1. Deborah Purtell

Deborah Purtell Designs
Age 62
Portsmith, New Hampshire

“I make needlepoint bags, apparel and housewares, as well as patterns for people to create their own. I’ve been designing them for years. My son went to Bucknell University and I did a needlepoint belt for him. Other people started asking for them and it blew up. I create the needlepoint designs on the computer and when I’m satisfied, I print it out and paint it by hand on a graph-like canvas. I sell on my website and five needlepoint shops on the East Coast. It keeps me busy, especially the past year since I put up a website. People have really started to find me.”
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2. Jeanne Scannell

Urban Wraps
Age 58
Newburg, Pennsylvania

“I’ve been making clothing since I was 12 and selling it at ‘hippie happenings’ and crafts festivals. I started getting serious in the 70s. I sold at the very first National Crafts Show in 1974. I was selling wraps two and a half years ago at the Lyndhurst Crafts Fair in New Jersey, and a very sophisticated European women came to my booth and said ‘I like what you’re doing but I want you to do it differently.’ Normally I don’t listen–I’m not in this business to please everyone–but she intrigued me. I made one the way she suggested, watched her put it on and my jaw dropped. I thought ‘Everyone is going to want one of these.’ I’ve sold thousands. I sew them from fabric remnants I get from the big NYC cutting rooms. Sometimes they are pieces left from Armani, Chanel or Loro Piana showrooms.”

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3. Mary “Mare” Lavan

Just Mare
Age 57
Pine, Arizona

“I was in I.T. for Intel for over twenty years, and then I took an early retirement about four years ago and moved to Pine, Arizona, a tiny town in the mountains. I always wanted to find my inner artist but never knew I’d find it in my backyard–literally! My neighbors were potters and gave me lessons. I finally got up the nerve to list one of my items on Etsy in October of 2007 and, ohmigod, it sold! I also do some local shows, sell on my own website and on Artfire.com. I’ve sold about 600 pieces of pottery. It’s my first creative venture. I get inspired by nature; I incorporate twigs and things I find on my walks.”
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4. Debbie Lippens

Lippens Design
Age 54
Orlando, Florida

“I used to work in the trade show business and visited Vegas a few times per year. On a trip there in 2007, I visited a junkyard called The Boneyard which has old casino signs from the 70s. I’ve always loved typography and photography – so I began taking pictures of some of the letters. I spelled out my daughter’s name, “Ainsley.” I was ready to leave but found out it would be thirty minutes before a cab came, so I began snapping photographs of every letter I could find. It ended up being almost the entire alphabet. At the time, I didn’t know what I was going to do with them. That holiday season, I made all my nieces and nephews (I have more than 20!) their own name signs. Other people started asking for them and I started to sell them through Etsy, local farmers markets and an artist co-op called Artistree. I’ve done affirmations like “Carpe Diem” and “Peace,” first names for children’s rooms or last names for wedding gifts.”
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5. Susan Morgan Hoth

Morgan Silk
Age 61
Richmond, Virginia

“I retired from teaching and have too much energy to relax and take it easy. I started MorganSilk, my hand-painted scarves, which I sell exclusively through Etsy and ArtFire. I am a one-woman operation and every scarf is handmade. Once, I took my work to a really upscale gallery and was asked if I use Photoshop. They got a glimpse of the back of my head as I walked away. I’ve had 399 sales from Etsy and 48 from ArtFire (but many were multiples that were counted as single sales). To get inspired, I wander around outside and then figure out how to get the idea onto silk. Sometimes I just let the dyes talk to me.”
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6. Ellie Wellstead

