Gift Ideas From Shops In the Delmar Loop

Hand-crafted gifts abound in the shops in the Loop.

If you are looking for unique gifts, Patch found some amazing ideas in the Delmar Loop. There is nothing more special than hand-crafted gifts and we found plenty handmade jewelry, pottery, glass art, hats, scarves, and gloves by true artisans from St. Louis and beyond.   Patch handpicked, pun intended, more than 20 items you are sure to love. And so will the recipient of your gift. Items are from Craft Alliance, Plowsharing Crafts and Macrosun International. Check out our list below, happy shopping and happy holidays to you all. Craft Alliance Susan Fleming Jewelry, Artist Susan Fleming from Jackson, Wyoming Hand fabricated sterling sliver jewelry set with Japanese Chiyogami papers which are protected by a thin waterproof layer of resin. …

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Rhonda Weiche

7:42 pm on Saturday, December 17, 2011

Thanks! Delmar Loop has some amazing finds. I fell in love with Craft Alliance gift shop.   more ›

University City Photographer sues NBC, Bravo over photo flap

Michael Eastman says a Bravo reality show contestant made an unauthorized copy of a popular photograph.

University City photographer Michael Eastman filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against NBC Universal claiming the company made an oversized reproduction one of his works for the Bravo television show Million Dollar Decorators without his permission. The lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Missouri alleges the show documented the unauthorized reproduction of Eastman’s Isabella’s Two Chairs 1999, a photograph Eastman made during a trip to Cuba. “For perhaps the first time in history, the physical act of infringement – namely, the unauthorized reproduction of a work of art and its massive enlargement into a floor-to-ceiling ‘mural’ of inferior quality – has been captured on film, broadcast worldwide, and …

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Horror Artist Joel Robinson Contaminates St. Louis

Joel Robinson shows off his work at Starclipper’s art gallery in University City before coming to St. Louis for the horror convention called Contamination this weekend.

Horror artist Joel Robinson looks like the kind of man who ought to be a guest at something called Contamination - a horror, science fiction and cult convention taking place at the Westport Sheraton in Maryland Heights through Sunday However, looking at Robinson now, it’s hard to believe he spent a decade as a respectable special education teacher who quietly indulged his passion for art on the side. When he was laid off in 2007 his life took an unexpectedly surreal turn. As a fan of the horror genre, he created his own character portraits and took them to conventions hoping for a guest signature. “People in line asked me ‘Where did you get that?’ They wanted to buy copies. Five of the prints I still sell today started out as portraits I …

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Wolves in Medieval Clothing, Trees Scaring Hikers Part of Nature Art Exhibit

Artist and educator Mark Sheppard shows his work at University City’s Green Center.

The Green Center is showcasing the nature inspired artwork of local artist and educator Mark Sheppard. The exhibit features 25  whimsical ink and gouache works for his show “Mark’s Nature.”  The show delves deep into the wonderful world of storytelling, with wolves in medieval attire, a giant tree that frightens hikers and a fish encased house. The exhibit quickly transports the viewer into Sheppard's own personal Grimm's fairy tale. In an interview with University City Patch, Sheppard said storytelling is a vital element in his work. He said his work is a combination of “good craftsmanship, good composition and execution as well as some kind of hint of something deeper.” That hint at something deeper is inspired by the things around him …

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University City Student Artwork on Display at Galleria

Artwork from University City students is on display at the Galleria.

Artwork from University City students is on display on the Community Art Wall at the Galleria food court through March 3rd. 

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Myra Lopez

9:24 am on Sunday, February 20, 2011

Thanks Beverly, I agree the artwork was very impressive. I hope more people get a chance to go to the Galleria to see it. It's in the food court and will be on display until March 3rd.   more ›

Daily PatchCast: University City Schools Hosts Returning Artists Program, Creve Coeur Mayor Receives Heart Surgery and More

A roundup of the region's major developments for Friday.

Here are the top stories from Patch sites in your area: O'Fallon City Council, Residents Discuss Issues with Residential Rental Inspections Dielmann Out Of Heart Surgery City Gives Boost to Foundry Art Centre Lake Saint Louis Volunteers In Medicine Clinic helps Uninsured Alums in the Arts Celebrated at Reception

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Arts and Entertainment with Jeff Brandt

Art Camps Offer Wintertime Enrichment for Kids

The Craft Alliance is offering one week of Art Camps between Christmas and the New Year.

Sometimes the best holiday gifts for kids are not objects but experiences.   This winter, the Craft Alliance at 6640 Delmar is offering Art Camps for kids from Monday, Dec. 27 to Friday, Dec. 31. The camp is open to children ages 4 to 15. With a variety of artistic options from which to choose, sending your children to a week of camp may be the creative jolt they need to build personal skills and to concentrate on something more intellectually stimulating than video games and Zhu Zhu Pets. "In our camp program, the kids come for three hours, five days in a row, and they work with faculty members who are also artists," said Luanne Rimel, Senior Director of Education and Exhibition Programs at Craft Alliance. "We try to make them fun because…

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Arts and Entertainment with Jeff Brandt

Wash U Alum’s Artistic Menagerie Makes Tracks to Comic Shop

Star Clipper hosted a reception for Sam Washburn’s collection of “Animals in Suits.”

A Delmar Loop business is housing more than 300 wild animals in one room. Illustrated animals, that is. Professional illustrator and University City resident Sam Washburn greeted friends and fans at a reception for his art exhibit at Star Clipper on the night of Dec. 18. The graduate of Washington University's Bachelor of Fine Arts program completed a year-long project this October: a collection of 365 illustrations made into prints. The University City comic shop has shown Animals in Suits since November 20. After graduation, Washburn, 23, remained determined to become a professional artist. In September of 2009, he challenged himself to draw an illustration every day for a year—an exercise many artists have attempted since the advent…

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Jeff Brandt

2:53 pm on Monday, December 20, 2010

Thanks! It's definitely a fun exhibition.   more ›

Loop Into the Loop

From Combat Poetry to Lyrical Therapy

U.S. soldier brings remedy to University City.

While serving in Afghanistan,  20-year-old Christian Johnson, a Specialist in the Army National Guard, started Combat Poetry with his fellow soldiers to help ease the heavy emotional and physical burdens of battle. In the middle of a war zone, a poetry fellowship was born. After returning home, Johnson co-founded a similar program called Lyrical Therapy, which meets once a month at the University City Public Library. Lyrical Therapy aims to help people release stress in their lives. So why meet up at the U City Public library?  Lyrical Therapy participant Qadir Rafat, a 19-year-old guitar player, said "where there is a building, there are people, and where there are people, there is talent." The group's motto is "Good Poetry and …

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Loop Into the Loop

Art & Liberation in the Loop: A New Church for University City

Regional Arts Commission serves as home for a progressive house of worship.

Unlike the musicians and artists hovering around the community bulletin board at Vintage Vinyl recently, Pastor Dietra Wise was not promoting a concert or exhibit; she was spreading the word about Liberation Christian Church, a new house of worship. It was no coincidence, that exactly 40-years after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Pastor Wise decided to plant the church in the heart of the Delmar Loop.  "We walked up and down the street praying about locations, and we found that the RAC (Regional Arts Commission) was the perfect non-traditional place for our parishioners to worship," she explained.  Wise was enthusiastic about the RAC because of its location; she saw U City as a reflection of what God called Liberation to …

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Myra Lopez

1:00 pm on Friday, December 31, 2010

Thank you for sharing Kathy. I would really like to hear more. Please email me and we can set a date when I can come by.   more ›