Friday Friends - sesenarts - West Australian Etsy Artisan

Welcome my lovely bloggy friends to another Friday and new edition of the Friday Friends series. I received some new goodies to make things from this week - hoping for a very crafty weekend making brooches, hair slides, bracelets, earrings, cards and gift tags as I have a market coming up soon for Mothers Day ! Hmmmm wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew for this weekend ;)

This week I am thrilled to introduce the incredibly talented (AND BIRTHDAY GIRL) Julie
from sesenarts, based in the South West of WA.

I am so happy to have stumbled across Julie's gorgeous ETSY store and couldn't help myself, I had to sample her goodies for myself. I treated myself to some of these little darlings (lovingly described by Julie as) "Tropical colors of mango and berries colour these delightful little handmade silk paper beads. Add a sprinkling of rose gold Angelina fibers that shimmer in the light" and some of these described by Julie as "Rich emerald green with a splash of purple then sprinkled with sparkling Angelina fibers color these delightful little craft beads.

and I can't wait for these - described as something to "Stimulate your creative appetite with this beautiful turquoise and blue sample pack of silk fiber sheets, lemon and blue colored silk fiber craft beads, silk puffy hearts and bead trim to match!"

I want to also share some of the other stunning creations that caught my eye while browsing Julie's ETSY store - as you may all know by now I am a bit of an accessories girl and strongly believe a girl can never have too many *wink* !
Loving this hand painted pure silk scarf, in Pleated Pink

and this Hand Painted Silk Beads Modern Fashion Necklace in Summer Fruit "Purple Grapes"
For those paper crafty types, I am sure you will fall in love with the fabulous silk craft papers that Julie makes - how pretty is this ? Julie says This handmade,hand dyed pearl colored silk paper is beautifully textured with the palest turquoise,pinks and blues wafting through. Added are sparkling pink Angelina fibers. Is this fabric or paper ? It's both !
Now dear readers, indulge yourselves for just a little while in the sensual silken story of sesenarts. Let a little sumptuous luxury into your day ........and have the most fantastic weekend ! Happy Friday all !
PS Julie - I hope your birthday was as amazing as your creations !


The Silken Tale of sensenarts


My name is Julie Smith and I live in Yallingup Siding, a little area in the beautiful South West Corner of Western Australia. I am blessed to be married to a wonderfully patient and creative man who has built me my own wonderful studio (never big enough!) here surrounded by native bush and wildlife.

My studio is called Sesen, a name derived from the Egyptian name for the Lotus. The Lotus is a powerful symbol in Tibetan Buddhism, meaning “to rise out from the darkness into the light, or from nothingness to enlightenment.”

To me art and craft creations are like this. They appear from a thought! How clever is that? From nothingness, to a germ of an idea to a three dimensional item of colour, form and light. Ooh that’s a bit deep! Anyway the name inspires me to create things of beauty and became the name of my business Sesenarts.

I have been a nurse, aromatherapist, massage therapist, Reiki Teacher and artist. (Not to mention all those other roles that we all fulfill in one way or another!) But art is what continues to call me and is what I am concentrating on at this time in my life.
I love both mixed media painting and textiles, with silk being a particular favorite. I am enamored by the vibrancy of colour you get with silk; it feels beautiful and is lovely to wear.

I began painting with silk many years ago as part of community gallery and have sold framed silk paintings to people from all around Australia. In the last year or so, I started dyeing the silk roving myself experimenting with its form and making fashion accessories.

I love my little silk brooches! They are colourful and bright. And very versatile! Wear them in your hair, around your neck as a pendant or as a brooch.

My intention now that my youngest child has left home (yee ha!) is to have a successful, fun and creative art and craft business with scope to teach others in the future. Maybe workshops or on-line classes? Who knows, there’s lots of scope for fun out there!


Want to see more of these amazing creations ? You can check out Julie's ETSY store at :

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sesenarts

or check out the blog at :

http://www.sesenarts.com/