Glendale Handcraft Gallery LLC

The best thing about a gallery is meeting the artists.

This month we are spotlighting Amy E. Wallace and her beautiful jewelry. The colors and designs are crisp and unique. Time flies by when talking to this artist and the conversation is filled with plenty of laughs and smiles.

Along with her jewelry Amy makes elaborate buttons. The buttons will be used in June's project! I can see her buttons on knitted sweaters and hand sewn bags and even as a pin.

We are excited to have Amy's work at the gallery!!!

Amy E. Wallace

How long have you been doing art?

   Creating art is something I started doing very young....I remember drawing and painting and making things out of Playdough before I was 5 years old.  Every stage of my life involved making art in one capacity or another.  Polymer clay came into my life in 1995 and I haven't put it down since.

Where did you get the name Ovenfried Beads?

   When I worked at The New School (a Montessori elementary school in North Avondale) I asked the kids in the Extended Day room what I should name my bead company.  One of the teachers, local storyteller and teacher Omope Daboiku, said "Ovenfried Beads" and that was it.  Her suggestion was the first, and last, and it has been such a great name for my business.

Who inspired you to become an artist?
  

   My mom is an artist and she was clearly my first influence.  She always had markers, pens or pencils and a stack of paper handy.  Over the years I'd meet different people who encouraged me to keep creating.  My elementary school art teacher Sarah Jane Bellamy was a great influence, as she went out of her way to show me a glimpse of the world of art outside the classroom.

Where do you get your ideas?
 
   My ideas are heavily influenced by nature...and not just leaves or animals or clouds.  Coral reefs, microscopic images, patterns in bark, color combinations in flower blooms....all of these combined with my own imagination end up manifesting in some way in my art.  I also love to check out art books from the library.

When were you on HGTV and what show?

   I was on HGTV in May 2006 on "That's Clever!".  For the main segment I made one of my fabric coiled bowls, and for the "4th quarter" near the end of the show, I covered a lightswitch cover plate with polymer clay.

What is your favorite piece you created?

   There are several favorites in different mediums.  My "Snail and Snake" seed bead painting is one of my favorite bead embroidered items.  I have several drawings and paintings I keep in a portfolio that I'm fond of.  My bedquilt...the first one I finished.....is a piece that will stay with me for a while.  In polymer clay, probably anything made with good Stacker beads is my favorite!  I've learned not to get very attached to my pieces.

   OH....probably one of my favorite favorites is a large framed silhouette cut out of copper laminate that my boyfriend and I worked on together.  The silhouette is of a tree, and a person is sitting up on the branch.  Hanging from the branch is a swing made from antique found string and a piece of lead as the seat.  It's in my bedroom....has been on display just once.

Who is your favorite artist?

   My favorite artist is Aubrey Beardsley, 19th century illustrator who worked mainly in black ink on white paper.

Amy's Work