Phenomenal Artists Create New Works That Move, Inspire and Set Your Imagination on Fire

Before we begin a few things to note: 1. If you did not have the opportunity to read yesterday's Artist PlayDate with a wonderfully talented artist named Anna, please check it out. She also responded to comments in the comment section. 2. To all the artists who wrote because they could not submit this week due to life, illness and vacations (so jealous you did not take me! Haha) we will miss you and see you next time. 3. I am so sorry that you have to scroll through the submissions again when you leave to visit shops. As Thursday Sweet Treat has grown, I find it's time to take this to another platform. So, stay tuned for changes as I create a more user-friendly site for artists and all the fabulous folks who are coming to view these works.

Now, I have to tell you this week's work rendered me speechless. As each piece arrived my excitement grew because I noticed something aside from the incredibly gorgeous use of color in these works. I noticed that artists who have been here for the last few weeks were growing right before my eyes. They took greater risks here. It was like watching the birth of butterflies. AND the new people who arrived were so clearly stretching their imagination and letting themselves have a blast. All of the work of these artists is exquisite, moving, beautiful, awe-inspiring and unforgettable. I guarantee you will not be able to forget these works. You will come back. You will visit their shops again and again. You will fall in love. This week these artists created gorgeous, professional pieces that will set your imagination ablaze with color.

I proudly present....Dreaming in Color.

Rue, creator of Peaches & Kream, created "Needle Felted Doll - Leila". http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5055314

"No longer content merely to dream in color" said Rue, "Leila has resolved to live in color as well."

http://ruetabega.etsy.com/

Sarah Ohme, creator of Oh Me Oh My Design, created this fantastic piece titled, "Teagan", which is an Irish girl's name meaning 'poet.' http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21147352

"The concept of color is forever entwined with texture, composition, shape, and light for me... none can fully show their splendor without the other elements coming into play. Teagan was a total indulgence to create, and I had so much fun getting lost in it. It was a pure daydream, blending rich, subtle colors and textures to create an ethereal-yet-rooted aesthetic," said Sarah. "It reminds me of evenings, late in the spring, sitting in the grass, watching the sun go down. The colors of the sky are almost palpable... I wanted to capture the moment when it seems like the most natural thing in to world to reach your hand up into the sky and expect those brilliant golds and blues to stick to your fingertips like paint."

http://ohmeohmydesign.etsy.com/

Talented artist Maureen created this vibrant, beautiful journal as she was inspired by Persistent Green's journal last week, and Natasha's in an earlier week.

"Journaling for me is where dreams are helped into reality, or sometimes kept alive until their time has come," said Maureen.

http://aquamaureens.blogspot.com/

Elizabeth, creator of Moon of Glass, created this exceptional "Flower Garden Vase". http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21090481

"Well, this is a pot melt drop ring. That means it takes two firings, so it spends about 24 hours total in the kiln. The first firing is where I "make" the glass. I put a lot of colorful scrap glass in a flower pot, paying attention to color and placement, then suspend the pot above the floor of my kiln. The glass melts and forms a circle of one of a kind glass. Then, I suspend the glass once again on a ceramic ring, where the bottom drops out, forming the vase shape you see," said Elizabeth.

http://moonofglass.etsy.com/

Ceridwen, created of Wanderlust Bling, created this phenomenal piece titled, "Fit for a Queen."

"I've been working so much with bright colors for spring in the past few weeks, but for this I was drawn to jewel tones - emerald, sapphire, amethyst and garnet spoke to me the most, so I chose 9 different shades of embroidery floss and braided them together. Then I added a drape of garnets and purple glass beads and a fall of faceted crystals and round beads in peridot, amethyst, lavender and aquamarine. The whole effect is nothing I would have put together normally, but I'm quite taken with the results. It's regal and funky at the same time and is so colorful it makes me happy to look at it," said Ceridwen.

http://wanderlustbling.etsy.com/

Felicia, creator of Fish Princess Designs, created this lovely piece titled, "Twilight Time."

"When I read the theme this week I let my mind wander-The song “Twilight Time” came into my head.

Heavenly shades of night are falling, it's twilight time Out of the mist your voice is calling, 'tis twilight time when purple-colored curtains mark the end of day I'll hear you, my dear, at twilight time.

I went through my beads and found the most delicious shades of blues and purple fresh water pearls-deep, rich colors and mixed them with iolite and amethyst beads, iridescent fresh water pearl spears and these funky round coin beads I had found in my favorite bead store. I combined them into a triple strand necklace that explodes into the colors of “twilight time,”" said Felicia.

http://fishprincessdesigns.etsy.com/

Michelle Ciarlo-Hayes, creator of MKC Photography, created two incredibly stunning pieces.

Image One: "Bubbles"
This image is based on an actual dream I had - everyone is welcome to read the whole, rather funny, story at: http://mkcphotographybymichelleciarlo-hayes.blogspot.com/2009/02/story-behind-picture-bubbles.html

Image Two: "Flying in the Stars"
"This second piece is something I've been imagining for quite some time - I'm in love with Philip Pullman's trilogy of books that begins with "The Golden Compass." It is my dream to set sail in a balloon on an aeronautical adventure like the characters in the book!" said Michelle.

http://mkcphotography.etsy.com/
http://www.mkcphotographybymichelleciarlo-hayes.blogspot.com/

Joyce, creator of Happy Cloud Moments, created these gorgeous "Twinkle Twinkle Earrings." http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21142565

"Who said the night sky has to be black and white?" asks Joyce. "It's filled with the most beautiful colors!"

http://happycloudmoments.etsy.com/

Mia, creator of Mia's Graphic Designs, created this lovely piece titled, "Wings of a Dream."

"I really wanted to give it a very deep feel to it, like it was bottomless as the seas," said Mia. "I also wanted to give this airy, dreamy sense to it as well, so there came in the wings, and the eyes say it all, dreaming is a way of looking inward to our souls. So it's really about the bottomless that is our subconsciousness."

http://miasgraphicdesigns.etsy.com/

Salvaged Expression created this exquisite necklace that glows in the dark!

"This is definitely a project where everything came together," said Salvaged Expression. "I had only just gotten many of the bits and bobs to make this choker and was aching to use them though I wasn't sure how. Your inspiration photos were inspiring indeed so I decided to pay homage to the aurora's by making the necklace glow in the dark. The half moon shape of the pendant even reminds me of the curve of the earth while the big pony beads keep things playful."

http://salvagedexpression.etsy.com/

Gabrielle J-C, creator of Art Therapy, created four pieces titled, "Dreaming in Color series #1-4."

"I could not pass up the theme of this week's challenge! I was so inspired, I created four mini paintings (ACEOs) - all acrylic on matboard," said Gabrielle.

http://www.arttherapy.etsy.com/

Amanda, creator of Persistent Green, created this magnificent "Wild Cover journal."

"This tenacious little book took on a life of its own," said Amanda. "I was thrilled to find such perfect clippings to mirror this week's theme, but discovered that I'd run out of my usual amazing adhesive. I tried using something different, which was a complete failure--or so I thought. After a while, I began to love the bumps and buckles in this journal. The creative life often brings its trials and frustrations, but how will I choose to face them? Will I gripe and moan about not being perfect, or choose to grin and hang on for the wild ride?"

http://persistentgreen.etsy.com/

Tiffany, creator of Love Peace and Dye, created this incredible "Dreaming in Color with Obama Dramatic Party Dress From Totally Recycled Fiber."

Dreaming in Color with Obama :)

"color me stunned and dazzled

by all the red white and blue flashing lights

in the american intersection

where black crashed head on with white

comes a melody

comes a rhythm

a particular resonance

that is us and only us"

- ani difranco Grand Canyon

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21219457

http://lovepeaceanddye.etsy.com/

Ruth, creator of Allover Art, created this fabulous "Cosmic Blueberry Lemonade Hand-Painted Art Pendant Necklace". http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=21222305

"I LOOOOOVE bright colors so it was hard to pick just one piece to submit. So many of my pieces have bright colors in them. I especially love the contrast of bright colors, so I decided to pick this piece, my Cosmic Blueberry Lemonade Hand-Painted Art Pendant Necklace. I think I'm going to make a piece for myself similar to this one because it's definitely an eye-catching piece," said Ruth.

website: http://www.alloverart.net/

blog: http://www.alloverart-nc.blogspot.com/

shop: http://www.alloverart.etsy.com/

Janie, creator of Lifeartdesigns, created this gorgeous beads.
http://lifeartdesigns.etsy.com/

Kelly, creator of kpdesigns07, created this unforgettable 5x7 original painting with black matte background and bright neon textured forefront titled, "Neon Moon".

"I started out with just a black canvas....where to go from there? How about a stripe of lime green....Fabulous. Next? Teal streak and spots. Even better! The deep purple and hot pink rounded out my color pallet nicely. Perfect, fun, and super-textured!

http://kpdesigns07.etsy.com/

kpdesigns07.1000markets.com

Kelly, creator of Backward Glances, created this truly fantastic photo and poem.

