How can you show love for the  person or persons you love and at the same time help out someone that has been affected by the COVID shutdown? Maybe you could buy some artwork and support an artist? Art Happens on Tarboro is full of local artists' work and they would not be your typical Valentine's gift. These are just a handful, there are 100's of items to chose from. Stop on by and check them out before you head to a big box store. Support local artists! 

Thank you and Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!
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I am blessed to have two studios. One at my home and one at Art Happens on Tarboro.

My home studio is in the largest bedroom. When I moved into my house I wanted a studio to work in so I set up my jewelry and mixed media studio in the bedroom. I thought I was going to convert the garage into my stained glass studio. It has a wood floor, no electricity, no heat or ac- yes all that can be upgraded. I ended up buying the storefront on Tarboro Street in Historic Downtown Wilson- there I have my stained glass and teaching studio as well as a gallery of local artists. Both studios are my happy place! 
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Above are photos of my home studio, just finished cleaning it. It normally looks lived in and worked in!

My workbench at Art Happens on Tarboro and some gallery photos.

I love have places to work, when I am home I can create any time of the day or night and when I am Downtown I have a huge space to work and share art with visitors.

I started out in a 5' x 8' potting shed attached to the back of a garage with no electricity, just an extension cord. Now I am in a 1900 sq ft studio! Came a long way but it took many many years.

What does you work space look like? What do you call it? Studio? Workspace? Tell me about it and share photos if you like.

Happy Creating! And have an artful weekend!

My stained glass art is influenced by the styles of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Frank Lloyd Wright and William Morris. They are not all stained glass artists but I love their style of work. Each different in their own right.

When starting a stained glass piece, mostly the glass "talks" to me and lets me know what is going to happen. Yes I know that sounds a little wacka doodle but it is how I work. I have one piece of glass that I have not cut in 16 years, I have pulled it out for projects but it "tells" it is not the right time or project. I have pieces of glass from stained glass artists that have passed and they had them since the 1940's and 1960's- hard to part with theses pieces of glass making history.

I like to work from nature and from line design. I guess you could say I do not have a set style, it is all an experiement waiting to happen. I do like to look at others' work, to see what their story is. My story? I am all over the road! I have a secret, I use the colors in birds and woodlands a lot in my work.

Each new stained glass class coming in has the hardest time picking the glass. There are so many choices and you can see the angst they go through. Until they start cutting the glass they can change their mind, afterwards they stick with their choices.

I am the same way, I pick more glass then I need and then sit with it and look to see if they will be good neighbors and it meets the design correctly.
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First you cry then you pick yourself up. Let's walk through the process.

When someone calls me or brings in a broken piece of stained glass art, I first take a look at it- just an overall evaluation of the piece. Next I mark each broken piece with a sharpie with a number, this way I know how many broken pieces there are and they are marked so I do not have to look for them again. Then I figure out what kind of glass it is- true antique or present glass (1970's to today). Do I have the glass? Can I get replacement glass? Is it lead work or copperfoil? How hard is it to get to and replace the broken pieces? Does the whole piece need to be taken apart to to repair it?

I know that there were way too many questions in that paragraph. It takes some detective work to figure out the process from start to finish and I just wanted to give you a peek behind the process.

As a base line I charge $50 for the first piece and $25 for each addition piece. The amount of damage also may make the piece not repairable, both glass wise and financially. It is hard when someone comes in with a piece their parent made or that has been in the family forever and they want it repaired and when they hear the cost they are devastated again.

I have had people sign up for a stained glass class so they could learn to do stained glass and try their hand at repairing the piece themselves.

If you do have a stained glass art piece that needs repair please email me at kim@kimsjoy.com or call me at 703-623-0905 for a complimentary estimate of repair. 

HERE’S HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A STAINED GLASS PIECE OF ART. (This is cut and pasted from a handout on stained glass care that will be going home with each piece purchased or commissioned from Art Happens on Tarboro.

