Comments Off on Winter is Coming – How to Add Warmth Your Home with Colorful Watercolor Paintings
“The Face of a Killer”
Original Watercolor Paintings by Sharyn Fogel
Many home designers will tell you that a fine art painting, especially a watercolor, can instantly add a touch of beauty and style to almost any type of home or office décor. The tricky part has always been in finding just the right watercolors.
Until now.
Local Asheville painter Sharyn Fogel is an award-winning artist who creates watercolor landscapes that vividly capture the natural beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains and the surrounding Western North Carolina countryside.
She has been painting professionally since 1977 and her expert watercolors will draw you into a wonderful world full of vibrant colors and soothing scenic vistas.
Her artwork is so engaging that some have said that her paintings are like having a “colorful window into the great outdoors”.
Sharyn Fogel Fine Art – Perfect for Any Space, Any Lifestyle
Sharyn has recently brought to Mountain Made some wonderful original artwork professionally framed or matted, ready to go behind that blank spot over the sofa or in your home office.
Sharyn’s watercolors and go in almost any space where you want to add a pop of color and warmth. We also have several of her smaller, original paintings, done premium art paper ready for framing.
We invite you to click the images below for la better view…
Comments Off on How to Have a FUN Halloween Party During Covid
How to Have a Fun Yet Safe “Trick or Treat” Party this Halloween
For many Americans, Halloween is one most popular holidays with the exception of the Christmas season! But with the weird weather we’ve been having along with worrying about COVID, a lot of folks have decided to stay close to home this year.
But are you wondering how you can keep all those disappointed kids AND some mopey adults, happy with just a simple backyard party or a limited in-home bash with just a few friends?
You are not alone.
However here at Mountain Made, we have an answer… Great Food & Fun Games!
In this post, we want to share with you a fun Halloween game we discovered online and some of our favorite party recipes. So we go…
Halloween Tin Can Bowling
As you can see the idea is really simple but fabulous fun! We found here. To get started just grab a couple of empty tin cans, remove the labels and wash them up.
If you don’t have enough then you can always ask your party guests to help you out by “BYOC” (Bring Your Own Cans) along with their favorite potluck dishes.
Once you have enough cans, gather together all the spare paint and brushes you might have laying around from the lockdown or make a quick trip by the store to get more “spooky” shades and colors if needed.
Now before dinner have everyone create their own special Halloween character. You can have the traditional ones from ghosts, black cats, witches, Frankensteins, to pumpkins to aliens or monsters of all kinds.
Set them aside to dry, wash your hands and go eat. We included Melinda’s recipe for some wonderful Mini Muffalettas below.
After dinner, gather all the cans and a tennis ball to play your first annual Halloween bowling tournament. You can use a blindfold or a baby pumpkin as a ball to even the playing field for adults.
Naturally all the players should get a bag of candy but the winners might earn an extra a piece or two of their favorites.
….
A Halloween Party Favorite – Mini Muffulettas
Muffalettas under construction
Mini Muffalettas
Ingredients
2 packages of large dinner rolls (we like King’s Hawaiian Rolls but you can use any roll of your choice )
1/2 lb. sliced ham
1/3 lb. sliced salami
1/3 lb. sliced provolone cheese
1/3 lb. sliced mozzarella cheese
12 oz. jar (2 cups) Italian Olive Salad Mix (we found a premade muffuletta spread in the store! )
Preparation
Take one package of the bread and cut the rolls in half horizontally. We pulled the individual dinner rolls apart first but you can just leave the bread whole – this is like a more traditional muffuletta loaf. Now layer the ham, mozzarella, salami and provolone in this order on the bottom half of the bread. Spread your olive mix on top of the meats and cheeses.
Replace the top part of the rolls. (Cut through the individual rolls if you started out with whole pack). Repeat this with the second package of rolls. Place the muffuletta loafs in a baking pan or a cookie sheet (or the metal pan the rolls came from) and completely cover with heavy aluminum foil.
Place the covered muffulettas on the highest rank of your oven, leaving space for the heat to circulate between the two pans. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
The recipe could also make a great appetizer. Check out the recipes below for other simple recipes from the “In My Purse” cookbook…
Bonus Recipes: 3 Quick Appetizers for Any Holiday Get-to-Gather
Jalapeno Poppers – Half and seed several large jalapeno peppers and stuff with your favorite cream cheese and herb blend.
Ranch Cheese Spread – In a bowl blend 3 oz. softened cream cheese with 1 oz. dry packet of Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing. Mix well. Serve with veggie slices, crackers, chips or thinly sliced bread.
Baked Shrimp – Place a dozen (or more) large peeled shrimp into a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper or seasoning salt. Toss to coat. Place shrimp on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until the shrimp is pink. Serve cocktail sauce.
In this week’s post, Mountain Made gallery is happy to share with you the unique ideas and artistic viewpoints of one of Asheville’s most eclectic artists, Tebbe Davis.
