Posts Tagged ‘handpainted ornaments’

Finding Navaho Ornaments

Friday, August 13th, 2010

The workmanship of some of the traditional Navaho ornaments is matchless. 

Navaho Ornament by Carrie Taylor  Navaho Ornament by Robert Charley  Navaho Ornament by M.Yanito Dineh

We stumbled upon Robert Charley in the Four Corners area of the United States in May.  We traveled down a little dirt road at the point where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet on the Navaho Indian Reservation.  It was a beautiful clear day which we were told was a rare thing in that area as they get a lot of dust storms.  At the end of the narrow road, there were a few vendors set up with traditional Navaho art work and we spent a nice afternoon chatting with Navaho ornament artisan Robert Charley who has literally carved his own niche in the world of Native American ornaments with his arrow ornament designs. 

Mr. Charley learned to make arrows from his grandfather who traded with other tribes to get the obsidian that he needed for the tips of the arrows.  A process of flaking is used where the obsidian is hit at an acute angle and chipped away.  The obsidian becomes even sharper than a metal blade.  The native tribes in that area also used jasper, chalcedony, basalt and other hard minerals for the arrow tips which were struck with antlers, bones, wood or other rocks so that they were fractured into the shape and size needed for the arrow.  Once the tip was shaped, it was carefully chipped or ground, and today Robert Charley actually dulls the obsidian for the ornament arrows because of the safety issue. 

The Native American ornaments also have a spiritual significance to the Dine or Navaho culture.  It is said that the hand painted arrows hung over the doorway of your home offer protection for your family and all who enter.  Each ornament decoration has a different meaning with a lot of symbolism attached especially to color.  An arrow with a black feather can mean male as well as night or darkness.  Blue stands for female, sky or water.  An ornament hand painted in green signifies earth or rain.  Red represents sunset, and yellow is the symbol of day and sunshine.  Dots painted on an ornament symbolize day and night.  The four colors used to make the ornaments are also a symbol of protection from all four directions.  

 East – Black or Red     South – Turquoise     West – Yellow     North – White

Robert Charley says that he can sell all of the arrow ornaments that he can make and he doesn’t have a web site.  However, he did say that he welcomes calls to 970-739-2503 from individuals as well as stores that might have wholesale needs.   You may also contact him by email at RobertCharley@ymail.com .

Article and images used with permission from Robert Charley 

Ancient Artistry of Egyptian Glass Ornaments

Friday, May 28th, 2010

These beautiful glass ornaments were once reserved for princes. 

 Glass Christmas Large Ornament 0080   Glass Christmas Animal Ornament 0021

The handblown glass ornaments made by the artists at Sama Ornaments reflect a grace that has been handed down for many generations.  Medium Glass Ornament 0058The ancient craft of glass blowing was developed in Mesopotamia and Egypt in the 2nd millennium BC and has evolved into a modern and efficient technique that allows the beautiful ornaments to be sold today at an affordable price.  Once cost prohibitive for everyone except for princes and the very wealthy, most of the ornaments now are sold for under $20 US.  The staff at Sama Ornaments has also written an excellent history of Egyptian ornaments. 

The hand-made glass ornaments are made in Egypt using a high quality heat resistant glass and 24k gold to embellish the details of the glasswork.  All of the designs are created in house with more than 200 new ornament and perfume bottle designs every year.   The artisans at Sama Ornaments are also willing to design new shapes with new dimensions to please their clients. 

Small Glass Ornament 0024 During the glass blowing process, there are several quality control points, assuring that the design that is taking form is the intended size and shape.   Completing the glass ornaments involves several steps and each of the steps may be performed by a different artist or technician.  A glass blowing technician begins heating and shaping the glass and does not use any molds.  There may be several pieces that are worked on, depending on the intricacy of the design.  The craftsmen begin etching the ornaments and the artisans paint the designs.  Now the ornaments are ready to be heated for 5-6 hours to set the colors.  After cooling, the Egyptian ornaments are painted with gold and then heated again.  Subsequent quality checks for bubbles, color and over all design are made before the ornament is ready to be packaged by Sama Ornaments.

Article and images used with permission from SamaOrnaments.com

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Handpainted Ornaments by Self Taught Artist

Friday, May 14th, 2010

“Necessity is the mother of invention.”

      

It was around 400 BC that Plato said necessity is the mother of invention, but that maxim could easily apply to the early days of FMH Collectibles.    Self taught artist and owner Frances McFarland began painting ornaments because she wanted to give Christmas presents to her family and friends at a time when her funds were very limited.  What was unlimited was her creativity and passion for art, and that boundless artistic ability took shape in the form of beautiful handpainted glass ornaments.  There seemed to be no end to Frances’ resourcefulness. 

