Spotlight on Andrea Designs

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I am a self-taught artisan who likes to dabble in a myriad of artistic mediums, but my favorite two are European decorative painting and stained glass. While living in Europe I fell in love with Bauernmalerei, the German word for primitive folk art done by peasants to enhance their functional household items. As we traveled from country to country I was intrigued with the different styles associated with local tradition and culture. This type of painting is all about color choices and brush control, forming stylized motifs by the methodical combination of brush strokes. To see examples of this style of painting visit my shop on Artfire and look in the studio section entitled "Folk Art Collectibles." My husband introduced me to stained glass in the early 80's as we made our Christmas gifts for family. Looking back, those were some ambitious projects for beginners (a Tiffany Lamp Shade for his parents, and seven 10"x12" window panels which we designed to fit the interest of each of our siblings). From the start I have remained captivated by each step of creating a stained glass piece, from engineering a new design that combines the need for structural integrity and artistic composition to the selection of the perfect piece of glass, from the sound of the score to the running of the glass as it breaks, from the precision of grinding to an exact shape to the meticulous application of the copper foil, from the manipulation of hot flowing solder to the magical effect of applying patina, from bringing out the vivid color and sparkle by polishing and buffing to hanging the piece in a window and soaking in its beauty as the sunlight brings the artwork to life. No matter what the artistic medium, for me the creative process is a spiritual experience that connects me to my Creator. I believe we all have that spark of the divine within us and finding our unique gift(s) and tapping into it brings joy into everyday living of life. As a columnist of HMN (HandmadeNews), I welcome “scoop” about what’s going on in the world of handmade from news releases about artists' events/promotions to new products or techniques, marketing tips and tricks, human interest stories about artists or artists groups/teams/organizations, unusually unique items you’ve discovered, or artists you think deserve to be recognized for their style/creativity/talent, etc. If at any time in the future you think you have “scoop” please send me a message on Artfire or a “convo” on Etsy and put "HMN Scoop" in the subject line . Want to see some of my artwork? Visit my online shops. I offer heirloom quality stained glass and hand painted folk art collectibles as unique gifts and home decor online at ByCoco on Etsy and Artfire.