Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Featured Artist Tuesday!

....Hello there! I am very happy to say that "Featured Artist Tuesdsay" is back and running....



Today I have the honor of featuring a wonderful woman who has been through it all; up and down.....It sounds to me like she had the calling to "make people beautiful" through her creations since a tot....so reward her for all her dedication and hard work by reading her feature and then visiting her links....
~Peace~





Cathy Cooley proprietor of Catyannes Creations!

Growing up I never considered myself an artistic person. Mama was an expert seamstress and made all our clothes, so it was natural that I learned to sew at an early age. Unfortunately I was never as good as Mama. In my early 20’s I took an interest in crafts and tried my hand at crochet and counted cross stitch. Neither held my interest for long periods of time. Having married a historian, quilting seemed fascinating and I gave that a shot, making a full size quilt for our bed. But soon life got in the way. There were kids to raise and a full time job; and my crafting days became sporadic at best.

But the kids grew up and flew the nest and I gradually found myself with small bits of spare time. I don’t remember exactly what inspired me to start making jewelry. As I recall it was quite by chance and a “spur of the moment” thing. In the beginning, about 5 years ago, I started making little things for myself; mostly bracelets and necklaces, nothing fancy or elaborate just glass and plastic beads strung on a wire. At the time I thought they were beautiful. But we’re talking “self-taught” here and I didn’t even bother to read a book! But soon after I started making gaudy trinkets, my time was consumed by something else.


In July, 2007, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The following 2 years were devoted to doctor’s appointments, chemo, surgery, radiation, reconstruction and most of all…healing! March, 2011, will be my 2 year “cancer-free” anniversary!!

By summer of 2009 my life slowed down and I once again found spare time on my hands. The previous two years had changed my entire outlook on life. I found myself looking for the beauty in everything life has to offer. Once again I was drawn to designing jewelry. Only this time I found beauty in gemstones and crystals, lamp work and pearls. Don’t ask me where I get my inspiration because I have no idea. When I see beads or stones I like, I buy them. Eventually they find their way to my design tray and become beautiful treasures.
I
n August, 2009, I opened my first online shop on Artfire and shortly after found Zibbet. Since then I took the “Etsy” plunge and also started a blog and my own website. The inspiration for my shop name??? Simple, my given name is Catherine Annette, which I shortened to “Caty Ann” and “Caty Ann’s Creations” was born. In addition to my online shops I try to do as many local craft shows as time allows, usually in the weeks before the holidays. You can follow me on Twitter, my blog, and Facebook.
Here is where you can find me online:

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