Live Our Art: Summer Celebrations

Friday, July 10, 2009

Summer Celebrations

Today marks the beginning of Fun Fest in Kingsport, TN. I actually took a week's vacation from my "nurse" job to spend Fun Fest with my/our boys. Although we will still have the gallery to run, we can enjoy some of the events of Fun Fest. Last weekend, we celebrated the Fourth of July in Downtown Kingsport. Below are some photos. Don't you just LOVE Summer? We do!

THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR HOME ON THE WEB!

Latest news:
New batch of cutting boards in the gallery! Come and check them out! They make great wedding gifts!

We have chosen our main platform as a blog to keep you updated on our progress and share with you our experiences as we start our own business, our journey to live our art!

We sell online at http://ripperarts.etsy.com/

You can also find us at these other web outlets:

Michael on MySpace
Talina on MySpace
Michael and Talina on facebook
Our PAGE on facebook become a fan!
On Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ripperarts

Visit us in person:

Michael's Studio located at
210-A Commerce St., Kingsport, TN 37660

Cindy Saadeh Fine Art (the gallery)
128 E. Market St., Kingsport, TN 37660

423.737.0445
828.406.1317

How we live our art...

As we live our art, we strive to support local and/or handmade. If that isn't possible, then will will buy products made in the USA. Now, this is something we just recently implemented in our family, but we feel stongly about it. Just as we hope others will consider our functional art to buy for their own homes or as gifts for others, we try to do the same. For example, we no longer do our weekly shopping at Wal-Mart, instead we choose to go to a local grocery chain. If possible, we no longer buy clothing at Babies 'R Us, Old Navy or Target, but instead, we buy handmade clothing from fellow Etsians online. We no longer shop for toys at Toys 'R Us, but from The Barefoot Chameleon, a local, small specialty shop across the street from the studio/gallery. We've met a few local Etsians who we now make routine purchases from. Margaret at Metime has some great handmade laundry and bath products that we use in our home daily. These are just a few of the specific examples of our new purchasing habbits.

THE 3/50 PROJECT
BUY HANDMADE
ETSY

Our Green Statement by Michael

My father and I have long talked about global warming. Ever since the early 80's, when he designed the Planet Earth series for Time Life Books, he explained to me what could happen if we ALL don't start doing our part. I long wondered what could be done, besides recycling that would really give some meaning to me. It all started when I was attending East Carolina University School of Art. In my wood studio class, there was a scrap bin that always had fantastic pieces of hardwood that students were just throwing away. Large scraps! Scraps that I could make something with! Well, needless to say, I collected and hauled these scraps around with me for 5 years! Then I finally decided to make cutting boards as Christmas gifts for friends and family as well as a few to sell for holiday money. As I gave them away and sold them, I realized that each of those boards had an amazing story behind it....one that would have never been told, had I not recycled all of that wood from the scrap bin! This has become my philosophy for everything that I make now. The wood that I use for my cutting boards is native Appalachian hardwood (Cherry, Maple, Walnut, and Poplar) mostly from Avery, Watauga, and neighboring counties. 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, I am helping to clean up our beautiful mountains, and prevent forest fires, but mostly, I am passing on nature’s beauty to someone else, and maybe, just maybe, they will think of something that they can do too...

The Basics

Michael and Talina Ripper met online and when they met in person, they knew they had found something special, a once in a lifetime love. Michael obtained BFAs in both Wood Design and Ceramics from ECU. Talina has always been a creative/artistic spirit, but has her BSN from ETSU and still works as an RN. Talina has three sons, Seth (17), Aaron (8), and Jacob (7). Michael and Talina have a son together, Quinn, who is 17 months. They are getting settled in their downtown loft just around the corner from Michael's studio and the gallery. Their dream of living their art is coming true!

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Friday, July 10, 2009

Summer Celebrations

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THANK YOU FOR VISITING OUR HOME ON THE WEB!

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