Most of her work ranges from $12 to $50.
* Linda Johnson, Little Flower Designs , ceramics
Johnson, who lives near Philadelphia, has been creating pottery for 14 years, but this is her first time at the craft show. "I keep my form simple because my focus is on the design," she says. Most of her works are inspired by nature; birds are a frequent motif.
Prices range from $20 to $150.
Green craft
* James Mullan, Mullanium, jewelry and sculpture
Mullan, of Pompano Beach, Fla., was a green artist before the term became popular. In the 1960s, he scoured San Francisco pawn shops seeking broken jewelry that he could turn into art.
"I'm like an old hippie," he says jokingly.
He travels throughout the country gathering discarded items: old cameras, croquet balls, bird decoys. "That's part of the fun, when you find something spectacular that people don't know is spectacular," he says.
Mullan has been attending the craft show off and on for 20 years, and this year he'll bring his popular bird sculptures that are made of old decoys and art carvings, which he decorates with rulers, pieces of old jewelry and even binoculars. "I try to come up with things that make people smile. If it makes them feel good, they'll want to buy it," he says.
His jewelry ranges from $25 to $125; his sculptures from $35 to $1,300.
* Jerry Kermode, woodworking
Kermode of Sebastopol, Calif., has been turning discarded trees into works of art since 1991. During his fourth appearance at the craft show, he will be teaching others how he does it. He will demonstrate how he searches for burls, the bulbous underground tree growths that he uses to sand and shape into bowls and vessels.
Kermode says that even during the recession, demand for his craft remains strong. "People are saying this is something I can touch, feel and get my head around."
His work ranges from $100 to $2,500.
Splurge
* Damian Velasquez, Modern Handcrafted Furniture, furniture and lighting
Some artisans pack a suitcase of jewelry, board a plane and fly into Baltimore for the show. Marylanders pull up outside the convention center and unload their goods just hours before the show opens. Then there's Velasquez, a furniture maker, who has to pack a cargo van and travel solo 1,850 miles to exhibit his craft.