Frances McFarland Horne still credits her family with planting the seeds for this thriving ornaments business. Her mother suggested she create custom ornaments for family members one Christmas, just after Frances had finished grad school and money was too tight for Christmas shopping. From then on, Frances painted ornaments and tailored them to each family member. A few years later, her brother started pushing her to go into business after she gave him an ornament representing his fraternity, and her father extolled the advantages of e-commerce.

Frances finally followed her family’s advice in 2009. She applied for licensing from several Greek-letter organizations and began building her website, and a family tradition became an online business.  FMH Collectibles was “invented” out of the need to create personal ornaments as gifts.  Although much of her made-to-order work is for fraternities and sororities, the handpainted glass ornaments can be personalized for wedding favors, birthday gifts, graduation gifts and class reunions.   

Custom ornaments are available at the FMH Collectibles website for anywhere from $15.00 to $30.00. Discounts are available for larger orders, and a wholesale program is available for retailers. Visit the site to order your ornament, and become a fan of her page on Facebook to receive updates.

Article and images used with permission from FMHcollectibles.com. 

 

 

Amazing World Globe Ornaments

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Unique Christmasphere™ ornaments are the prettiest learning tool ever!

     

Whether you are introducing geography to a class of fifth graders, or you want to impress your boss with a unique desk ornament, you will enjoy visiting World Globe Universe and choosing a patented globe ornament in your favorite color.  The handblown ornaments are an appropriate gift for almost any age and occasion, and they reflect your interest in the world and education.  With dozens of hanging globe ornaments in a variety of colors and sizes, you may decide to do all of your birthday shopping for the year.  Having a generically wrapped World Globe Ornament on hand is a super idea for unexpected or forgotten occasions,  and buying an extra globe ornament might just save you a frantic rush to the mall someday.  Keep extra ornaments available to present to graduates, teachers, or for anyone that you want to say “thank you” to in a special way. 

 Designed and crafted in the USA, each Christmasphere ornament is hand silk-screened on the interior surface for long-lasting beauty. The  special process of blowing each sphere gives the colorful ornament the look of glass with the strength and durability of acrylic.  You can complete your gift with a  graceful display stand to show off the heirloom quality ornament. 

The Gemstone Christmas Globes™ are also earth themed ornaments and are available exclusively at World Globe Universe.  Each of these Magellan ornaments are meticulously handcrafted with semiprecious gemstones, and each stone is cut by the artisans to resemble the continent it represents. After the continent stones are affixed to the sphere, the resin based oceans, latitude, longitude and place names are added and the entire globe is sealed in a transparent, high gloss polymer coating. Presented in a beautiful gift box, the total effect is stunning, and there are more than a dozen colors and color combinations of gemstone globe ornaments from which to choose.

Article and images used with permission from WorldGlobeU.com.

Signature Ornaments by Gorky Gonzalez

Monday, February 1st, 2010

The ceramic ornaments are handcrafted in the studio of Gorky Gonzalez

 in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The colorful handcrafted and handpainted ceramic ornaments can be purchased online at La Casa Mexicana for $18 each.  The ornament supply is limited, so hurry if you want to add several Christmas ornaments or spring ornaments to your ornament collection.  The Gonzalez studio produces ornaments for many occasions and the red and green or red and blue heart ornaments are just perfect for a Valentines Day gift.

As the son of sculptor Rodolfo Gonzalez,  ornament artist Gorky Gonzalez  studied sculpture and casting objects in bronze and lost wax with his father. Later he worked in the village San Miguel de Allende at the School of Arts and the Allende Institute, where he built an artistic foundry attended by both student and professional sculptors.

Gonzalez also founded a small workshop of terra cotta manufacturing in the village of Marfil where he reproduced Jean Byron’s designs. His main interest, however, has always been rescuing the traditional majolica. Majolica refers to a type of pottery that is glazed with tin oxide to produce a soft white color.  Intricate designs are painted on the background with other metallic oxides.  These handpainted designs often change colors when the pottery is fired, making each ornament unique.   The name Majolica actually comes from the Spanish island of Majorca, where this style of pottery was exported to Italy beginning in the 15th century.

Currently, Gorky Gonzalez works with his son in his studio in Mexico where they continue to produce unique majolica ceramic ornaments.  You will want to see more of his ornaments as well as many of his other designs and creations at La Casa Mexicana.  You can also learn more about majolica and other Mexican handcrafted art on Wikepedia.

Article and images used with permission from LaCasaMexicana.com

Free Personalization on over 1000 Ornaments!