"I'm not real sure exactly where it came from, but it kept running through my head, so I'm submitting a poem and an accompanying photo," said Kelly.

http://backwardglances.etsy.com/

http://mackin-art.blogspot.com/

Dreaming in Color

they talk you know…

especially at night, tucked away in their bottles and bags and tubes.

and they spend a lot of time bickering and complaining…

“should have used us, what was she thinking”

“we’re the favorites”

(and they’re right, the greens ARE my favorites)

“she bought more of those!”

but eventually they quiet and drift into sleep…

and with sleep comes dreams

and did you know…

beads dream in color.

Felicia Kramer, creator of Another Bright Idea, created this stellar piece titled, “Carousel Dreams”.

"This carousel horse is a favorite photograph I took a few years ago. It’s digitally altered with other photographs and backgrounds from my collection," said Felicia. "Thank you for the weekly inspiration – I actually had to choose between three different pieces that I created for this week’s theme! This is giving me the creative push I needed."

http://anotherbrightidea.etsy.com/

Theresa, creator of WoodNGoods, created this stunning "Celtic Warrior mirror".

"I believe your dreams are a reflection of who you are, and only you can make them come true. I found some of the more colorful woods in my shop to make this mirror," said Theresa. "The satin wood, purple heart, oak, and red exotic wood are all natural colored - no stains or dyes were used in the sun. "

http://woodngoods.etsy.com/

Allison, creator of AllyBu's, created this lovely tote titled, "Everyday Tote in Summer Fun".

"As far as the theme, looking at this bag makes me dream of warm weather, easter egg hunts , daffodils and lilacs. Everything spring!" said Allison.

http://allybu.etsy.com/

Lada, creator of Works and Finds and Ladaworks, this incredible new pendant titled, "Chasing the Butterfly”.

"I actually dreamed about color because it’s snowing (AGAIN!!!) here in Illinois. When my eye landed on these pictures in craft store I knew instantly what I’m going to create with them. I couldn’t wait to be home, forget everything around (the reorganization mess) and get working. Here is first of my new pendants," said Lada.

http://worksandfinds.etsy.com/

http://ladaworks.etsy.com/

Anna, creator of When Life Hands U Lemons, created two extraordinary pieces. The first is a colored pencil drawing titled, "Dreaming in Color" and the second is a necklace titled, "If happy little bluebirds fly over the rainbow, why can't I?"

"I was excited to find your blog and its my first week participating. My usual art medium is making jewelry, but I took the challenge of dreaming in color to challenge myself in a different way," said Anna. "This is a colored pencil drawing of me "dreaming in color" - of beads, sunshine, babies, and more! It was so fun to do something just for the fun of it! Then I took the challenge to my "regular" medium, jewelry, and came up with another rainbow of color. I call this necklace, "If happy little bluebirds fly over the rainbow, why can't I?" Thanks for the challange!"

http://whenifehandsulemons.etsy.com/

Kim, creator of Twisted Thicket, created two phenomenal pieces.

"The first one is an abstract dancer; actually Michael Jackson in one of his steps for "Dangerous". The second one is an abstract, Musical Dreams," said Kim.

My New Art Fire Shop ~~ http://twistedthicket.artfire.com/

My Website & Blog ~~ http://twistedthicket.com/

My Shop on Etsy ~~ http://twistedthicket.etsy.com/

Follow Me on Twitter!~https://twitter.com/airbrshldy

Alwaysadorable created this gorgeous, colorful piece titled, “Imagination’s Slumber”.

"The mind is an amazing and intricate place, where imagination and dreams roam free; where color takes to life with great sweeping motions to reach the deepest secrets and the brightest memories and pour them out one dream at a time," said Alwaysadorable.

http://alwaysadorable.etsy.com/
http://alwaysadorable.artfire.com/
http://alwaysadorable.blogspot.com/
http://alwaysadorable.byhand.me/

Talented photographer and artist JenGer created these three amazing photos.

"While it may be the antithesis of this week theme, the color white popped into my mind.( often in my dreams Im wearing white) I digitally manipulated some recent snow pictures that I had taken, and while these three photos arent meant to go together, they are all somewhat dream like to me. I had a nice realxing time working on them :-)" said JenGer.

Now tell me, were you not moved??

Please share your thoughts, ask the artists questions, leave a comment and some love here. Then, go visit these artists at their shops and blogs, share some more and tell a friend!

Thanks so much for visiting!!