November’s Artist of the Month is talented illustrator, painter, printmaker, and all around good egg, Michele Maule!
Michele is a Portland artist who is currently living the dream - she started out on Etsy many years ago, and eventually was able to quit her day job and sell her art and cards full time!
Most of her work, Michele says, is autobiographical in nature, but some of it tells stories. This makes sense as it is easy to imagine yourself dropping into one of her rich, colorful landscape paintings for a hike, or snuggling up to one of the cute critters in her greeting cards. It’s very obvious that all of her work is created with tons of care and attention.
Maule’s work often portrays familiar sights like the St John’s Bridge framed by the evergreen trees in Forest Park, or the Steel Bridge surrounded by pink cherry blossoms, with an attention to detail and a signature style that is irresistible to locals and visitors alike.
She’s also done a marvelous series of gouache portraits of Women Artists, which will be available in a 2018 calendar (each artist’s portrait corresponding to their birth month!). Our shop is super psyched to be showcasing several of her framed originals, including Patti Smith, Frida Kahlo and Yoko Ono!
You can find Michele Maule's work online at https://www.etsy.com/shop/michelemaule and also score a selection of her prints at our online store! For a little more scoop straight from the artist herself, read on:
What do you predict for your business in the future?
I've been growing a lot this year and I'm hoping to continue to do that! I'd love to have my work in more shops around the country and to have a few solo shows in galleries next year.
Who is your current celebrity crush?
Ryan Gosling, always.
Who is your current political crush?
Leslie Knope, always.
What are you reading or what podcast are you listening to?
My two favorite podcasts are My Favorite Murder and The Dollop. Those two podcasts have helped me paint some of the most tedious pieces I've ever painted and they've helped me process quite a few wholesale orders.
Favorite beer, wine or drink?
I love my friend Amy's Old Fashions. Like friendship in a glass.
Do you carry an umbrella? What is your stance on umbrellas in Portland?
I don't carry one. I guess they're okay. Unless you're on a really crowded street, and you have to do a lot of dodging and weaving in order not to have your eyes poked out.
By Joanna Kurimsky
If you want actual printed posters + postcards to hand out you can swing by our retail shop in downtown Portland to pick them up.
Crafty Wonderland Shop
808 SW 10th Ave. in Portland
open 10am-6pm Mon - Sat, 11am-6pm Sun.
Thanks for your support and see you on December 9th + 10th!
As usual, the amazing artwork used on our posters is done by Ryan Berkley of Berkley Illustration.
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Have you ever dreamed of shopping our Holiday Art + Craft Market without all the crazy crowds of people?? Or maybe you want first pick of all the handmade goodness?
WE KNOW! Last year's Friday Night First Pick Pre-Show Shopping Party was such a success that we're doing it again this year! Get your tickets now and be one of the lucky ones who can shop our show before we open to the public over the weekend! We're only selling 800 tickets so get one while you can! (To give you an idea of crowds, there are usually close to 2,000 people waiting in line to get into our show when it opens on Saturday morning and our attendance for the entire weekend is 20,000...so 800 will feel like a gentle breeze!)
If the early shopping perk isn't enough, your ticket also gets you one free drink of your choice at the cash bar!
Crafty Wonderland First Pick Pre-Show Party
Friday, December 8th
5:00pm - 9:00pm
at the Oregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd - HALL A
CLICK HERE to go to the ticket page!
As always, the show is FREE and open to the public all day
Saturday + Sunday, December 9th + 10th from 11am - 6pm!
- Entry into the show from 5:00-9:00pm on Friday, December 8th and an opportunity to shop early from over 250 handmade vendors without the crowds
- One free drink of your choice at the cash bar
A few things to note:
-The legendary Crafty Wonderland “goodie bags” will NOT be given out at this pre-show event. They will be given out to the first 150 shoppers in line at the show on Saturday and Sunday. As usual, the event will be free and open to the public all day Saturday and Sunday, December 9 + 10 from 11am-6pm!
-The free DIY craft activities will NOT be happening during the pre-show party, but will be up and running all day Saturday and Sunday as usual.
- Kids 5 years old and under are free. Kids 6 years old and up will be required to have a ticket to attend. The event is all ages but is meant to be a relaxing shopping experience where you can have a grown up drink and shop at your leisure so we encourage you to come kid-free if possible!
- Tickets West charges a $3 fee per ticket. We are sorry but this is the only way to buy tickets as per Convention Center rules. You can not buy them directly from us.
Tickets are limited and must be purchased in advance through TicketsWest. No tickets will be sold at the door the night of the event. Get yours now before they sell out! You don't want to miss this - it's going to be HUGE!
Just in time for the spookiest, most mysterious time of year, we proudly feature a Crafty star: self proclaimed “Artist/Recluse” Alicia Justus, aka Miss Red Star Art as October’s Artist of the Month!
We are thrilled to currently have on display Alicia’s gorgeous wood-burnt Spirit boards with matching planchettes, as well as framed paintings of her “Moth Girls” - created especially for our feature - incredibly detailed paintings of women-moth hybrids with an Old World vibe. It’s worth a trip to our shop just to see these beauties up close.
Intuitive and possessing a sixth sense for finding vintage treasures and supplies with which she can work, Alicia said, “I have dreams where I’m in nature - always near water - at the edges of rivers or the ocean, where I’m digging, and I find some fabulous vintage piece in the sand - and then I go out thrifting and I find that piece. It calls to me, and I find it.”
We’ve also got handmade felt flower dolls in lovely outfits, hand-sewn down to the buttons on their boots. And of course, plenty of red-eyed white mice in wedding finery, perfectly detailed dresses with kerchiefs round their necks. Life-sized matchbook story books, paper doll books and tiny illustrated storybooks on vintage paper foretold in a dream, featuring her original character, Little Bird. It’s all got to be seen to be believed!
“It gets to me sometimes. People don’t know how old and rare things are anymore, how special these things are.”
Searching for a unique piece of jewelry for yourself or someone who appreciates the past? Come catch a glimpse of Alicia’s necklaces hand woven with antique silk, Czech beads, and 1930’s Cracker Jack prizes as pendants. Beaded button rings and brooches, colorful tulle hair clips, Dia de los Muertos paper masks, skeletons and skull brooches round out the collection. “I started designing my own paper decorations years ago. I noticed that all the paper skeletons were either too grotesque or insipidly cutesy-pie, and they all seemed decidedly male. Think about it, you never see a lady skeleton. I have some new designs this year.”
Alicia has social media now - you can find Miss Red Star Art on Instagram and Facebook, as well as at the monthly Twilight Rummage sale on SE Hawthorne, and of course, in our downtown shop and at our Art + Craft Market!
By Joanna Kurimsky
Want to make the most of your holiday craft market sales this year? Come learn some new tips and tricks! We're hosting an evening seminar and panel discussion at Mercy Corps Northwest that is all about successful holiday market vending! We've got some great panelists lined up, including Jenn Hill of Chet and Dot, illustrator Jenny Tiffany, and the fine folks of Berkley Illustration! Read more and sign up here: https://www.mercycorpsnw.org/event/18864/
photo credit: Shannon Rowland