HANGING A SUNCATCHER:  I RECOMMEND THAT YOU HANG YOUR PIECE SECURELY FROM A STURDY HOOK THAT HAS BEEN SCREWED INTO A SECURE MATERIAL, LIKE A WALL STUD OR WOODEN WINDOW FRAME – SOMETHING THAT ISN’T GOING TO FALL DOWN. I AM NOT A HUGE FAN OF SUCTION CUP HANGERS ATTACHED TO WINDOWS.
 
CLEANING: THE STAINED GLASS PIECE YOU HAVE PURCHASED HAS BEEN CLEANED, THEN COMPLETELY PROTECTED WITH A WAXY SEALER THAT IS APPLIED IN ITS SPRAY LIQUID FORM, IS LEFT TO DRY, AND IS THEN BUFFED AND POLISHED WITH A SOFT, DRY RAG. ASIDE FROM A GENTLE DUSTING, YOUR PIECE MAY NEVER NEED TO BE CLEANED. I DON’T RECOMMEND USING WINDOW CLEANERS OR OTHER CHEMICAL CLEANERS ON ANY PIECE OF STAINED GLASS, SINCE THEY MAY DAMAGE THE LEAD, SOLDER, GLASS AND INTEGRITY OF THE PIECE. 

WHITENING OF SOLDER LINES: I CLEAN THE PIECE BEFORE IT IS SEALED. HOWEVER, FROM TIME TO TIME, SOLDER OR LEAD WILL OXIDIZE AND LEAVE A WHITISH SUBSTANCE ON ITS SURFACE. GENTLY WIPE WITH A BRUSH OR A NON-ABRASIVE PLASTIC POT SCRUBBER TO REMOVE THE “WHITE”. (NEVER PUT ABRASIVE STUFF ON YOUR GLASS PIECE. IF YOU CAN’T GET THE “WHITE” OFF, CONTACT ME.) 

TWICE A YEAR, I RECOMMEND YOU RE-SEAL THE PIECE SO THAT IT’S PROTECTED FROM “WHITEN”. GLASS SEALER IS AVAILABLE AT ART HAPPENS ON TARBOR. I SPRAY THE SEALER ON A SOFT RAG AND THEN POLISH THE METAL AND GLASS SURFACES FOLLOWED BY A SOFT DRY RAG TO BUFF IT.​

TOUCHING YOUR GLASS PIECE:  STAINED GLASS PIECES ARE PUT TOGETHER WITH SOLDER THAT CONTAINS LEAD. EVEN THOUGH EACH PIECE IS SEALED WHEN IT’S FINISHED, I ALWAYS SUGGEST THAT YOU DO WHAT I DO AND WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WARM WATER AFTER CLEANING/ HANDLING ANY STAINED GLASS PIECE. LEAD IS A HEALTH ISSUE WHEN INHALED OR INGESTED. WASHING YOUR HANDS AFTER HANDLING IT IS CONSIDERED SUFFICIENT PRECAUTIONS TO PREVENT UNWANTED EXPOSURE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL ME 252-650-2530 OR EMAIL ME kim@Arthappensontarboro.com or kim@kimsjoy.com.










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Update from Art Happens on Tarboro: due to contruction the studio will be open by appointment only, just call Kim at 252-560-2530 to set up an appointment for supplies of gifts. I live close by so I can be there quickly.

Classes will be held in January, following mask wearing and social distancing.

I want to thank all patrons and students for all your support this past year. Thank you for being part of the Art Happens on Tarboro family.

Wishing you all the best in the last few days of 2020!

Happy New Year to all! Hoping that 2021 will be the best it can be for everyone!
​Kim

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Great news for us all! The Grant for the Facade Rebuild for Art Happens on Tarboro was approved! The contractors have been chosen! Work begins Monday December14!

