and even weeks. I have done whole ostrich eggs that have taken two to three weeks and some of the quail eggs have taken only a couple of hours.

In addition to the eggs, you’ve recently started making jewelry. What sort of pieces do you make?

Right now, I only make earrings and pendants, but I’m working toward pins, too. I am new at jewelry making, so I am still learning.

The eggs have all sorts of symbolism and superstitions associated with them. What’s your take?

Pysanky Writing originated well over 2,000 years ago. That was a very superstitious time and the traditional designs incorporate many superstitious symbols. I sometimes incorporate those symbols in my designs but only out of respect for the history and tradition of the art. I’m not particularly superstitious, although I did pick up a penny off the ground the other day.

Winter Arts at the Shops of Saddle Creek South in Germantown, through December 24th. winterartsmemphis.com

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Next week’s forecast: a torrential downpour of style, reaching from downtown to Germantown.

On Thursday, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Rumba Room downtown, it’s the South Main Fashion Night, a fashion show featuring fall looks from the neighborhood’s boutiques, including K’PreSha, Muse, Everleah’s, the Seen, and more. Hair and makeup come courtesy of the street’s salons. Kimberly Taylor of K’PreSha is showing looks that will transition from warmer to cooler weather, such as rompers and darker chambreys. For hair, think braids. Live entertainment for the event will include music from Tonya Dyson and bellydancing. Proceeds go to the Ronald McDonald House of Memphis. And, yes, there will be afterparties at the participating boutiques. “We want people to stay on South Main a little longer, to shop in the stores and eat in the restaurants,” Taylor says.

Also on Thursday, at 6 p.m., is Fashion Night Out at Wish in Saddle Creek South (near the old American Café). A tent will be set up in the parking lot, with seats for VIP-ers to get the best look at styles culled from Wish’s inventory. Guests will receive goodie bags and have the chance to win door prizes. Music will be provided by DJ Ben Murray. Proceeds from the event go to Friends for Life.

On Wednesday, from 5 to 6 p.m. at Theatre Memphis, Memphis Fashion Week is hosting its Emerging Memphis Designers Project — Kick-off Panel in anticipation of its 2013 show in April. Aspiring designers can learn what it takes to make it to Memphis Fashion Week, from picking looks to filling out the applications, and get valuable tips from the panelists, including John Sylvester of Sache, Catherine Walker, a buyer for James Davis, Bruce Bui, the wardrobe director of Ballet Memphis, as well as others. South Main Fashion Night, Thursday, September 6th, 6-9 p.m. at the Rumba Room. Tickets: $15 advanced from participating boutiques, $20 at the door.

Fashion Night Out, Thursday, September 6th, 6 p.m. at Wish, Saddle Creek South. Event is free. For information on VIP tickets, call 756-9671.

Emerging Memphis Designers Project — Kick-off Panel, Wednesday, September 12th, 5-6 p.m. at Theatre Memphis. Information: facebook.com/Memphisfashionweek