featured artists

Are you interested in showcasing your work at blowfish emporium?

If so, email the images you wish to showcase to info@blowfishemporium.com.  This begins the review process and we will be sure to contact you with more details.

All artwork is displayed for resale, not solely for exhibition and exposure (i.e. specific people/faces).  Also, we give each artist exclusivity in their represented genre/style.  That is why we ask for submited images of work so that it is not "competitive" of another artisan we are currently representing. (i.e. local landmarks, florals, etc). 

We have so many great artisans at blowfish emporium!  We hope you enjoy this information about each Featured Artist and are able to put a face with the names you see in the gallery.

 

Pat Jessee,  Dancing  Brush Arts Improv

Pat Jessee, Bristol's blowfish emporium / Grape Easel-art party leader loves the people of all ages and skill levels that bravely come to try something new! She herself, although art has been the main vein in her life- enjoys something new and these groups insure it. Each night she is delighted at the happenings that inspire her and the art adventurers who often are painting for the first time.

Dancing Brush Arts Improv is her calling card- taking her to perform live painting at many festivals and music venues from classic Symphony and Jazz in Tennessee and North Carolina to local nights at Machiavelli's. When not painting you might find her drawing to live theater, lectures, ballet, poetry readings- catching the moment in her artistic shorthand way of recording the event. Ten story graphic murals in NOLA or getting a big crowd of people to join in a dance from say….Turkey, or France is also a part of a 30-year dance portfolio. Planning festivals and concerts in NOLA for the Arts Council for 10 years, and planning special events and adult education offerings for William King Museum for 10 years in Abingdon has just added to developing her ease for working in and with the public.

Her personal art and preferred mediums are everything from the usual paint to newer explorations in the digital medium with a combination of photography and digital collage based on her own images and new interpretations. An extensive exhibit bio and her MFA from Tulane certainly help it all shape into a comfortable fit for a life of improv, color and challenge.   Exercise your freedom and come paint with her in the blowfish environs!

 

 Jeannie Synder, Jebedi's Jewels

"Jebedi's Jewels jewelry is a step aside from the usual, 

Using stones, glass & Vintage items in unique designs 

For special days, and every day."

I have been designing jewelry since 1999. I received my Nursing degree from Florida State University in 1976 and worked as an ICU, ER and Home Health and Hospice nurse in Eugene , Oregon until retiring in 2010 to concentrate on my jewelry business. I began making jewelry for friends and family in the evenings after work to unwind from my day. It became very therapeutic and pleasurable for me and grew into a wonderful second career.

Many of my designs are inspired by the myriad shapes and textures found in nature, especially those I see in the Pacific Northwest: the swirls of water and sand in the rivers and ocean, the asymmetry of the mountains, the abstract tapestry of the forests, and the gentle curves and wisps of waterfalls. I incorporate these patterns into my jewelry creating simple yet unusual pieces that will complement a woman's many styles.

One of my greatest joys is searching for unusual gemstones, glass beads Vintage spoons and typewriter keys to use in my creations.   All of my typewriter keys are from authentic, vintage typewriters, dating back to the early 1900's from such manufacturers as Royal, Underwood, Corona , Woodstock , etc.   I always seem to find something uniquely special with each one. The character styles from key to key are amazing.  I am always surprised at what is out there. 

My spoon bracelets are a family affair. I search antique stores, St Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, etc and find unique silver plated patterns, most from pre – WW II.   Each pattern is researched to identify the pattern name and year it went into production. My son and husband help me to drill, grind and bend the spoons and I embellish them with crystals and pearls.

To me, the greatest compliment is when someone incorporates one of my jewelry designs into their own unique style.  To know that the piece is being worn, and that it puts a smile on someone's face whenever they wear it, makes me truly happy

  "A thing of beauty is a joy forever!" -- Keats

 

  Jeffrey Stoner, Jeffrey Stoner Photography

  Jeffrey Stoner is known for making photographs that capture the essence of place.  His passion is to capture images of the beauty and wonder that surrounds us.    From the mystery of a trail leading through the fog, to the beauty of rhododendron flowers highlighted by the first rays of dawn, his images tell a story that touch the spirit.

Originally from Pennsylvania , he relocated to Kingsport in northeastern Tennessee in 2007.   Jeffrey made this move so he could be within a short drive of the unlimited photo opportunities available in the mile-high mountains and fertile valleys of this region.

His photography has been featured in international, national, and regional publications.   Most recently his images were in a 22-page portfolio in the April 2011 inaugural edition of Still Point Arts Quarterly published in Brunswick ME.   The Nov-Dec 2010 Appalachian Trail Journeys magazine featured his photography on the cover and a 3-page portfolio.   Regionally his photography was on the cover of the March and April 2011 editions of A! Magazine for the Arts.    

He is represented by galleries in Virginia , Tennessee , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , and New Jersey . 

