Luann Udell

I took up my art "late" in life, inspired by my children, and I'm determined not to waste another minute. I believe in the healing nature of art. It restores me to my best self, and is the motivation I've had to write about that since 2002.

In 2014, we left my art studio in NH, a renovated antique post-and-beam barn attached to our home. Out of every window I could see a beautiful view of the New England small-town-neighborhood I live in--lilac bushes, pine trees, sugar maple trees, a small mountain up the street.

We moved to Santa Rosa in Northern California, a dreamy place with beauty that completely strikes us speechless, every day.

My current studio is spacious, stacked to the ceiling with my jewelry, fiber art work, small sculptures, and assemblages made with antique boxes found in NH and restored to host my handmade artifacts. Also a huge collection of pebbles from California beaches, my handmade rubber stamps, and deer antlers.

My bookshelves filled with books and magazines on art, craft, the business of art, books my work has appeared in, and books I've written, and anything else that catches my interest.

I have a jewelry-making area where I store my bead collection (including antique African trade beads, semi-precious stones, freshwater pearls, vintage glass beads from Europe, China, Inda and Japan, beads in every color of the rainbow. Directly behind that is my sewing area, where I create art quilts inspired by prehistoric cave art. I have drawers full of my handmade artifacts: horses, bears, fish, birds, otters, dogs, owls, stones, buttons, and bones.

Across the room is a long table where I make my polymer clay artifacts. These look like real prehistoric artifacts made of fossil bone and ivory. I use these to embellish my wall hangings, and also use them to make jewelry and small sculpture.

Along one wall is my extensive fabric collection, a color wheel in fiber! I use vintage tablecloths, antique paisley shawls, recycled clothing, and fabrics from India, Africa, South America and China to make my wall hangings. I use linen, cotton, wool, rayon and silk, with the occasional "mystery fiber" thrown in.

Much of my art started with making toys and clothing for my children, and I have many playful things in my studio--a collection of Chinese "doll" pincushions, ethnic dolls, school maps, small colorful wooden toys and animal figures, dishes full of pretty rocks, marbles and sea shells.

In addition to carving stamps, sewing wall hangings and making jewelry, I also write. You can see my book, Rubber Stamp Carving, here: https://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Crafter-Carving-Techniques-Projects/dp/1579903002/ I wrote a regular column for Crafts Business Magazine, then HandmadeBusiness, for over a decade, and now I write for Fine Art Views, an online art marketing newsletter. I also blog about the business of craft and my life as an artist, which you can read at https://luannudell.wordpress.com/

You can see my artwork at my website https://www.luannudell.com/, my Etsy shop (LuannUdell), on Instagram (luann_udell), on Facebook (biz page https://www.facebook.com/LuannUdellArtistandWriter/) or visit my studio during open studio events: http://artatthesource.org/ and https://sonomacountyarttrails.org/

Whew! I just wore myself out! Now I have to go lie down in a dar, corner for awhile....