More from Mike and me

Here are the two latest monuments Mike carved. I did a peacock on a chicken egg as a special order. Mike's got lots of orders he's working on and I'm getting ready for the Christmas season.

Still Working......

Here's the latest pic of the angel Mike is working on.

What Mike is up to

Mike has just begun carving this monument. Someone wanted to order this monument from China, but the cemetery would not let them put a Chinese monument in their cemetery. They were looking for someone in the USA to carve it. After two monument dealers told them it COULDN'T be done in the US, the cemetery told them that they could order it here. Now Mike is carving it for Century Granite.

Grapes!

We've been harvesting our grapes. It's the first time we've made our own grape jelly! mmmmmm

The Big Crafty

We were up in beautiful Asheville, NC at The Big Crafty on July 11th. It was a great show with lots of cool stuff. By the time I got out to Mike to get a picture, he had already sold most of his things.

re-cut Mary and new garden sculptures

Mike's been busy carving new garden sculptures and he's re-cut a bas relief Mary he carved a year ago. He and I will be at The Big Crafty in Asheville, NC on July 11th.

Mike's latest

Comer Farmer's Market

May 15th at the Comer Farmer's Market. From top down, pictured are: Jenny Ortman with produce from Jubilee Partners, Matt Gallagher with Blue Moon Farms, Jose Castro with his wonderful breads and pies, Leslie Chandler's homemade biscotti, jams, jellies and lemonade, market minstrel, David Court, who entertains with mountain dulcimer and harmonica, fanciful tea cups and bird houses by Barbara Bendzunas, Brittany Childs with her delicious goodies, blown glass by Paul R. Bendzunas (1st pic) and Josh Molliere (2nd pic) who create their graceful wonders at the nearby Bendzunas glass studio, intricately woven pocketbooks and scarves woven by Sai Meh, a Karenni woman from Burma who is presently staying at Jubilee Partners (one pic is of Sai Meh and Christine Dyck demonstrating the weaving technique).

Also pictured: David Harris with blueberries ready to plant (706-255-9993), Jonette Bell of Zoei's Artwork with fabulous smelling soaps and other fun surprises, Mark Davis with natural soap products and blacksmithing items, Diane Perry's beautiful jewelry (bracelets and rings, as well as earrings and other non-pictured items), bright happy art by Deena Parham, and eggs and egg jewelry by me (Stephanie Astalos-Jones).

Mike and I had a good show in Atlanta, but I forgot the camera (d'oh!), so have no pictures to show. I'm now in Asheville. Tonight, April 24, Lisa and I will be performing, "It Was Open Mic Nite At Ye Olde Rustic Inn" at the BeBe Theatre. 20 Commerce Street Asheville, NC 28801-3306 - (828) 254-2621

If you're in the area, come on out!

Bad blogger

OK, so it turns out I'm a pretty bad blogger. I don't know how people have time to blog about what they're doing while they're doing what they're doing. Since my last entry I've produced a play that I created by interviewing residents of our county and taking their life stories and combining them into a play. It was a wonderful experience. We've had a public art show in our home featuring our art and the art of neighbors and friends. My writing partner and I have performed in Atlanta. My husband and I are in training to become CASAs (court-apppointed special advocates). A CASA works with children in foster care to make sure their voices are heard by the judge while decisions are made about their future. Also, Mike's become a city councilman and is busy with city business and we're both working with other folks to try to fight the establishment of a huge trash incinerator in our area. Not to mention we've both been busy making art and Mike's been working on lots of monuments.

This week we'll be in Atlanta at the Druid Hills Tour of Homes Artist Market. If you happen to live in the area, come on down. It will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 16th, 17th, and 18th. I'll try to post pics from it next week. Thanks for reading.

Hey, everybody. I see I haven't posted on here since September! That's how it is around here. October - December are crazy with holiday markets and art festivals. One quick note, times being what they are, I'VE CANCELED MY PYSANKYJEWELS SITE. But, you can still see our work on carltonartfactory.etsy.com