Finally after 317 days work will begin! What does that mean for visiots and students?
Visitors will have to call to make an appointment and classes will go on as scheduled. If you want to sign up for a class be sure to call me at 252-650-2530 to confirm that we can still use classroom. Just to be safe.

I plan on being here some of the time to work and of course.... supervise! That is my goal in life. No actually I will try to do some of the work to keep costs down,

I will post photos of the progress on our Facebook Page.

Stay safe!
​Kim

I guess winter is coming, this morning it was hard to get out of bed and touch the cold hardwood floors to let Fred out. And then when we went for our morning walk I was glad to have hiking boots and gloves on. Brrrr! Luckily I have forewood already stacked and set to go. I did think about a fire in the fireplace last night when it was 37 but opted out because I would have to go out and carry wood in. Yes I am a weenie!

Fall has been good for me- classes, commissions and sales are picking up. I even took a class myself....... hold on for it...... welding! Yes I took a welding class at the Wilson Community College. We just finished this week. Learned oxy/acetylene, stick and MIG welding. I loved them all but my favorite is oxy/acetylene... love to turn and burn! Made a dog out of scrap steel and started on a bicycle wheel spinner that will have stained glass in it. Lots of practice pieces that I kept (to put in my scrap book!- just kidding!)

This afternoon I close on the loan to do the repairs to the facade.... finally. It has been exposed since February 8. I can not wait for the job to be done! The front has looked like hell for long enough and I will be happy not to have buckets in the window during rain storms and having to come empty them in the middle of the night.

I finished the commission for Barnes Corner Gallery. The number sticker has to be removed so it can't be seen. I love the cardinals. It was fun to work with Pegi Barnes Sharp designing and hanging these three pieces.

How was your Thanksgiving? I hope you had a wonderful meal. This has been a different year for all of us for sure. I am so thankful for all my family and friends and the ability to work with my hands and keep busy. I am even in a book club!

What do you have planned for the holidays? I was not going to decorate my house but I now think I will. It just would be sad not to. Even if it is just Fred the Studio Dog, Wesley the Studio Cat and me.

Hope you are all well and staying safe.

Remember keep art in your heART.
​Kim

The number one question customers ask me is....

Is it hard to make stained glass?

The answer is sometimes depending omn the glass you work with. Youghiogheny is beautiful glass that is shale like- layers and a little brittle ans can spinter when you break it.

Really doing stained glass is not that hard. When you start out, picke easier patterns and non expensive glass, this will make it easier on yourself. Ask questions, it is better to ask them than not to ask!

When I teach stained glass classes, I do not hover over them but give guidance when needed. The best way to learn is by doing and making some mistakes so you do not do that again.

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American Craft Week comes to Wilson!

Art Happens on Tarboro, joining more than 200 retailers and art institutions nationwide in celebration of American Craft, will be hosting workshops and demos October 2-11, 2020

Open to the general public during these workshops at 106 Tarboro Street Wilson NC, this American Craft Week will feature jewelry classes, stained glass classes, mixed media classes and various demos.

American Craft Week, now in its 11th year, is an annual coast -to-coast recognition of the makers, retailers, collectors and exhibitors of handmade craft. “We’re passionate about the exceptional value, enduring quality and cultural significance of handmade American craft”, says Diane Sulg, co-chair of the campaign. “In a society filled with machine-made things, we need to support the talented and dedicated people who create decorative and useful goods by hand.”

Art Happens on Tarboro supports American Craft Week because public awareness of the local crafts scene helps sustain jobs for artists and their businesses. There is a local return on that investment: in many towns, the arts help promote economic development and tourism. Art Happens on Tarboro is a multiple arts and crafts gallery and teaching space.

For more information about the American Craft Week celebration at Art Happens on Tarboro call Kim at  252-650-2530 or visit www.arthappensontarboro.com and go to American Craft Week tab. For a complete list of American Craft Week public events taking place locally and nationwide, go to www.americancraftweek.com