51 Greenwich
Age 53
Portland, Oregon

“Growing up, I did crafty activities from knitting sweaters for my teddy bears to silk-screening posters for high school drama productions to painting wall murals in college dorm halls. I graduated from Cornell University’s 5-year architecture program and after ten years working in several architecture offices, from Honolulu to Denver to Ithaca, I wanted a business that was more creative and hands-on. I started my company, 51 Greenwich. I cut, compose, layer, fold and weave recycled paper into cards, journals and other paper goods. I print patterns on them with soy ink. The name 51 Greenwich honors the street address where my mother was born in NYC and also the first location of my grandparents’ printing business, De Pamphilis Press. Right now I sell on Etsy, the Local 14 Art Show in Portland and a gallery in Connecticut called Artist’s Market. I don’t sell enough yet to make a living, but I am working towards it!”
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{Art} 7 FOF Artists and their Masterpieces

LEAVE A COMMENT 2010 July 28

Welcome to the MOFA: The Museum of FOF Art. We found these seven talented artists in the FOF community and asked each one to share the work she’s most proud of and why. Should your art be in our next roundup? Tell us, below!

1. “Deborah” by FOF Stephanie Fuller (Haitia Fuller Island Gallery)

“I have created 24 Deco divas as part of my series “Les Demoiselles.” When I was commissioned to create “Deborah,” I knew only 3 things about her; she knows everything about jewelry, loves the opera and has dark hair. I was told I “nailed her”…Wee!”
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2. “The Paris Apartment” by FOF Shann Spishak. Shann Spishak Studio

“The Paris Apartment is inspired by my love of Paris. Who doesn’t dream of spending the day, or every day in Paris shopping couture and stopping at patisseries for espresso and croissants? Afterwards, we’d head back to our fabulously eclectic Paris apartment decorated with vintage decor from a Paris flea market. On the wall is a large landscape from French Impressionist painter Claude Monet of his Giverny gardens with the water lily pond. Sit in the French style bergere chair upholstered in pink velvet, and browse through a Chanel bag for the days’ finds.”
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3. “Birch Trees” by FOF Debra Fink Bachelder. Binding Arts

“This is the first I painted without a reference…I got lost in the zone. It’s a break away from the traditional “British round brush” style paintings I first learned. (That’s when you paint a flower and it looks exactly like the flower). As I painted, I couldn’t find my glasses so I took a break to find them. When I walked back into the studio with them on, I was stunned. I couldn’t believe I painted it!”
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4. “Sunlit Geranium” by FOF Linda McCoy. Linda McCoy Art

This painting is one of my favorite subjects, Geraniums. I love their color! It’s so easy to pass by an object, remark “Oh that’s pretty,” but did you really look at it? Did you notice the way the sun passes through the petals? That the shadows are a deep rich color? That there are as many greens in the leaf as red in the flower? You may not have; but that’s okay, that’s my job.
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5. “Sentenced But Not Shamed” by FOF Susan Creamer Joy. Susan Creamer Joy

“Most of my paintings and drawings are done for others. But, occasionally there is one that is so much a part of me that almost from the first brushstroke, I know I will not part with it. This is one of those. She sits in wise counsel without judgment or rancor and holds me together with her peaceful countenance and wide empathy. I painted her as my son began a four-year cycle of abuse and arrest, culminating with a term in prison. The illustration accompanies a post I wrote called ‘Sentenced But Not Shamed’ about the most recent phase of my journey in this world I am still trying to understand and to accommodate.”
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6. “The Betsy Sofa” by FOF Suzanne Meyer Pistorious. BlugirlArt

“I found her at an auction house, no one wanted to make the effort to bring her back to her former glory. The more neglected a piece is, the more I want to save it. My inspiration for this piece was designer Betsy Johnson, and Betsy Ables-Kravitz, editor of New England Home Magazine, who has supported me from day one.”
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7. “PlasticFantastic” by FOF Suzanne Golden. Suzanne Golden Bead Art

“My work comes from spontaneous ideas or visuals that grab my attention. I then try and interpret those concepts into a three dimensional beaded piece. I’m always trying to push the boundaries of beading to express my creativity as fully as possible.
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Editor’s Faves: