More tales from the weekly farmer’s market.

Stacey Reed’s glassware

Artist and jewelry maker Stacey Reed comes to Block Island by way of Michigan and Colorado. A native Midwesterner, she attended art school at the Art Institute in Colorado where she majored in photography. But here at the market, she is selling her handmade jewelry, interesting pieces that incorporate many of her artistic skills.

Reed, who has worked at The Oar Restaurant in New Harbor for three years as a waitress, happened upon a course in jewelry making and she says, “just fell in love with it.”

Her kiln travels with her from Colorado to the East Coast. And some of this summer’s newest ceramic ware is embedded into her rings and pendants. On some of her pieces she uses a process called dichroic glassmaking. A thin film is applied to the glass which can then be etched. Reed says the process was first developed by NASA, to protect glass going into space.

Besides the jewelry, Reed has also made some whimsical pieces such as the little “nips,” flattened airline sized liquor bottles turned into paperweights.

Reed’s creations can be found at the Wednesday markets. Take a look before she leaves for the summer to head back to Denver, her home base for the winter. Her rings are one of a kind.

Elizabeth Wright, photographer

When given a camera as a gift one year, photographer Elizabeth Wright fell in love with photography. Even though she was an economics major in college, she managed to build some photograph courses into her course of study. And now she is building a business around her passion.

Using a Canon Rebel, Wright loves to take all kinds of photos, but particularly ones of the natural world. She has a strong faith and believes that one way to portray it is through photographs that show the beauty of creation.

What makes Wright’s photographs particularly interesting is the way in which she frames them. Using a special process, the artist places her works on old glass windows from Block Island homes, then smoothes a mixture on top that hardens overnight. The result is a photograph that is UV protected and waterproof and can be hung in a window “where the light shines through it like stained glass,” she says. She supposes they could be hung outside as well, but does not recommend it, as the glass is not temperature proof and might crack in extreme cold.

A Bangor, Maine native, Wright graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with her economics degree. She came to Block Island like many others, to work for a restaurant, in her case The Oar.

Wright can be booked for family or individual portraits and can do customized work on request. Want a family portrait or a photo of your pet? She has a website: www.seephotos.org.