First Friday ArtWalk is April 7 from 5-8 p.m. We will be featuring mixed media painting by Amelia Furman and handmade jewelry by Suzy Hunt Gardner. Both artists will be creating throughout the event and will have new collections to share with you.  The fun continues Saturday with demonstrations by both artist from 11am – 2pm.

Amelia Furman, mixed media painter

We all have a story.

Unique and incomplete until we leave this world. Even then, our stories live on in written words, captured images, designs, symbols. Places and landmarks that serve as the settings of these stories also remain and become connection points for past and present narratives. These places now hold their own stories.

My work is founded on a love of story and a quest to find connection between our own stories and how they intersect and build the ever changing stories of the landscapes around us.

Through the layering of text, photographs, maps and symbols, I bring the story of a place to bear while using oil paint to express the transient nature of time.  By using transparent glazes, suggestive strokes and small areas of clarity and detail, I invite you to come close, pause and find the underlying layers of story that make up the painting and while doing so, discover a part of your own story.

It is my hope that my work gives you a new lens with which to see the world around you, helps rediscover harmony and beauty in the dissonance and provides you with a constant presence of transcendent beauty in your space.

Suzy Hunt Gardner, handmade jewelry

My handmade jewelry handcrafted using semi-precious stones, Argentium Sterling Silver (which is a silver and Germanium alloy.  It is extremely tarnish resistant.  No polishing – cool, huh? It may dull over time, but wear it and it sparkles right up.

I love to incorporate fused silver and water casting techniques. Flames and molten metal, what’s not to love?  I purchase my metals from a supplier who uses recycled metals and I love to incorporate found objects.  Coming from a family of miners, I have a commitment to using fair trade stones.  My pieces are individually created, never the same thing twice.

Jewelry is like clothing; it should be comfortable!  I would like every piece of my jewelry to become a beloved heirloom – not because it is too precious to wear and has been sitting in a safe for years, but because it is so enjoyed and worn so often by someone you care about that it becomes part of your memory of a special person.