MCAC

Metuchen Artisans Alliance invites you to the Alliance Studio Tour on Saturday, October 16, 2010 from 2 to 5pm beginning at the Old Franklin School 491 Middlesex Avenue. There will be a digital presentation by the artists and continuing with tours of Earthsongs Studio: Works in Clay 242 Amboy Avenue and Paradise Custom Stained Glass at 19 Wilmer Place.

[box type=”info”] Saturday, October 16, 2010 from 2 to 5pm beginning at the Old Franklin School 491 Middlesex Avenue.[/box]

This free event will include refreshments and live music.

For more information, contact: Amy Spaans Brooks (Paradise Glass) at paradisescg@verizon.net 732-762-0062 OR Linda Vonderschmidt-LaStella (Earthsongs) claysongs@aol.com 732-906-4137

Metuchen Artisans Alliance

Beginning in February of this year, Amy Brooks and Linda Vonderschmidt-LaStella have met monthly at Brewed Awakening…first, in an effort to simply meet regularly with a fellow artist who works independently, and secondly, to see if there would be any way they could collaborate. They felt that the art forms in which they specialize are significantly different from those of painters or collage artists or graphic designers and need a different approach to marketing and client development. Since both were full-time artists, they decided it would be worth their while to form a small collaborative: and so Metuchen Artisans Alliance was born!

Their first local event takes place Saturday, October 16, 2-5pm with an “Open Studio Tour”, beginning at the Old Franklin Schoolhouse, where the artists will introduce participants to the processes involved in creating their very distinctive art forms, along with a digital gallery of their previous work. That will be followed by a tour that includes refreshments and live music at each of their studios.

Linda & Amy worked hard for months to design signage and displays for the Home Show, Sept. 11-12 @ the Garden State Convention Center, Somerset, where they began their collaboration as the Metuchen Artisans Alliance.

“Forming an alliance with Linda has been very rewarding. The union of clay and glass has many unique opportunities for decorative pieces as well as one-of-a-kind functional creations, asserts Amy. “Combining our materials, creativity, and experiences is leading us in many new and exciting directions.”

“We are artists, but we are also artisans,” acknowledges Linda. “Both Amy and I seem to have a very similar approach to creativity and business practice, and so collaborating like this is very exciting. Beginning this project with Amy has added to my creative energy in the studio.”

Earthsongs Studio: Works in Clay

Earthsongs Studio, established by Linda Vonderschmidt-LaStella and Nino Pasqual LaStella in 1993 is located in the heart of a small town, Metuchen, NJ. The couple’s desire was to both create a working studio as well as an oasis of peace in the midst of the frenzy of life in CentralJersey, and so their 80 year-old house and garage were distinctively painted, gardens and a pond created to attract visitors even before they got to the studio.

Earthsongs is a fine art ceramic studio, producing custom ceramic installations, specializing in wall works: one-of-a-kind tiles, wall sculptures and permanent murals. It is open to the public for browsing, as well as a place where Linda, the ceramist of the pair, gives classes and workshops. A native Baltimorean, Linda is recipient of numerous grants and awards for her work both with the arts and with education.

Paradise Custom Stained Glass

Paradise Custom Stained Glass is a small, woman-owned business in historic Metuchen, NJ offering personal art glass products and service. We recognize that art, especially glass art, is very individual. Therefore our studio provides full-service design solutions and production options offering the finest in all types of glass artwork. That’s what makes Paradise Custom Stained Glass special.

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