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

Family owned business personalizes ornaments for families around the world.

     

No matter what the size of your family, TreasuredOrnaments.com has the perfect ornament for you.  They have ornaments for single parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, families of 12, and everything in between.  Ready to personalize, each polymer-resin ornament is carefully designed to suit every family’s needs, but some of the ornaments are so cute, that you may want to purchase them without personalization.  Their center for selling ornaments is at the Merced Mall in Merced, California.  Online for 6 years, they are set up to ship ornaments worldwide. 

 In addition to traditional family ornaments, they have a nice collection of licensed ornaments from Elvis to Betty Boop to Coca Cola, and these unique ornaments can all be personalized as well.   There are also plenty of children’s ornaments available, such as Hello Kitty, My Little Pony and many of the characters from Sesame Street. 

You won’t be disappointed in the customer service at TreasuredOrnaments.com either.  They are committed to their customers and want to make sure that you are 100% pleased with your personalized ornaments.  With free personalization and only 3 days lead time before shipment, this is a wonderful source for ornaments for every holiday.

Article and images used with permission from TreasuredOrnaments.com

 

Best Handblown Glass Christmas Ornaments

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Unique glass ornaments are the most sought after ornaments this year.

        

At Ornaments.com, we hear from hundreds of gift buyers and collectors.  Many are looking for personalized ornaments, but almost everyone wants at least a few traditional glass ornaments for their Christmas tree.  We are picturing just a few of the favorite choices for handcrafted sphere type ornaments to add to the holiday spirit.  With a variety of ways to display ornamentsicon besides the traditional Christmas tree, you can keep these designer ornaments up year round to extend your holiday celebrations. 

Christmas is a season of goodwill and cheer.  Getting together with family and friends at this special time of year is something that everyone looks forward to.  Gathering around a Christmas tree decorated with beautiful ornaments and with good food and friends makes the season complete.

Christmas is celebrated around the world.  However, each culture has their own traditions. Many families gather together to decorate the Christmas tree with their favorite ornaments and to share precious family moments. It builds lasting memories that are cherished year after year and adding a special ornament each Christmas or adding a new ornament to celebrate the milestones of the year adds to the family traditions. Christmas decorations come in many shapes, sizes and colors.  However for those with  sophisticated tastes, hand painted blown glass ornaments are an excellent way to add elegance to any Christmas tree.   Tastes may range from a monochrome of  one color to a splash of festive colors and there are hundreds of wonderful vendors on The Ornaments Directory to choose from. 

Common themes for hand painted blown glass ornaments are Santa, Angels, Poinsettias, Snowmen and bells, but many artists also design in an impressionistic or artglass style, leaving the interpretation up to the viewer. The glass ornaments are crafted by artists whose delicate touch creates exquisite masterpieces that are treasured through the years.

Although ornaments are associated with Christmas, handblown glass ornaments are created for every season and occasion. Handpainted and handblown glass ornaments add a touch of class to any occasion. Collectors anticipate adding new and beautifully handcrafted pieces to their collections. Many of the handblown ornaments are signed by the artist to give it a uniqueness that is second to none. 

If you are still Christmas shopping, picture your gift recipients receiving one of the exquisite handblown glass  ornaments December 24.  There is still time for them to enjoy the ornament through the holidays, and they will remember your thoughtfulness when they unpack the ornament each year.

Personalized Ornaments, Figurines and Villages

Monday, December 14th, 2009

Customized ornaments at their best…..

     

Design artist, Duke Marcoccio started My Little Town in 1999.  His first village piece came out in 2004, which was the Narragansett Towers porcelain lighted building.  Duke says that the success of that one piece inspired him to come out with several other porcelain buildings in the following years.  A Rhode Island native, it was in 2007 that he decided to create an ornament collection of Rhode Island icons.  The overwhelming response to those ornaments helped Marcoccio to realize that this was the new direction for MyLittleTown.com.  Now his personalized ornaments and villages are so popular that he has a hard time keeping up with the demand on several pieces. 

The creative customized ornaments and village pieces that are offered here are very unique and Duke says that he wants the public and businesses to know that he can create almost anything as an ornament.  He is already taking orders from businesses and groups for 2010.  Many businesses send the customized ornaments of their building, trucks, products, or logos as corporate gifts to their valued clients.  The customized ornaments also are a great fundraising idea for churches or schools. 

Every piece is designed personally by Duke Marcoccio.  The ornaments are made of resin because you can get the most detail from this material as apposed to porcelain.  He has used the knowledge from his degrees in art as well as in photography and design and has paired that knowledge with his natural talents and creativity to develop this truly one-of-a-king website.

