Tammy Roy was raised in Stratford, WI and was surrounded by auto repair shops, a school bus company, a gas station… and the list goes on. Tammy always had a keen interest in the”nuts and bolts” of how things work, stemming from her mom’s hobby of rummaging through dumpsters and scrap yards! Instead of shopping, they enjoy rummaging through twisted and mangled steel.

Tammy’s background is graphic design but it was her first welding class (by her dad) that led her into a new direction. Welding enabled Tammy to transform discarded, scrapyard junk into works of art. She has since become completely obsessed with reusing and creating objects out of discarded materials.

Below are a few beautiful and unique items for sale by Tammy for greenlifesavor.

180-design relates to the process of transforming trash into treasure! The materials do a complete “180”. Sourcing is a huge part of the process and I work with various steel manufacturers to reuse their scraps.

My mantra: Stay centered with God, keep balance in life, and use your gifts. I consider myself fortunate to be inspired by those around me.

The Season of Giving

This is the time of year we pause and give thanks for the gifts bestowed upon us and we also think about the gifts we wish to give. As I left Bardstown to visit friends and family in New England for the holidays, the Kentucky Standard Newspaper was offering a unique recycled newspaper bag from the Salon de Mere collection as a generous gift to new and old customers. This is their way of thanking the community while capturing history and saving precious memories. Thank you Kentucky Standard for your generosity and for always keeping us well informed. I hope my fellow Kentuckians will stop in and see Brandi, the circulation manager at her office on Stephen Foster Ave. and as you sign up for your 2010 subscription you can select your own special gift from the 2009 couture handbag collection.

December 5th was the annual “Open Studios” at the historic Lydia Pinkam Building in Lynn, Massachusetts. This building was once the site of the production of Lydia’s famous “woman’s tonic” . Today it is the home of local working artists and where George Dyer, the nephew of the legendary Walter Dyer, continues the family tradition of producing high quality handmade leather goods. It was a joy to view the leather goods, pottery, sculpture, paintings, photography and woodcrafts and invite many of the artists to join us on greenlifsavor. George Dyer has been with us from the start. Some of the artists that will be joining us soon are Eleanor Appleyard, Andrew Houle and Jackie Diele Singer. Stay tuned as we continue to build our artists community.

From Salon de Mere and greenlifesavor we wish you happy holidays and hope that the wonder and joy of the season will be with you throughout the year.

Music and the Creative Arts is all I know. These traits have been seared into my working brain allowing creative flow and inspiration in all my pieces. My background is graphic design and photography from Columbia College Chicago along with a currently earned degree from The Art Institute Of Pittsburgh in Web Development and Multi-Media Communication. I consider all my passions to be my hobbies along with a strong need to fly fish and make music when ever I find the time. Woodworking has been a recent involvement of mine and a great life experience to continue and cherish. Working with wood allows me to use my hands once again to create working pieces from mother natures cupboards. All rustic furniture shown through my shop here at Green Life is all custom made to your specifications to ensure every piece meets your standards. These pieces are something unique and provide lasting conversations with others who are unfamiliar with the process of handmade rustic furniture. If you have a need for something unique or unusual please contact me through thecreationlabratory@gmail.com for arrangements and draft sketches. I am just a man trying to find his niche in the art community. Learning and creativity is a process of continuation and a path to be traveled traveled for the remainder of my life. I invite and thank everyone for visiting me through Greenlife and encourage everyone to be passionate and creative in all aspects of their life. Please visit my main web page for more works such as music, photography, design, rustic furniture and illustration at www.thecreationlabratory.com.

We’re IN THE NEWS!!!

Check out the Swampscott Reporter for the latest press release on greenlifesavor.com

Passion and Creativity.

The topic of this month’s column will be passion and creativity in our daily lives. Creativity in my own personal opinion is an important attribute that fills the soul and allows for emotional expression needed. It allows for expression to be shown by everyone that lives and breathes in our contemporary world. But wait stop right there…” I am not creative”, you say. NOT TRUE!!

Being creative is not something that is genetically implanted despite some beliefs by the few masses. Creativity is the ability to imagine in its most simplistic terms of the definition. I encourage everyone to be creative for one month and construct something once a day even if it consists of typing a letter or hand writing a letter in cursive to a close friend or relative. There are so many explorations in creativity that the sky is the limit. So what are we waiting for? Let us be creative starting today.

Next week tune into my rant about creativity with color and how these hues impact are daily lives tremendously. Did you even know color effects our moods? In the United States currently, color therapy is a banned practice. See you next month earthlings.

Dennis Gaebel

Celebrating The Arts From The Spirit Within.

My name is Marilyn Kucera and it has been a little over a year since I opened the door to Salon de Mere (Mother’s Room) in Bardstown, Kentucky. Being the mother of four talented children and ten grandchildren, the name reflects the nature of my studio/gallery. In my gallery I have been showcasing the work of friends and family as well some pieces I have collected and created myself.

The path of my life over the past six decades has led in many directions. Born and raised in New York State, I lived and traveled in Europe for several years before returning to the capital of New York for a rewarding career with the New York Education Department. In 2003, I retired and reinvented myself, once again, following my inner Voice.

Ever since childhood my father, Alexander Hess, taught me that discipline,study and practice are the foundation of success but beyond this I must be quiet and let the spirit within lead. Last year he passed on at age 94 leaving behind a tremendous legacy. His drawing table seems to embody his spirit of love and creativity. I grew up learning to draw on this table which he inherited from his own father. All of my children and most of my grandchildren spent many hours with him at the table continuing the tradition of letting go and releasing the spirit to create lovely works of art.