 

Cheyenne Trunnell,  Original Paintings

Painting, for me, has always been a spiritual journey.  Whether ethereal landscapes or abstract landscapes, each piece seeks to capture the essence of truth through elements of nature.   I am very much inspired by the small yet vast, intricacies of nature.  The lines on a leaf, the path of a trail or the way the sun shines through the trees, are all points of inspiration.  My paintings are emotional responses to moments and places in time.  It is my hope to convey the sense of peace found in nature.

Increasingly, I am drawn to capturing the quietness of nature.  The feeling of being surrounded by a truth far greater than our minds can understand.  A sense of an interwoven truth we all search for on some primitive level.   However, music and written words equally influence my work.  There is a deeper, instinctual response to music and words that tend to arise with a sense of urgency.  They simply must be expressed.  My hand finds its way through the paint on a more intuitive level. 

From a more technical stand point, I am influenced the most by light.  The way the sun affects the colors of the sky or shines translucently through a leaf in the summer sun.   For me, colors as well as composition are two of the most important parts of a painting.  However, I believe it is the gesture of a line or the expressiveness of a brush stroke that draws the viewer deeper into the painting.  I am increasingly interested in tone on tone painting and the relationships of color.    Each painting is an exploration of the contours of nature through relationships of color & gestural lines. 

 Through the years, I have been influenced by Helen Frankenthaler, Arthur Dove, Wolf Kahn, Georgia O'Keeffe, Turner, Monet and Paul Cezanne.

 Ashley Dawn Addair, Original Works

I am interested in the world that is not readily observed: the underlying structure of ideas, values, and spirit that become, through a mode of human validation, our fleshly realities.  

Through the process that is living and painting, I am learning that my work aims toward being an expression of the intangible, abstract, and foundational realities which, once exhaled, provide air for nuance, necessary rebellion, and the coordination of our utmost energies.   My hope is that the work provides a refuge from mediation and way to enter something foreign yet familiar.  

                                                                                                            --ashley dawn addair

Ashley Addair is a Knoxville-based artist active in the local art community. She is a founding member and host of The Mason Jar: an informal venue dedicated to discovering, sharing, and playing in creativity; regularly collaborates with other artists for Good Packaging: a quarterly subscription to art and music; has commissioned works hanging around the country; and shows regularly in gallery and retail spaces across the Eastern U.S. with work in private collections internationally.

for more information visit www.noroomforhipsters.com

 

Sam Bass, Sam Bass Photojournalist

Sam Bass is a former Navy Chief and international award-winning combat photojournalist. He received his grounding in classic commercial photography at the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles and perfected his photojournalistic skills at Syracuse University.

After Syracuse Sam operated throughout Vietnam and Southeast Asia as a Navy combat photojournalist over a three-year period from 1967-1970. In 1972, Sam was selected Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association, the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the U.S. Defense Department. Sam retired from the Navy in 1974.

Over the years, Sam's images have been widely recognized and published. He has also designed and conducts a series of photojournalism-based creative communications workshops to share his unique style and technique with amateur and professional photographers, as well as non-creative professionals.

"The best photographers strive to balance Light, Shadow, Composition and Time to create the most powerful, thought-provoking images," said Sam, "remembering always that we are but stewards of an instant in time."

 

Judy Carrier, Dazies Head 2 Toe   

"I have crocheted and made hand-sewn items for years.  I decided a few years ago, after my granddaughter was born that I wanted to share my handmade hairbows and girly items with others so I opened my first online shop.  I have went on to include several other items and the list keeps growing.  I now sell on three sites and I love what I'm doing.  

"If It Doesn't Have A Daisy It's Not A Dazie". All Dazie bow and flower clips come with our Daisy Logo on the back.

I have a large selection of Hairbows and Daisy Hair Clips. All hairbows are hand-sewn and custom made when you order.  All of my bows are finished on the back with ribbon so you don't really see much of the clip. All alligator and flower clips come with a non-slip grip.

I also make personalized bracelets made with lead-free polished pewter and silver plated beads. Also, birthstone and family bracelets for all ages.

The crochet trim on all of my socks are hand crocheted by me and they come in all sizes and colors. They are not only pretty but they are fun to wear. Kids love them as well as women.

My Hairbow Holders are handpainted and come in any color you choose or initial that you need. YOU CHOOSE THE COLOR SCHEME.

 Alex Thompson, Original Works

Alex Thompson would not appear to be a veteran artist, except that she has been expressing herself through the visual arts since the moment she could hold a pencil. Thompson is a young adult who works in acrylic, oil, and pastel media in order to create contemporary, abstract and realistic works of art. Her work has been recognized in downtown Bristol galleries, Bristol Public Library showings, and has been awarded in numerous regional exhibitions- including Best of Show at the 2008 Appalachian Fair. Currently, she is working on a new, abstract animal series, as well as her strikingly realistic, mixed-media pieces. She plans to study art for the time being at the local institution, Virginia Intermont, with hopes to eventually travel abroad. Thompson would love for her artistic endeavors to land her in an art museum career, for she loves the idea of sharing art with everyone who's interested.