An Interview with Trudy Litto

web site: Trudy Litto pottery, www.americanwheelworkspottery.com

What are you bringing to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale?
Trudy Litto: After many years as a production potter, making complete dish sets and all sorts of serving pieces, I am doing these things now, only on order. I will, however, be bringing my most popular item, the Yunan steamer, which is the healthiest way to cook and serve grains, vegetables and so many other good combinations of foods. My main focus now is making unusual floral containers,.and I will be bringing these, and demonstrating with live flowers, just how easy it is to do arrangements that will show off even just one or a few flowers.

What is your process and/or inspiration?
Trudy Litto: I mostly use a stoneware clay fired to high temperatures in a large gas fired kiln. I also like to do special pieces in the fascinating process, raku. Some of my work is done in a wood fired kiln, which can produce interesting glazes. I do a lot of one-of-a-kind sculptural containers, using slabs of clay, extrusions and wheel thrown combinations.

What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Trudy Litto:I am an avid gardener and I love to cook. These are what inspires and directs my work. I have designed what I have needed to cook and serve the foods I like to cook. I have been a member of the Federated Garden Club for many years and about 10 years ago, I became interested in studying Sogetsu, a form of Ikebana, the Japanese method of flower arranging. I have attended many workshops and taken classes in this discipline, all of which has had a great influence on my work.

An Interview with Nancy Noble Gardner

web site: Fine Art Photography by Nancy Noble Gardner, www.floppypoppy.com

What are you bringing to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale?
Nancy Noble Gardner: I'm bringing my best color photographs, large and small, as well as greeting cards. My images are macro photography of flowers and seashells; in some, I used a kaleidoscope filter. I also have photographs from Greece, including seascapes, icons, and statuary. I've greatly reduced the prices on most of my photographs, which start at $25.

What is your process and/or inspiration?
Nancy Noble Gardner:
As I create an image, I celebrate and pay homage to
my subject. It is my way of saying "thank you"
for the perfect, momentary gift.
My lens is the window to another world, where
visual subjects mingle with feelings and memories,
and metaphors are born.
Like dreams, I photograph to transcend, rather than record.
When I am fortunate, my images venture beyond words,
and become a mirror of my soul.


What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Nancy Noble Gardner: I'm fortunate to photograph and exhibit on Martha's Vineyard in the summer. I've made 15 trips to Greece, where I've had two exhibitions and been published twice in Odyssey Magazine. My greeting cards won an award at the National Stationary Show and I received a grant from the NY Foundation for the Arts. I'm happy to be a part of the Albany Holiday Studio Sale, as I love working within a community of other artists, where I am inspired by them and can enjoy meeting the public.

Quote from The Times Union on the Albany Holiday Studio Sale

Life & Style Section:

"...Shoppers looking for hand-crafted gifts for the upcoming holiday season may want to check out the Albany Holiday Studio Sale taking place ... at the Woman's Club, 725 Madison Avenue., in Albany..."

725 Madison Avenue - The gracious site of the Albany Holiday Studio Sale

The site of the Albany Holiday Studio Sale is a gracious mansion near the corner of Albany's historic Washington Park. The mansion at, 725 Madison Avenue, was built in 1895 as the residence of Joseph Steefel, one of two brothers who owned a clothing store on State Street in Albany. The impressive Chicago-style prairie/mission, three-story brick building has a prominent front porch and is attached to its twin building by a side porte-cochere. In 1972, The building was included in the Washington Park Historic District, which is on the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places, and is designated locally under the City of Albany Historic Resources Commission Ordinance.

Directions and Map

Directions to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale at 725 Madison Avenue:

From I-787 take the Route 20W exit. Proceed west on Route 20W west (Madison Avenue) to South lake Avenue, on the corner of Washington Park. 725 Madison is the brick mansion to the right. Free parking in the lot behind the building.

Work by C.A. Foster of Bininger Road Studio

Albany Holiday Studio Sale artist C.A. Foster

An Interview with Loretta Fontaine

web site: www.lorettafontaine.com

What are you bringing to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale?
Loretta Fontaine: I'll be bringing my award-winning fine artisanal jewelry in sterling silver and 14K gold with miniature original photography. I have some special new earrings and necklaces that I'm designing that use black and white photographs I took of a fern combined with shimmering green peridot beads. For special holiday gifts, I can incorporate a client's photograph into any of my designs.

What is your process and/or inspiration?
Loretta Fontaine: I have a background in architecture, and I enjoy working details out on a small scale. I do all my own metalwork and take all of the photographs that are used in my jewelry. I'm inspired by natural forms and shapes and the patterns found in wallpapers and fabrics.

What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Loretta Fontaine: A member of the Woman's Club of Albany, I volunteer to help run the Albany Holiday Studio Sale. (10% of artists sales, and all proceeds from the raffle and the Spotted Dog Cafe benefit the programs of the Woman's Club.) I can also juggle flower sticks and bake a mean focaccia.

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog of The Albany Holiday Studio Sale!

We'll share news, interviews of participating artists, and photographs of the beautiful jewelry, ceramics, fine photography, mixed media, wood, fiber, clothing (and chocolate!) you'll find at the 4th Annual Albany Holiday Studio Sale, a Splendid Show and Sale of Art & Craft in Albany held in a gracious 1895 mansion to benefit the programs of the Woman's Club of Albany, New York.