Helping out artists
By STACEY KUKKONEN, DMG WriterArticle Photos
CALUMET - The 33rd annual Poor Artists Sale in Calumet Saturday went on without a hitch despite the snow blowing outside.
The sale, held at the Calumet High School gymnasium, featured artists and their work ranging from wood art to pottery and even repurposed goods.
Ansley Knoch, who sold repurposed bags at her stand, Rispok, said she saw a steady stream of people stopping to admire her booth. Knoch makes tote bags and hand bags from old plastic bags, mostly used once, and which would otherwise be thrown away.
"I didn't develop the idea of using plastic," she said.
Using between two and eight layers of plastic, Knoch fuses the bags together to create unique designs. The fused bags then become a material that Knoch sews together to make functional, long-lasting handbags.
"I spent a year and a half developing the process to use different types of bags," she said.
The bags are all unique, each displaying different or familiar designs, such as the logo from companies or wording that says, "Thanks for shopping!"
"This one here, I took a bag and I just folded it in three or I cut out the design and fuse it on," Knoch said referring to the handbags, which are fused with a layer of clear plastic bags over top. "I designed all of the bags themselves and they're all designed to be sturdy."
The only part of the finished product which aren't recycled are the handles and the zippers. Everything else is from independent, family-owned companies, she said.
"They take anywhere from 7 to 22 minutes to make, each," she said. "I make them in runs."
Located just across the aisle, Colleen Carroll was selling pottery necklaces.
"I take clay and form a piece," Carroll said.
From there, she fires it, stains it and incorporates crushed glass, which is then poured onto the necklace, which is then fired again. The finished product is a clay necklace hung from a cord featuring a shiny and colorful jewel-like glass center.
"I use different colors so then I can get different looks," she said. "The range of temperature that it fires to affects the colors, too."
Carroll said the earrings are usually a big hit because of the color and said people were inquiring about her jewelry at the Poor Artists Sale.
Beth Millner, a silversmith from Marquette who crafts handmade jewelry, also had a display at the Poor Artists Sale Saturday where she was also demonstrating her art.
With a wire brush in hand, Millner was finishing her fine jewelry for eventgoers to watch and also using a thin wire saw to cut out tiny birds and miniature landscapes in sterling silver, bronze and copper jewelry.
Starting with a photograph as a template, Millner said she creates functional silhouette jewelry to sell.
"I drill holes by hand and cut everything out with the saw," she said.
The process begins by drilling a small hole, then Millner threads the blade of the saw through the hole, and through a delicate process, creates a design.
"This is a really nice show and there's a great assortment of artwork and customers," she said.
Stacey Kukkonen can be reached at skukkonen@mininggazette.com.
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BuddyBoy
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12-07-09 7:43 PM
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Awesome. Sometimes you find the neatest stuff that someone made locally.
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