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| Local artisan featured online this month By Stacy Trevenon [ stacy@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 9:42 AM PDT Terri Carol of El Granada thought she was just pursuing a new hobby when she took up jewelrymaking in 2001. Two years later, she took a class in how to make lampwork beads, and it bloomed into a business. She sells her work at local art festivals including the Pescadero Art and Fun Festival, and at her online “store” through ArtFire.com, which awarded her the Featured Artisan Status as of Sept. 4. ArtFire is an online marketplace through which artisans from around the world showcase and sell their handmade work. Its members can set up a virtual online studio and sell work without evaluation fees. Being selected as a Featured Artist means that Carol and her work will be featured on the ArtFire site throughout September. “I’m thrilled to be selected,” Carol said. “Hopefully (the selection) will bring interest in what I do and in my work.” Pursuing her craft with the support of her husband and family, Carol forms lampwork beads using glass rods and a torch. She decorates the beads with more bits of glass, to fashion flowers, fruits and attractive shapes. She makes those shapes into necklaces, earrings and bracelets, and also into wine stops and bookmarks. “Art … is a huge part of my life. It’s my passion,” she said in an interview posted with photos of her and her work at ArtFire.com. “In this economy, it is important to support individual artists rather than large importers,” said Tony Ford, executive vice president of ArtFire, in the same interview. “Terri stands out from the artisan crowd due to the excellence of her craft and her unique personal story,” said ArtFire President John Jacobs. Carol said she was among the first artisans to sign up with ArtFire.com. She estimated that about a third of her work is sold through the site, and the rest at art festivals and through the Senior Coastsiders holiday boutique. |