Duke’s favorite design is the Blizzard of 78, because it’s the most creative and he wanted to recreate the way so many of us went shopping during the blizzard.  He says that at the time it was almost like a living Norman Rockwell experience.

However, the most popular ornament on MyLittleTown.com seems to be the U S Navy Fighting Seabee. Marcoccio tells us, “This piece reaches out to a global audience and happens to be the most intricate piece I have created, along with taking the most time to create.  The average ornament takes between 5 – 7 months from start to finish. The Seabee took me over one year to perfect.  I am a perfectionist and try to show as much detail as possible, right down to the correct PMS colors (pantone matching system).”

Take a look at MyLittleTown.com now to take advantage of several ongoing promotions and to see the distinctive style of customized ornaments, villages and village accessories.

Article and images used with permission from MyLittleTown.com

30 Handpainted Victorian Christmas Ornaments

Monday, November 30th, 2009

Romantic pink rose ornaments for your sweetheart!

The handpainted Victorian style ornaments designed and crafted by Debi Coules are irresistible!  They are so feminine and pretty that I want them all.  They are the perfect addition to a guest bathroom and of course they look fabulous on a traditional Christmas tree.  There are so many ideas for a subtle Victorian touch, and you are probably thinking of even more.  Debi’s ornaments would add a nice softness to an evergreen tree and even a pastel colored artificial Christmas tree with pink and white lights sounds very appealing with a few of her handpainted ornaments creatively placed. 

  Designing and creating is Debi Coules’ passion and she studied art at Syracuse University to enhance her natural talents and graduated with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts.  In case you haven’t guessed it by looking at these pretty pink ornaments, Debi is a true romantic at heart.  She says that she tries to evoke a feeling of romance in everything that she creates and she often uses nature as an inspiration.  Give in to your true romantic spirit and gift your sweetheart or yourself with a divine pink Christmas ornament.

Article and images used with permission from DebiCoules.com

 

Custom Ornaments – Art Collectible Ornaments

Friday, November 13th, 2009

Mention Ornaments.com to get Free Shipping on Art Collectible Ornaments!

All of the Art Collectible Ornaments found at OrnamentsMV.com are designed, sculpted and painted by artist Mark Venaglia in his Burbank, CA studio. Mark says that he is his own slave labor, often utilizing paintbrushes with two hairs and hand applying glitter imported from the far corners of the globe. No molds exist for any ornament or tree topper. Every Holiday Art Collectible is unique, and is created as an original work of art, then signed and dated. The more traditional ornaments are hand painted on mercury glass harvested from Discovery Thrift Stores. Vengalia utilizes casein fresco paint, local business Nova Color’s acrylic mica paint, and Trompe L’oeil techniques to alter the sphere in any way that he can.

As depicted on the website, OrnamentsMV.com, each ornament comes with an individual Certificate of Authenticity. The sculpted pieces combine Florentine plaster (it more effectively holds the carved details) and domestic stucco with several types of papier machie. Reclaimed phone books and cotton T shirts are shredded to make the papier mache.

Though Americans certainly value artists, original works of art only find their way into about 2% of our total population’s homes. For the majority, Christmas trees provide the only experience for owning original works for art. Mark says that the love and care that people demonstrate with his Art Collectibles Ornaments often surpasses how some collectors treat the paintings that they’ve acquired from him.

Mark Venaglia tells us that it is Christopher Radko who elevated ornaments to a collectible level. Expanding beyond Radko’s tradition, Mark designs and creates complete trees, which dramatically represent the life of the person or family commissioning the ornaments. Even the most exclusive tree designers cover their clients’ trees with ornaments available to everyone else. No molds exist for any ornament or tree topper that Mark Venaglia creates. Typically, eight weeks are required for this exclusive artist service.

As an Art Historian, Venaglia also enjoys including additional depths of meaning in each ornament. Working at The Getty, and hosting art tours in every major museum in LA, art history comes alive on each Art Collectible. The matilaja poppy ornaments he creates are also very popular. Along with the orange California poppy, both of these native botanicals appear on ornaments as painted garlands or sculpted flowers with petals unfurling.

The custom ornaments typically start at $185 per work of art. Tree toppers are acquired for $500-$2,000. Amazingly, hundreds of these Art Collectibles have been shipped all over the world, and not one breakage has ever occurred.

Be prepared for a breathtaking experience when you visit Mark Venaglia’s Art Collectible Ornaments! Don’t forget to mention Ornaments.com when you order, because Mark has very generously offered free shipping on your commissioned ornament when you tell him you read this article.

Please email Mark Venaglia to receive free shipping on your custom ornaments.

Article & images used with permission from Mark Venaglia.