Village Venture Arts and Crafts Faire, October 25, 2014
Happy October!
Tracy and Soozee, aka Ramona Paloma Tile Studios,
will be participating in the 33rd Annual Village Venture Arts & Crafts Faire
on Saturday, October 25, 2014, 9:00am – 5:00pm. Rain or Shine.
This large artistic event is bordered by the streets, Indian Hill and College–east to west,
and by Fourth and First Streets–north to south, in Claremont.
Ramona Paloma will be in booth #583 located on First St–Eastbound,
noting that First Street is split into 2 one-way streets (eastbound and westbound).
We will be just below the Food Court and just above the Metrolink Depot.
We are also near the parking structure on West First Street–please see map below.
This large art festival will be held on the Saturday before Halloween.
It is host to a colorful children’s costume parade which winds through the streets
filled with artists and food vendors. It’s very festive!
Please look for booth #583 at the bottom part of this map.
And may we offer a bit of advice?…you might want to wear comfy shoes : )
Sierra Madre Art Fair, 2014
Happy 52nd birthday to this annual art fair…and we’re invited!! And now, you are too : ) May 3 – 4, 2014.
As Sierra Madre celebrates 52 years of this lovely art event, Ramona Paloma Tile Studios will be there with our display of handmade Art Tile for the first time. We’re pretty excited!
For 2 days, we will be enjoying the park and reinvigorating our sense of community…both with fellow artists as well as with the wonderful friends we’ve made as Ramona Paloma. Hope to see you there.
Saturday, May 3rd from 9:30am to 6pm and
Sunday, May 4th from 9:30am to 5pm.
Memorial Park, 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd in Sierra Madre, 91024. Sponsored by the Friends of the Sierra Madre Library.
As an added bonus, our charming friend, Beverly Jones, will be the featured artist of the show. Congratulations Beverly!
Wistaria Festival 2014
Happy almost Spring!
Around here the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, and yes, the Wistaria is blooming!
And that means the Wistaria Festival is coming to Sierra Madre on Sunday, March 16. From 9:00am to 5:00pm, there will be artisans, crafters, food, music, exhibits and shuttle rides to see the vine.
Please see www.wistariafestival.com for more details.
Tracy and Soozee are delighted to be participating in the festival this year with the supportive and energetic group, the Sierra Madre Friends of the Arts. The “Friends” will be playing host to a group of local artists along Windsor Lane–a tiny little street connecting a large public parking lot to the festival.
Ramona Paloma will be on the corner of Windsor Lane and Sierra Madre Boulevard,
just across the street from The Bottle Shop.
Please stop by to say hello!
We’d love to see you : )
Enchanted Handmade–Holiday Boutique December 8
Happy almost December!
We hope you had a cozy and delicious Thanksgiving.
Did you survive Black Friday? Well, let’s just offer an alternative…
Picture yourself walking into an old, handsome, Spanish-style building with thick hand-troweled walls, high ceilings with open beams of dark rough-hewn wood, tall hand-crafted windows made long ago lighting the space with soft, bright available light…you notice the fragrance of cinnamon and sugar, you feel lifted by that cheerful feeling that emanates when a group of happy people are gathered under one roof. Your eyes take-in the complex beauty of items made by the hands of an artist. Your shoulders relax and you remember the spirit of gift-giving from what it once was…
Toto, we’re not in K-mart anymore.
Please come by for a visit on Sunday, December 8 from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm in Eagle Rock, located at the historic Center for the Arts on 2225 Colorado blvd. Come immerse yourself in this special holiday boutique.
Bonus!..One of LA’s top food trucks – Vizzi – will be cooking up some great food! www.vizzitruck.com
Check out the posts by participating artists on the Enchanted Handmade Facebook page!
–it’s the little things
It really is the little things that make us happy.
We normally work in a smallish studio space with 1 minor window. One day it dawned on us that our studio is connected to a spacious patio–so why aren’t we working on the patio?, we asked ourselves eventually.
The answer came when it was 100 degrees outside and we realized that the surrounding trees dropped treasures year round. We responded to that with fans and an awning.
Then the first rain helped us to comprehend the difference between water-proof- and weather-resistant- awnings.
We have really been loving the outdoor annex, as we fondly refer to it, so didn’t want to give it up just because they don’t make plastic sheeting big enough to cover a pyramid-roofed 10 ft awning. Along came another discovery via Amazon–lovely 6-mil extra large plastic sheeting does exist…online.
With the recent rain (and more to come!), we’re delighted to say that our tarp arrived yesterday. Hurray!
Yup, we find so much joy in the little everyday things. While working, we can continue to hear the birds, to feel the recent chill in the air, and to find amusement in the dogs alerting each other to squirrel antics–all this and staying dry too!
–3-Day Art Fest this weekend in Sierra Madre!
Hurray! This weekend we will be participating in a local art show brimming with friends and cohorts–for 3 days!
This annual juried event promises to be a feast for the eyes with over 60 artists presenting their work.
Creative Arts Group. 108 N. Baldwin Ave., Sierra Madre, CA, 626/355-8350 * www.creativeartsgroup.org
Nov 8, Friday 7pm – 9pm. Nov 9, Saturday 10am – 5pm. Nov 10, Sunday 11am – 4pm
Wow, look at all these great artists! What fun it will be.
Hope to see you there.
Soozee and Tracy
–Village Venture Arts & Crafts Festival, this weekend!
We are getting ready for something completely different this weekend.
