Fall and Winter events

Some of our upcoming Events:

October 30.   All hallows in Ole Longwood event- We will be open 10-5 and have a booth at the Bradlee McIntyre House which is the Longwood Historical Society Museum and is located behind our shop at 130 Warren Ave.  There will be vendors, Walking tours by City Officials, food and Drinks and Trick or Treating at Locals shops. 12-

 

 

November 12 - Yupo Night.  Yupo is a synthetic paper that has distinct differences from tree and plant-based papers.  It is waterproof, stain resistant, and extremely strong.  We will combine markers, watercolors and pencil on Yupo and experiment and explore its advantages and disadvantages.  This is not a formal class, and is extremely experimental.  Anything goes and no perfect products are expected!  Bring your sense of humor and leave home your expectations!  $10 each covers all supplies (a really great deal cause Yupo is expensive)  We have 14 spaces available but need you to sign up early so we can order the paper.  Simply email us Barbedwirebrowns@gmail.com

November 20 &21 Booth at the Longwood Fall Festival.  We will have a booth again near Wilma and Bay Ave as well as have the gallery shop open.  We look for a lot of community support during the holidays and this event starts off the season for us!  Stop by and encourage us friends!.  Well Red Designs and Care2Sew Quilts will be sharing our booth!  

December 4 -10-2 Is our annual Elves workshop.  This fast-moving workshop is all about making really awesome gifts for family and friends.  Kids 7-14 can come make unique gifts.  We encourage creating thoughtful and unique gift and being an active participant in the joy of giving! $30 per child.  Bring a brown bag lunch and a drink please. Sign up by emailing barbedwirebrowns@gmail.com

How to write an artist statement by example

photo taken by Claire Brown

 About the Artist:

Christine Carter Brown

Even as a small child I was extremely interested in learning how to make, create, and explore new things.  I made soap, taught myself to crochet and play instruments, made art from found objects, macramé, learned Indian beadwork on a loom, baked bread and so much more.  I just loved using my hands to create.  I went on to earn a BS in Studio Art from Towson University, with a concentration in metalworking.  I really have maintained that awe of creating ever since.  I have worked in almost every medium possible including, watercolors, oil and acrylic painting, textiles, quilting,  glass, sculpture, casting, and metals, welding, clay, wood, printmaking paper, and jewelry  I am also passionate about inspiring others and have taught art from the preschool level through college.  I have taught numerous workshops as well as afterschool programs, I believe that everyone is creative because they are made in the image of our creative God.  I love that the first thing God tells us about himself is that “In the Beginning He Created”  and we are his masterpiece! (Gen 1:1 and Ephesians 2:10)

Studio shelving from free materials

One thing that really gets us excited here at the Brown Homestead is finding the materials we use in our projects!   We recently found a number of dresser drawers being thrown away at a local hotel and with some pallets we picked up from around town we were able to build wall to wall and floor to ceiling shelving in our art studio.  We wanted a way to see more of our supplies so we did not spend so much time looking for just the right thing all the time.  Since we all like to make things in our studio the hope is that it will be easier to keep it organized. So for the cost of the nails and screws, and our time we were able to put together a really useful wall of shelves. This would be great for a garage too!

One thing to learn about is how pallets are marked.  Their are codes on them that tell you if they have been chemically or heat treated so look into that by searching on your computer before you start a project!

How we got our pop up shop!

Before it was ours, when I saw our vintage Apache Ramada camper In very sad shape in the neighbors yard I started to get an idea...an idea that, even though my husband has been hearing my crazy ideas for over 25 years now,  made his jaw drop.   I can still picture him stamping his foot as he said he would have no part in this one, and I almost gave up right there.

 Now I had already been longingly gazing at vintage trailers and girlie campers, but knew they were out of reach, those cute Air streams and Shastas cost a good amount of hard earned money, but what about an abandon pop up camper that needed a ridiculous amount of work, Could it be cute?  Could it be a way for our creative bunch to share our vision and art with others! I thought it just might work.  So, I made a very special dinner and when my husband was sitting back full and content I made my move.  I usually just blurt things out but I waited for a good moment this time, (I had seen this camper) Now I wasn't expecting his reaction at all.  I thought he would catch the same fever I had already caught right away. He had not seen the Pinterest boards and the magazine articles,  but...he had already seen the camper, He already knew that what I call sad shape was really much worse.  I am not sure why he
changed his mind but I can tell you that after a few months of working all day Saturday, I had lost some of the dream and was kicking myself big time for letting my impulsiveness drive me.   This is something I have learned about myself and my husband.  I am great at getting an idea and jumping in, then I second guess myself, doubt and fret a bit when it takes longer than I thought.  Now my husband is cautious  at the beginning because he likes to have all the facts before starting and his impatient wife wants to just start, But then he gets going on the idea and stays steady working it unto fruition and inspires me with his love, loyalty and kindness.  The more we see how our differences compliment each other then we are free to appreciate those differences.  I know I need to research and have some answers for him upfront and he is getting better at learning as we go and letting mistakes be part of the learning process.  We can laugh and relax about how different our approach is because we know our destination is the exact same place!  Now that the project is done and we can look back to see what we learned, I will have to say he became a serious woodworking machine, we found out that pallets are an incredible free building material and that spurned on what I will tell you about some other time....a studio makeover with pallets!

Working on the inside with one of my girls!

All Done!

Thanks so much Scott!