Every month here on Wandering Educators, we share the coolest artists and photographers. This fall I found the VERY coolest artist, Liam Hughes, of Liam Shard Jewelry. Liam creates amazing jewelry. I've already seen many, many pieces that I would just love to wear! His unique artistry showcases the best of many different patterns and designs - truly, there is something for everyone. I was lucky enough to sit down and talk with Liam about his art, and the process of creating it. Here's what he had to say...
Northern British Columbia is a land of mountains and rivers, waterfalls and wonders. The town of Smithers exemplifies the history of the region. From railway expansion across Canada, to mining development, town-building, and agriculture spreading across the Bulkley Valley, it is a slice of humanity surrounded by vast stretches of wilderness.
Art is important. Art matters. And yet, so often, art seems expensive and out of reach. We go to Art Hops, or art fairs, or find that little pottery place on our travels, and buy what we can to bring color and life and art to our homes. We rent art from the local university for a term or more, head to the annual sales at the art insitute. We devour art at museums, stare at that van Gogh, tears fall upon seeing that Bierstadt you've loved your whole life, chuckle at the poker dogs, teach our kids to love art as much as we do.
After making history as the first non-Greek Artist in the World to exhibit in the National Archaeological Museum of Greece, Orlando’s own fine art photographer J. Joshua Garrick returns from a two year tour of Europe to OPEN the new HENAO Contemporary Center in Orlando.
The most important thing any artist can have is the desire and hunger to create. This motivation gets you out the door, challenges you to learn new things, to go outside at ungodly hours of the day (or night) in all sorts of weather, to edit behind a computer for hours, and then to repeat it all over again. This month we travel to the West Coast of Canada through the lens of a person whose desire to create has seen him develop a stable of photography skills, and an impressive portfolio, through a few years of dedicated work.
If you're looking for inspirational photos from around the world, then look no further than Elia Locardi, this month's Photographer of the Month. Elia and his uber-talented wife Naomi have been location independent since 2012 and together run their popular website, www.blamethemonkey.com.
As you look at Paul McMahan's watercolors, you cannot help but recognize the colorful influence of his coastal New England environment. The coastal colors and watery influences of maritime history and quaint small towns show up in each piece.
Serene, peaceful, calm and trans-portative are the words which pop into my head each time I see one of Dianne McNaughton’s paintings. She gathers a great deal of inspiration from the natural beauty found around her home in South Africa and her travels.
Lost in happiness, beauty, color, joy. That is how I feel when I dive into the art of Kim Rodeffer Funk, our Artist of the Month. One look at these swaths of color, these fireflies of light, these feelings of deep artistic beauty, and you, too, will fall in love.
You know the drill - scroll through social media sites, see what pops up. I don't really like the cat and dog photos, the gifs of people doing the same thing over and over again every half second. I look for beauty, creativity, originality. And each day, I am rewarded by artist Jennifer R. Cook.