Shop of the Week no. 7. Abounding Treasures.

Every Saturday, a new shop of the week is chosen by the previous shop of the week, from the number of treasuries made for them. This week that honour belongs to Dallas Manicom from AboundingTreasures. This is the winning treasury. 

As I browse through this gorgeous shop, not only am I struck immediately by the variety of paper butterflies, but the colourful abstract encaustic was art too. As an owner of some encaustic art, I fully appreciate the way the waxes flow into one another to create beautiful blends of colour and shape, with the illusion of deep texture. This shop belongs to a true artisan and creative. Let’s find out more about the owner of aboundingtreasures, Dallas Manicom.

Tell us a little about yourself and your work

I live in the Maritimes on the east coast of Canada and am a grandma to 2 sweet little boys and a precious new-born grand-daughter, all of whom live so far away that I rarely get to see them.

8 ½ years ago, I was given a second chance at life when God performed a miracle and I received a heart transplant after suffering 8 years with congestive heart failure – all as a result of a simple two-day sore throat!

So for the very first time ever, I began feeling brave enough to allow whatever latent creativity I might have, a chance to make itself known in some way.

Field of Dreams - Encaustic (Wax) Original Painting

Making mistakes or not having a clue what to do caused me to hesitate but my dear husband as well as a woman in our local scrapbooking store told me not to be nervous about making the first cut – if things were not as I wanted them, the only thing I would have wasted was a piece of paper!

So, my new adventure began and I now use new cardstock and patterned papers as well as recycling old books, magazines, calendars and such.

Almost two years ago my husband gave me a special iron and beeswax blocks and I began experimenting with encaustic SFA (Small Format Art) which is never larger than 14 inches in any one direction. I fell in love with the medium and the magical process.

        Music Butterflies and Favourite Line

What inspires your work?

My mood at the moment dictates whether I pick up my iron to paint of pick up an old book or new papers to create a 3-D piece. Lately I’ve been incorporating quotes along with butterflies to create 3-D word art and I love the customization of those for my customers.

What are your favourite colours?

My preferred colours totally depend on my mood at the moment and what I want to work with. Cobalt blue, shades of pink, shades of teal or a mix of yellows and greys together are some of my favourites.

RICHARD SCARRY Upcycled - 3D Baby Whale Collage

What is your favourite medium/material?This depends on whether I feel in the mood to work with encaustics or paper. New coloured card stock or upcycled calendars or old books, I love it all.

What is your favourite holiday destination?

Anywhere that I am spending time with family, especially our grandchildren.

What other artists work to you admire and aspire to?

I really admire my husband’s detailed watercolours. He doesn’t have a lot of time to spend painting as he’s still working full time, but I encouraged him to open an Etsy shop and he’s already had a few sales! See Ed Manicom's Work here.

Memorial 3D Heart of Butterflies. Personalized.

What are you most proud of?

Having lost a daughter to stillbirth many years ago, I understand the pain and grief suffered by so many, often silently. So my most meaningful creation has to be my Memorial Heart of Butterflies which I’ve sold all over the world, sometimes immediately following such a loss and sometimes, many, many years afterwards.

Thank you Dallas for such an open and honest insight into your story, one which I know many will relate to, both from the health and the bereavement point of view. Now we can see the raw emotion that goes into your creativity, and it shows every inch of the way, it comes from your very soul, not just your hands and mind.

Do pop along to Dallas's shop to see more wonderful surprises she hasn't mentioned here...click here