Village Venture is a new venue for us. It promises to be festive and vivacious with lots of artists, a children’s costume parade, many food vendors and live music. It should be a lot of fun!
Here’s the scoop:
October 26, Saturday, 9am – 5pm, rain or shine
Village Venture Arts & Crafts Fair, Claremont, CA
It will span over many city blocks between College & Indian Hill, and First & Fourth St.
We are booth #583, at the SE corner of eastbound First St and Yale, close to the Metrolink Depot, the Food court and entertainment.
If you would like to travel easier, and leave the parking challenges behind, try taking the MetroLink. You might drive to the El Monte Station located at 10925 Railroad St., El Monte, CA 91731, or go downtown to Union Station via the Gold Line and transfer to Metrolink.
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/stations/detail/station_id/90.html for info about MetroLink, Claremont Station
p.s. so what’s new in the kiln?
–Village Venture, October 26, 2013
Greetings October! 
The nights are cooling. Our walnut tree is sprinkling leaves underfoot. Hints of Halloween are all around the neighborhood.
To celebrate October, we will be participating in a huge Arts and Crafts Festival in Claremont on Saturday, October 26. This large venue covers several blocks in and around the Claremont Village area and will feature a wonderful array of artisans and crafts people, along with a children’s costume parade…so festive!
Look for us under a white tent in booth #583, at the southeast corner of Yale & First Streets (First is a divided street, we’ll be at First-Easbound), close to the Food Court, Entertainment & Metro Link.
For further details, please see http://www.thevillageclaremont.com/venture.html
If the idea of driving and parking seems daunting, please consider adding the adventure of riding the train in. You can pick up a Gold Line Metro train in Pasadena to Union Station, then head to Claremont via Metro Link–how relaxing.
http://www.metro.net/riding/maps/gold-line/
http://www.metrolinktrains.com/stations/detail/station_id/90.html
The Claremont Chamber of Commerce also offers the following:
Shuttle Service & Parking — Parking is available on streets surrounding the closed streets of Village Venture, however, you can eliminate the parking hassles by taking advantage of the free shuttle service offered by the Pomona Valley Transit Authority (PVTA).
Shuttle service is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking for the shuttle pick up will be located at:
• Claremont University Facilities on First and Mills
• Taylor Hall at Cahuilla Park on Scripps and Indian Hill
• St. Ambrose Episcopal Church on Bonita and Mountain
The Village drop off point will be the Metrolink Parking lot. Buses run every 10 -15 minutes from all three parking points.
Here’s a quick peek at our Autumn schedule:
November 8 – 10, Fri 7-9pm, Sat 10-5pm, Sun 11-4pm. Creative Arts Group Annual Art Festival, 108 N. Baldwin Ave, Sierra Madre
December 8, Sunday, 11am – 4pm. Enchanted Handmade at The Center for the Arts, 2225 Eagle Rock Blvd., Los Angeles
On display through the season, Tues – Sat, 10am – 5pm. Belle’s Nest, a lovely shop featuring the Art of Handmade, 55 N. Baldwin, Sierra Madre, CA
— to see our story at http://www.RamonaPaloma.com
— to have a peek at our online shop at http://www.Etsy.com/shop/RamonaPalomaTile
–namesakes
Soozee here…I wanted to share a quick story…
My mom’s house is a foster home for kittens via the Suffolk Humane Society in Virginia. She regularly has kitten-guests for 2-6 weeks, depending on their situation. She socializes them, nurtures them through their spay/neuter recovery and gets to name them. Once these three things are accomplished, they get adopted out to families.
Because she has been doing this for several years, sometimes her kitten-name ideas run dry. She generally tries not to use the same name twice, and likes to offer a name that suits the cat.
So she called me up yesterday to tell me that 2 females had just arrived–black and white kittens from the same feral litter. As soon as she saw their faces it immediately occurred to her to name them after us.
“So, Mom”, I said on the phone…”Did you name them Ramona and Paloma?”
“No silly. They are Soozee and Tracy. Don’t you think that’s just right for these two, dear?”
What do you think? Are they us?
Which one is Tracy and which one is Soozee?
–community project is complete!
We are celebrating this summer!
A community tile project that we began in the Spring of 2011 now springs to life!
Our story began when the vivacious cooperative effort to re-landscape the front of Sierra Madre Elementary School with all California Native plants was completed. Suddenly, eyes were drawn to the cracked concrete entry at the front of the school.
Light bulb! Idea! Ceramic tile!
So Tracy and I introduced handmade ceramic tile to a group of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students at Sierra Madre Middle School. Their task…to beautify that aged entry leading up to their Alma Mater elementary school.
With the help of some great friends (Cathy, Barbara and Allison), we hand-cut 300 clay tiles. We provided wood blocks and adhesive foam sheets for about 70 students to create their own stamps. Once the stamps were made, the students pressed their newly-created designs into a wet clay tile, making a beautiful impression, ready to glaze.
Then, because of funding challenges, the tile project was delayed–the area planned for the installation was in great need of repair. Time and water had cracked the surrounding walls. Finally in June, after much campaigning, we were able to acquire the needed funding for the repair and installation.
As of August 1st, the Middle School student-made tile is forever gifted to the entry steps of Sierra Madre Elementary School. We are so delighted. Please drop by 141 West Highland Avenue in Sierra Madre and have a look.
As per usual, the unpaid interns (Vinnie and Lucy) contribute their approval…
Ramona Paloma On Facebook
