We recently made another trip to one of our favorite spots. We love Tennessee, and especially the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains area. You may already know that but I'll say it again just in case.
One event we enjoy when visiting the area is driving the eight mile, Great Smoky Mountains Arts & Crafts Loop. Below are three of my favorite places along the way. (Two have been must stops for a few or more years now, and one is a new find.)
First up is the quaint art gallery of watercolor artist A.Jann Peitso. What a joy! Her art is whimsical and colorful! It puts a smile on my face every time. I've been a fan of Jann's work since discovering her booth at the Gatlinburg Craftsman's Fair years ago.
Jann publishes her own artwork so that the reproductions are readily available to collectors at reasonable prices. Nice! She also teaches workshops. I definitely see one in my future! Hubby Geo says he may even take the workshop with me! I hope so.
This visit, we purchased another one of her fun rooster pieces. Now we have three. I look forward to hanging them in our home when it's complete.
A lovely view of an entrance
into this particular area of shops.
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Across the road and around the bend is
Another fave!
It's family owned with artisans
spanning three generations.
Last year, after purchasing this
stylish Rebekah pitcher,
I knew I wanted to collect a few
more from Alewine Pottery.
Don't you just love that unique handle?
It's called a "high handle."
And that's a real leaf too!
I was captivated by the Rebekah pitcher for various reasons. For one thing, it's very cool!
Another reason is that my grandmother's name was Reba, and I thought Reba was short for Rebecca. After doing a bit of family research, I'm not so sure Rebecca was her full name. Further investigation is required but Reba is short for Rebecca / Rebekah and that's close enough for me.
Also, I wondered if the pitcher was named after Rebekah in the Bible. Google says yes over and over.
I also learned that the Rebekah pitcher had other styles of handles. This high handle is by far my favorite though! Knowing the pitcher was named after Rebekah in the Bible made me even more curious!
Who was she?
What's her exact story?
I was a little bit familiar with her but not enough so I went to
That's where her Bible story is told. She's first seen after coming to a spring to fill her pitcher with water. That's the only time the pitcher is mentioned but her full story is quite interesting from her courage to go with a stranger to meet the man he says she's to marry all the way to her deceitfulness later in life. It's a thought-provoking story!
This website also provides info about her family, her character, her deception and more.
Anyhoo, I digressed but I was so captivated by this pitcher that I wanted to share my thoughts with you. If you choose to read about Rebekah, I hope you find her as interesting as I do.
Back to this trip--I planned on buying another Rebekah Pitcher but they didn't have any! I saw one last year in a gorgeous blue and yellow and that's what I was after. It's my favorite combination of colors that Alewine offers. I'll try to nab one next time or put in an order for one.
Since I couldn't get the Rebekah pitcher, I thought I'd get a blue and yellow mug but they were out of those too! It's a popular color combo.
I opted for this sweet mug instead.
Love the sentiment so much!
Gratefulness--you can't have too much of it!
Yesterday, I got an email from Alewine Pottery showing some new, freshly made mugs. The blue and yellow one that I have been eyeing was one of them!
Yep, I ordered it.
I'll show it to you when it arrives.
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Last but not least, we discovered another shop.
It's called:
Great name!
The very kind artist, Kimberly Bylo,
creates Fused Glass Jewelry
as well as other fun pieces of art.
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| Not the best photo but I didn't know how to get rid of the reflection. |
When we arrived, Kimberly was working on a colorful shimmering necklace. She was kind enough to tell us about her process and it sure seems like a fun craft! Fusing the glass produces some very pretty results!
I was admiring the piece she was working on, so much so that hubby asked me if I wanted it. He didn't have to ask twice! We ended up buying the necklace and matching earrings as well. He's awesome and I love them!
I also love supporting these wonderful artists! The Love Life Live Life shop will always be another stop I'll look forward to on the loop.
If you're ever in Gatlinburg, check out the art loop. There's lots of cool stuff there and creative inspiration too!
Tootles Y'all!
D~~~~
