Peter Loose

Peter is an incredible artist and a dear friend. My family (and I mean all of us!) are collectors of his work. My boys' room is filled with his pieces that have been chosen specifically by them. Our walls seem "to talk" with the personalities of his creatures, and we always look forward to seeing what Peter will have up his sleeve!

Peter was born in Silver Springs, Maryland and has always been fascinated by nature. He spent his childhood splashing in creeks and hiking in the woods. As a result of his interests, he became a state park naturalist and a naturalist for the Audubon Society.

In 1986 he moved to Athens, Georgia to work at the Sandy Creek Nature Center. Shortly after moving to Georgia, he bought a set of water color paints and attempted to illustrate and produce a field guide to local wildlife. Frustrated with his 'messy painting' he quit, telling himself that "painting is too hard". About two years later a period of emotional stress and physical illness led Peter back to water colors. This time with no goal in mind he began to create strange little paintings dominated splotches of color on typing paper. Encouraged by friends and motivated by a constant will to paint, he soon switched to acrylics and store-bought canvas. The first of these, him as a fish, was completed in one evening during which the splotches of color turned into thickly applied dots and dashes. His strange little paintings had evolved into the whimsy he creates today.

We are so fortunate Peter calls Madison County home, and we are thrilled that he has participated with us since the market began four years ago. Stop by and see Peter November 14th. He loves to chat, and you'll enjoy listening to his stories!

Laura Bowen

Since most people see Laura as an organizer of the market, she actually gets very little attention for the beautiful art she creates. In addition to all of the time she volunteers to making the market a huge success, she is equally hard at work as a participating artist. She is known for her dried flower arrangements; however, this year she is using her leaves and blooms in an entirely new way!

In Laura's words:

Everywhere I go I am always looking for flowers or leaves to collect for my artwork. Last fall, I made my daughter pull over in downtown Athens so I could pick up fallen Gingko leaves off of the sidewalk, and yes in the curb of the street. She acted like she didn’t know who I was! This past summer, I lugged two big bundles of fresh lavender all the way home from the Great Northwest. The smell was intoxicating and the entire airplane was the better for it!

I have been creating artwork with my pressed foliage for the past ten years now. I love to grow things, and this is my way of making the beauty of the garden last a little longer. It has been very therapeutic for me especially during the hard times of my life.

I also like to leaf-print just about any surface that I can think of. This year I came across some so-soft organic cotton fabric, and a friend of mine supplied me with a whole roll of rich-green silk. So, I did what comes natural to me and leaf-printed the fabric and then sewed them into scarves. I have plenty of fabric left over so if have a special leaf you would like printed on a scarf – just let me know!

Laura Bowen is a resident of Madison County and co-founder and co-coordinator of the Madison County Artist Market. She lives on a farm with her husband, two children, seven cows, one horse, five cats, three dogs and one crazy goat.

Teresa Atkinson

Teresa is a friend who we've been trying to recruit for a couple of years now. She finally caved! Teresa offers such a large variety of items we've never offered before - so many items that you'll just have to come see! Please take a moment to welcome Teresa to our market this year.

in Teresa's own words:

I come from a long tradition of talented, creative people. I learned to crochet by watching over my Nanny's shoulder. My mom sews, quilts, and crochets and still makes incredibly beautiful things even though the stroke from three years ago left her with some limitations. I have always made things. The year I married and was college kid poor, I made all our Christmas ornaments out of wooden children's blocks. I don't sit still well, and with two athletes at my house, I have plenty of time to sit. So I keep a craft bag (survival kit) with me all the time. A lot of my creations are handwork created during ball games. My interests and creative endeavors are widely varied. I have stacks of notebooks and journals filled with inspiration - photos - quotes. "Angel words" and word/font art make me oh so very happy. Creating is as much a part of me as breathing. My studio is a renovated cotton house on our property that I convinced the man at my address to help me create. It's not fancy, but it is MINE (although I willingly share that space as often as I can.) I've been married 24 years. Molly is 19 and a sophomore at Piedmont College. Abby is 16 and a Junior at MCHS. I HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP. Contact via email or blog:

teresahome@juno.com

http://www.maggiegracecreates.blogspot.com/

Perry McCrackin

Perry was born in Demorest, Georgia and graduated from Habersham Central High School. Although he had painted as a child and would always doodle on Blue Horse notebook paper while in school, it wasn’t until he was a senior in high school that he took art seriously. In the fall of 1976, he attended Piedmont College on a full art scholarship but decided to join the Marines. In June 1977, Perry entered the United States Marine Corp and served our country four years. Being a member of the Marines deeply enriched his life and expanded his perceptions of the world. He did very little painting while serving in the Marines. In 1985, he attended North Georgia Technical College and completed the course for Master Cosmetologist. He traded his paintbrush for scissors and comb. At that time he didn’t realize that both painting and coloring hair would cross paths. Like painting, the opportunity to study hair coloring techniques opened a new world for him. Perry discovered there is very little difference in “theory” of paint and color for hair. He is not afraid to try techniques with hair color or paint. Like a clean head of hair, he is fascinated with painting and thrilled when he starts each new project - whether it be painting or hair. In 2008, one of his paintings was accepted by the Art in the Air Billboard project in association with the Athens Leisure Services and Lyndon House Arts Center. Paintings will be rotated through out Clarke County in 2009. Recently, one of his paintings was accepted into the Juried Art show at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga. You can visit Perry's blog at:

http://perrymccrackin.blogspot.com/

Brandy Christian - guest artist

I am pleased to introduce you all to a guest artist for the market this year. Brandy is traveling to us from Northwest Georgia. While I feel as if I've known her forever, we've actually never met! I can say, though, that she is one of the kindest people I've ever encountered and has a serious talent with a sewing machine. I must have one of everything she makes! Please take the opporunity to visit Brandy at the market in November...you won't be disappointed!

in Brandy's words:

I started sewing sometime last year and fell in love. My grandmother (Nana) taught me the basics of pinning patterns, hemming, and seams. After being taught those skills, I have really been a self-taught seamstress. I have a true love for putting the most trendy fabrics together and making 'SewCute' items. The items I place in SewCute Shop are my favorites, and I am very happy to make them for you.

In March 2009, my best friend's little boy was suddenly diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) - a degenerative brain disease. The movie 'Lorenzo's Oil was made to bring awareness to this newly discovered disease. In early April, Joel, Teresa and Riley Greene (aka TEAMGREENE) were moved from Chattanooga, TN to Durham, NC where Riley would spend what they thought 100 days after receiving a bone marrow transplant. Due to complications, this week marks 133 TEAMGREENE has been in Duke Hospital. I made a pledge to donate all proceeds from SewCute Shop to TEAMGREENE until they returned home to Chattanooga. For me sewing has become much more than just a hobby - it has been a small part of what allows my best friend to stay by her son's side. For more information on TEAMGREENE, visit www.carepages.com/carepages/teamgreene. (create username/password)

When I'm not sewing away, I enjoy spending time with my fabulous husband, Ty, and two children Autumn (9) and Tyler (2).

http://sewcuteshop.typepad.com/

Marcia Bacon Connolly

Marcia Bacon Connolly is a Carlton-area artist who works in a variety of media, After completing a degree in Art Education, Marcia encountered a middle school student who could fluently read anything put in front of him, but couldn't answer the most basic questions about what he had read. As a result, Marcia became a Learning Disabilities teacher, and has taught in South Dakota, Texas, and in the Madison and Oglethorpe County school districts. Now she works at the University of Georgia's Main Library, and has a bit more time for art-making. This year, Marcia has concentrated on small prismacolor drawings of birds, rabbits and other local critters, mounted in painted Dollar Store frames. There will also be several larger drawings with a funky, narrative style, and encaustic (melted crayon) drawings. She's been making art of one kind or another for as long as she can remember.

Artist Market Flyer

Ninth grade students taking Computer Applications I are responsible for the fantasic flyer created for the 2009 market! We are so very fortunate for their participation, enthusiasm and creativity each year. Currently, they are learning Word and Desktop publishing skills and used Microsoft publisher to create the flyer. Melody Christian is their teacher and shared with me their excitement about participating in designing a flyer for a real event. Melody said, "Whenever students see the correlation between the real world and the skills they are learning in class, they are very motivated. As a teacher, I love to provide my students community service opportunities."

If you are interested in helping distribute these flyers, please contact Laura Bowen for copies.

Thank you to Melody Christian and her students for contributing to the marketing success of the show!

Mike Jones

Mike Jones is a sculptor and jazz musician who lives in Carlton. He's a free lance granite sculptor working in the Elberton monument industry. He will have sculpture available in stone, wood and mixed media. You can see some of his larger pieces as well as other work at: carltonartfactory.blogspot.com