Welcome to the Dan Springs Collection!

Visiting Cherokee, 1955

Teaching Together in Reseda, 2005

Tabor Cemetary, 2007

The Dan Springs Collection brings together handmade items and instruction offered by sisters Donna Mercer and Cathy Tyler. To learn about the Dan Springs Collection, click the ‘Back Story’ tab at the top of this page, or scroll past this entry to see info on some of our gifts and activities. Let me introduce us:

Donna Mercer graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and holds a teaching credential from California State University Northridge. She has been teaching drawing, art history and graphic design at Cleveland High School in Los Angeles since 2002, incorporating the experiences of her first career in graphic design, where she created corporate identity and collateral materials, advertising and packaging. Her love for all forms of art inspire her students to explore their own creativity.  To visit her blog, go to http://dkmercer.wordpress.com/

Cathy Tyler graduated from the College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Science in Math. After a 30+ year career in Information Technology with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, she retired in 2005 and devoted herself to her longtime interests in textile art, quilting, watercolor, and nature crafts. She has taught classes for her church and community and enjoys helping others discover and stretch their creative abilities.  To view her blog, go to http://cathytyler.wordpress.com

Last Show of 2011

LMES Snowflake Breakfast

Dan Springs Collection has wrapped up vending for the year – our last outting was the Laurel Meadows Snowflake Breakfast. This is a fun event with lots of families and entertainment to go along with the several breakfast seatings. These performers shown in the photo were taken with our journals and flip dolls!

If you still have holiday shopping to do, and you’d like to include some of our gifts on your list, contact me (see contact tab on blog header) and we’ll make arrangements.

A Visit with Norman Rockwell

Student Gallery

Last week I did a second Visit with an Artist program at Riverside PACE on MacTavish in Richmond. Our art appreciation program focussed on Norman Rockwell, one of the best known American artists. After a brief lecture on his life, and a slide show of his works, we copied one of his preliminary sketches with charcoal. I was pleased at the number of participants who were willing to try this challenging medium – and their results were amazing.

If you’re interested in more info on our art appreciation programs, click the TAPP tab on this blog. TAPP stands for Traditional Art Preseration Program and includes numerous class and program offerings. If you’d like to schedule one of our sessions, click on the Contact tab and get in touch.

Grandma Moses Revisited

Class Artwork

Grandma Moses 'Little Boy Blue' from 1947

Yesterday I had the pleasure of sharing one of our dozen ‘Visits with an Artist’ with assisted living folks at Richmond PACE.  We visited with  Anna Mary Robertson Moses  (1860 – 1961), better known as “Grandma Moses.”  She was a renowned American folk artist who didn’t start her paintin career until her mid 70′s.  You may remember my September 16, 2008 post when I presented this program at Covenant Woods.  One of the ladies yesterday was excited to see Grandma Moses painting of apple butter making, as she’d participated in similar events as a young wife in Mechanicsville, VA. Everyone  had a good time and got their brushes wet!  A few efforts even resembled our model print, a bonus!

Red Riding Hood Doll

Flip Doll

Here’s Dan Springs Collection’s newest doll!  Our flip dolls, also called topsy turvy dolls, have been well received.  Frequently a customer will comment, “When I was a child I had a Red Riding Hood flip doll.”  I’ve been meaning to try making one, and now here’s the prototype!  Let me know what you think. 

We’ll be at South of the James Market two more times this year – the first and third Saturdays of October.  There’s a chance we may also be at the State Fair in their new market area – stay tuned for more info!

Elves Have Been Busy!

Dolls, Creatures, Journals

Despite the earthquake and hurricane, the elves of Dan Springs have been busy these past two weeks! Here’re new dolls, creatures, and journals just in time for the Labor Day South of the James Market! Hope to see you there tomorrow!

Wheelbarrow Load of Fun

Ready to go!

Dan Springs Collection will be at South of the James Market in Forest Hill Park tomorrow – 8am! Come on out! New bunnies, dolls, and even a couple of hedgehogs will be joining me.

Dan Springs Collection At Long Beach

Last week the East and West divisions of Dan Springs Collection (that’s my sister and me!) gathered in California for an art retreat.  In addition to various art projects, we attended the Long Beach Quilt Festival and spent a couple hours at the Make It University Open Studios talking with Festival attendees about our dolls, creatures, journals and handmade books.  Such a treat to spend time together, create art, talk with great people, and prowl the Quilt Festival exhibits and vendors!

As a full time high school art teacher and masters student,  Donna brings to our Dan Springs Collection  fresh ideas, an artful outlook, and  playful inspirations – essential components of any succesfful creative endevor.  Spending the week with her was a rejuvenating  resilience rehabilitation for me.

This Saturday – the Purple Dragon and I do South of the James!  Be there!

New Dragon!

Hi, there!

My Best Side

Button Jars

Inventory was down to one dragon, so I finally got around to making the purple sock version  I’ve been cogitating on for awhile.  Not exactly what I had in mind, but he’s very proud of himself!

Button jars have also been selling well, and here’re some new ones that will be available on our next market day, August 6th. Hope to see you at South of the James!

Between now and then, East and West divisions of Dan Springs Collection will meet in Los Angeles, compare and experiment on new possibilities, and attend the Long Beach Quilt Festival together! Stay tuned!

Visit to the Spring

At Dan Springs

Taking water to the House

New Roof!

Here’re photos from my recent trip to the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, where 77 years ago my grandparents built a summer house! The Mountain House, which draws its water from a spring above the house, sits across Brush Creek from Dan Springs. So when we’re there, we always visit the namesake of our Collection to see how it fares. Thanks to abundant rain this spring and early summer, it was flowing well when we were there earlier in July.

Daughter Julia and grandkids Eli and Lily looked for salamanders, then Eli filled the thermos and he and his mom carried it back to the House. Thanks to a storage tank installed several years ago, we have plenty of water even when the rains are spotty, but the fresh cold Dan Springs water is the best!

Thanks in part to all of you who have supported the Dan Springs Collection, we have a new metal roof on the house! So no waking to raindrops on my nose this visit. And this month vinyl siding is going on the back and end walls that catch the weather and refuse to hold paint.  Time to get busy making more dolls!

New Dolls for Market!

Dan Springs will be at the South of the James Market this coming Saturday, July 2nd!  Looking forward to seeing everyone, and starting the Fourth of July celebrations!  I’ll have with me a bunch of new dolls and rabbits – see the photos below.  The flip dolls now have asleep and awake faces, as suggested by my mom.   Come by and check them out!