As part of as part of our continuing series “Inside the Artist’s Studio” , Tebbe has answered some of the most frequently asked questions people have about him and his artwork.
Tebbe says, “My background as a Photographer and Poet give me a perspective other than the literal; creativity frees us from the bounds of comfort and allow us to delve into personal and intimate understanding of the world around us.”
“We have all been placed in this life to explore and discover our Purpose; our voice, a vision and meaning to life. It’s as if the purpose of life is to discover the purpose of life. Its just that easy. The path to the end, which is NOW! (so far) is one of endless folly and experiment.”
“We are all Artists! You should want to place your signature on every day and then go get it framed. I would like to think that I pay attention with an ‘awake’ awareness and unique perspective that gives me the ability to tell stories with my Artwork.”
….
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~Pablo Picasso
Inside the Artist’s Studio with Tebbe Davis
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
To be happy.
When did you first realize you wanted to be an artist?
At age five I was sketching the scenes of rooms in our house.
How long does it take you to create one of your pieces?
It depends. Sometimes I can complete a piece in a few hours, other times it can take months because I will sometimes paint over a particular canvas – until I get the painting to look the way I want it to.
What is your schedule like when you are working?
I go out with my dogs at sunrise then paint in the mornings and in the afternoons I do business. After dinner I will sometimes paint again.
What would you say is your interesting quirk while working?
When painting outdoors I smoke cigars and when I’m inside I always have music playing in the background.
Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your artwork?
I am inspired by observations and emotions.
What do you like to do when you are not working on your art?
Work on crossword puzzles, and read history novels. I also like to hike and stroll.
What was one the most surprising things you learned while creating your art?
I found out that I love the smell of turpentine.
How many pieces do you think you have created?
150 to 200 individual pieces. This doesn’t include the pieces I have painted over and started again.
Which pieces are your favorites?
The ones that sell!
How do you decide on which ideas to develop?
Whatever works and keeps me interested. I love scenes of great depth
Do you hear from your fans? What kinds of things do they say?
I have a small group (12 -15) of people, from all across the country who have bought many of my paintings. And they have become close friends over the years.
What do you think makes good art?
Placement, perspective, the right color and strong geometry.
….
Well, we hope we have given you a better understand of Tebbe and his artwork. We now invite you to come see for yourself some Tebbe’s fine art paintings at Mountain Made, a downtown Asheville art gallery.
Comments Off on Firecracker Pottery by Patricia Van West
Artist Patricia Van West is best known here at Mountain Made for her unique, “firecracker” wall vases. She creates these one-of-a-kind ceramic vessels by molding clay around a live firecracker to get that explosive effects.
But recently she has turned her attention to creating these festive fall tabletop candleholder in her trademark style.
Check out them out below…click the images to enlarge.(more…)
Comments Off on “Bunker” a Poem by Nancy Dillingham
As you might know by now that our featured artist for the summer is Nancy Dillingham. Nancy is both a poet and writer and her work will be featured all summer as part of our Year 2020: A Public Art Project.
“Bunker” is the last entry in her first set of 2020 poems and one that we wanted to share with you.
Handcrafted Glass Christmas Ornaments & Holiday Décor A Wonderful Family Tradition Here at Mountain Made, we are proud that since 2010 master scientific glass blower, Jason Probstein has been presenting live glassblowing demonstrations here at our art gallery. And once again we are …Read More »
Bio/Artist Statement Asheville writer and educator Nancy Dillingham is a sixth-generation Dillingham from Big Ivy in western North Carolina. Her poems, short stories, and commentary …Read More »
We were all excited. The vaccines were coming … the vaccines were coming… Yay! Americans would start being kind to each other again. We would become a band of brothers and sisters – fighting the good fight against that awful COVID Killer. Then the news came from the CDC (US …Read More »
We should have expected it this year since it’s 2020 but holiday shopping is now worst then ever… Parts of the Internet keep crashing just when you need to get online. Postal package delivery has slowed to a crawl due to large volume increases in mail and a shortage …Read More »
Pottery pocket planters by master ceramic artist Tamara Matthews Tamara creates handcrafts each of her ceramic pieces. Her artwork is primarily used for home decor and architectural accents. She says, ” Nature has always been, and continues to be a source of inspiration for my work. Each of my [pieces] …Read More »
Watch Live Glassblowing Fun Things to Do in Downtown Asheville Yes, there are only 3 weekends left and we invite you come by Mountain Made and watch live glassblowing and gift shopping in the safety and comfort of our store. Jason Probstein, a master scientific glassblower will be here on …Read More »
Although our YEAR 2020 project is over and the resulting book published and offered for sale, Mountain Made’s artist of the year, Nancy Dillingham has written one more poem that we want to share with you, the public: Biden Time And hope and history rhyme. ~Seamus Heaney Voice quiet …Read More »
![[Still] Got Them Old Pandemic Blues – A New Poem by Nancy Dillingham](https://mtnmade.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Got-Them-Old-Pandemic-Blues-by-Nancy-Dillingham-1-e1609597961362-100x100.png)