The on-line gallery gives us an opportunity to expand our horizons and continue to create in his memory. Mother’s Room started very small, expanded to the local community and now we are part of the global village that we call the world wide web.

Each month I hope to tell you more about what our family of friends and artists are doing, Thank you for giving me the chance to introduce Salon de Mere and share our philosophy. Marilyn Kucera

Salon de Mere is a collection of Marilyn’s favorite artwork.

Hi, my name is Avory and I am heading into my sophomore year at the University of Vermont. I am very happy to be working in collaboration with the greenlifesavor project.

Most of my work comes directly from my mind, though I also enjoy portraits and people studies. Sometimes I’ll close my eyes, scribble onto a canvas, open my eyes, and go from there. It’s for me hard to generalize the art I do because I love to experiment with different styles and mediums. The most flattering compliment I’ve ever gotten about my art is when someone said that out of 100 paintings, they could always tell which one was mine.

What inspired me to make a purse out of collaged magazine clippings woven together was an old shoe box I came across one day while cleaning my room. Inside the box I kept mostly old notes and love letters, but instead of taking a trip down memory lane, I focused on the box’s exterior that I had collaged back in 7th grade. I was captivated by the vibrant colors and the way they all blended together. The cut up images looked like snapshots of color or splatters of paint.

Other purses I’ve designed are also woven, but with black and white greenlifesavor tape for a more classic look. My latest purse is a different style created from greenlifesavor tape and then hand designed by me with an elaboration on an old doodle of mine I found in the very same shoe box.

Converting ordinary, often ignored or forgotten, objects into something new and beautiful is a truly wonderful concept. It is a concept that inspires a lot of my art, from painting to purses.

That’s for sale?! I can make that at home….
some of our products are so easy we want you to try making them at home. Go ahead. With a few simple tools such as tape or clips, you can mend, make, label , or decorate just about anything. NO NEED TO BE CRAFTY!
Save time. Save money. Save the environment.

But, don’t feel guilty if you decide to purchase a product from our Copy Cat Collection. These simple products provide jobs in the community and, in some cases, reuse recycled materials. Plus, as always, with each purchase, greenlifesavor will make a donation to the featured charity.

Do you have a unique product that you can make very easily? Send us a photo and a few simple instructions.

products. people. possibilities.
by Pat Gorham

greenlifesavor is about possibilities. We focus on what is
possible rather than what’s not possible.

About the people…

“I had a dream”…. but it was just a dream.
I could never have done this alone.

Val Grimes was the first to believe in greenlifesavor and she was
the partner who encouraged me to jump in!
Val gave advice in all areas, especially business and finance.
Val would remind me to, “Put on your business hat” when I got
carried away with ideas.

Pat K is my right hand woman. She is behind the scenes
developing business plans and offering support in all areas.
She is my business consultant, personal consultant, and life consultant!

Natasha Medwedeff is the most dynamic, creative businesswoman I have
ever encountered. We hit the lottery when Natasha came on
board. She is a passionate woman who goes after everything
in life with a vengeance! She will tackle anything. She is active
with Habitat for Humanity. She hikes, gardens, does masonry!, paints,
volunteers, loves animals, you name it! And, in between, develops the website for
greenlifesavor. Natasha has owned her own graphic design company
for over 20 years. She sacrificed many new clients to work on greenlifesavor.
On behalf of the students and the community, thank you!

Catherine Esteverena is the computer guru who made our heads spin with
her technological language. She made our heads spin with
her mastery of the English language, for that matter! Catherine is an expert in web development and savvy business woman. Catherine was an original
founder of greenlifesavor but is no longer a partner. Catherine had
to devote time to other matters but is still active in green causes.

Kathy Aiello is our secret source of creative ideas. Kathy has the
ability to “think out of the box” to develop innovative ideas. She has
an eye for design and the ability to make everyday objects look
unique and fashionable. She has the special touch.

Mike Magee is our resident engineer, inventor, and business consultant.
Mike devoted many Saturday mornings to brainstorming and “focus” sessions.
Thank you to Mike, and also to the entire Magee Family. The
services of the “Think Tank” were very much appreciated.

Thank you to my family, especially my husband, who put up with my
dreams, inventions, newspaper boxes, and Ragu dinners!

As for the products… they mean nothing without the people and the stories.

Good morning, everyone.

Yesterday, greenlifesavor got the official clearance from the Swampscott School District to hire employees from the CASES Integrated Workshop to make burlap products for Renovos of CA. This is a mutually beneficial opportunity for all. This is a huge opportunity for our company and for the north shore since we have the potential to provide many jobs for diverse individuals in our community. The CASES Integrated Workshop hires diverse individuals, including individuals who have special needs.

I am currently in the process of working with two homeless shelters in the Boston area to try to provide jobs for their residents. This is in the works. Many of the burlap products that I am designing do not require a sewing machine and, instead, require simple assembly. This will allow provide more job opportunities.

We are already providing jobs for local artists in the community. Many of the artists that we are featuring have been laid off from full time jobs. One of our artist’s was a lab technician for 33 years before he was laid off!

Eventually, greenlifesavor will develop a Career Development a nd Transition Planning component to help individuals discover hidden talents and develop skills.

An article on the front page of the globe mentions The Boston Foundation, the biggest public charity organization in New England. The Boston Foundation has a new philosophy of donating money to those organizations it considers to be “most effective”. Take a look below at the priorities of the New England Foundation that are listed in bold. The mission of greenlifesavor supports 5 of the 6 priorities!! With the exception of health reform, greenlifesavor is involved in “education (career development and workshops), neighborhood revitalization. economic development, job growth, and support for the arts” !