Not only is Cindy the building and current gallery owner, she is also a fellow Etsian! I thought I would feature her work on our blog today. Here is a little bit about Cindy from her web site http://www.cindysaadeh.com/ take a moment to visit her web site and see additional works by her.

Visit us in person at 128 E. Market St., Downtown Kingsport, TN Hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10-4.

A special thanks to Elle Custom Jewelry and Laura for the Home Decor feature! Michael’s boards look lovely, and I notice by chance that they coordinate well with the blog’s background. Elle Custom Jewelry has a gorgeous Etsy shop! This Romancing Necklace is just one of my favorites…

He has been in his studio for a week now (since we got our occupancy certificate, aka OC) getting his wood equipment cleaned up and running, organizing his tools, and even managing to design and cut some mahogany knives! He is even working on displays for my crochet chokers. I love my baby! He is such a hard worker! I have been leaving the gallery at 2, to go to my job as a nurse, and it is then he takes over the gallery and entertains Quinn. Considering the actual hours he is been in his wood shop/art studio, it is AMAZING the work he has gotten done! He took these pictures:

We celebrated our first sale at Cindy Saadeh Fine Art (brick and mortar art gallery) opening week! Paul and Amber Vachon were our first official customers. We’d like to say thank you and link to their Downtown Kingsport business Appalachian Medical Massage Associates. They purchased the cutting board pictured. See more of Michael’s cutting boards in the gallery located at 128 E. Market St., Downtown Kingsport, or online at http://ripperarts.etsy.com/.

This week, I learned the CORRECT way to write a press release. I followed step by step instructions on http://advertising.about.com/od/pressreleases/ss/prlayout.htm. I then submitted my press release to two sites:

I received a Google Alert from http://www.your-story.org/ the next day, but I have yet to see any results from openpr. Another thing I have learned along the lines of FREE advertising. Other merchants are a great resource. We have opened in Downtown Kingsport. Meeting other downtown merchants has been most beneficial, and they truly share in our excitement! The shop across the street The Barefoot Chameleon has been sending shoppers our way all week. Thanks Gwenn!

Last weekend, I crocheted, and crocheted, and, well, you get the picture. I made several chokers, each in a different color. I also have designed ANOTHER crochet piece, but you’ll have to wait for a later post debuting it. Anyway, back to the chokers. They are fun to make and definitely fun to wear! You can dress them up or down. They are a simple, handmade, piece of art. Most of them are mercerized cotton with a few exceptions. Check them out!

Official Press Release:

MORE ART COMING TO DOWNTOWN KINGSPORT, TN
Artists Cindy Saadeh and Michael Ripper open studios on Commerce Street

Kingsport, TN, April 21, 2009

Saadeh is a native of Winston-Salem, NC. She had the fortunate opportunity to study with artist Richard Palomino in Montpellier, France for 2 ½ years. Palomino is self-taught in the Dutch Master technique. He made all materials by hand, including grinding and mixing pigments, stretching canvas with rabbit skin glue, and making mediums out of copal and amber. She learned the technique of painting with “glassis”, or thin layers of paint to achieve depth in the painting. During this period she painted mostly still lifes set up with one light source as the Masters did. These early works were extremely realistic. Upon Cindy’s return to the US, she moved to Charleston, SC for its rich abundance of subjects to paint, from historical architecture to beautiful marshes. After painting for many years, she has developed a softer, less realistic and more interpretive style. Cindy now resides in Kingsport, with her husband, Kris, and their son. She is excited about bringing more fine art to the area and providing opportunities for interactive learning through painting classes.

Ripper recently moved to the Tri-Cities from Avery County, NC. He has a formal education in the arts with a BFA in wood design and a BFA in ceramics, both from East Carolina University. Michael has always found an amazing beauty in nature, especially right here in the heart of the Blue Ridge. This is where most of his inspiration comes from. With his woodwork, in particular, Michael designs and arranges the grain of every species of wood so the viewer can see the real beauty and uniqueness of each piece. Whenever possible, Michael uses native Appalachian hardwood (Cherry, Maple, Walnut, and Poplar). Some of the wood is lumber that has been cleaned up from the many wind storms and floods. By using this wood and other recycled wood, he is helping to clean up our beautiful mountains and prevent forest fires. Through his art, Michael wants to share with other people the beauty that he sees, in just one very small piece of these glorious Appalachian Mountains. Michael, along with his wife Talina, their small son and her three sons, are thrilled about moving into their downtown loft and living their art in downtown Kingsport.

Both Cindy’s and Michael’s Studio are located at 210 Commerce Street, Downtown Kingsport. Art is on display and for sale at Cindy Saadeh Fine Art 128 E. Market St., Kingsport, TN 37660 Additional contacts Cindy Saadeh 423.782.9451 or Michael Ripper 828.406.1317.www.cindysaadeh.com

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On Sundays I blog about things I am grateful for. This week I was touched by the short-lived life of Kari. She was the daughter of a local cardiologist who works for the same health system that I do. Please visit Kari’s site http://www.karisheartfoundation.org/

Here are some recent pictures of my family, which I am ALWAYS grateful for!

On Easter:

Celebrating Michael’s 40th birthday: