Long Winding Road

The story of Crooked Tree Cottage Creations starts long ago in a land of little wealth but much imagination. I was a quiet, lonely artistic child who never felt like he belonged or fit in. I hid my sorrows and calmed my spirit by taking long walks in the nearby wilderness near my hometown of Opps Pennsylvania. I grew up in a family with many artistic skills, all self-taught or passed down through the generations. My fraternal grandparents lived with us when I was very young. My grandfather was a trapper and my grandmother worked in a pajama factory. My mother grew gorgeous gardens that fed us and provided for much of the neighborhood. She was an extraordinary baker but kept few to no recipes. She learned tatting from her mother, a skill now long lost. My father worked in a factory and dreamed of being a mail carrier, he loved to sing in the small church choir.

I grew up and became a teacher and moved to Maryland and created magical spaces in each apartment I called home. On a teacher salary I never expected to own my own place, fast forward to March 2002 and I become the proud owner of a small, brick Cape Cod house I named Crooked Tree Cottage because of the large maple tree that was in my front yard. I spent many of summers traveling and visiting exotic places I never thought possible for a country boy from my background. I loved my new home and would elaborately change over the decorations for each season and host a party to showcase my accomplishments. My sangria was famous and caused many a late nights. It would take me up to three weeks to change out the seasons and people were amazed at the meticulous designs.

I still felt unworthy of their admiration and praises heralding me a guru of creativity and charm. I heard over and over again, "You are so creative!" or "You are so crafty!" but I never  imagined it to be true until one day I decided to make a business card and declared myself as a artist. My business card read Crooked Tree Cottage Creations, Jon David Lowe-Artist, Maker of Decoupage Antiquities, Fabulous Permanent Botanical Arrangements, Tranquil Photographs and other Creativity Curiosities. I sold mostly my flower arrangements honoring my mother's gardens and my love of nature.  I continued to celebrate the seasons, travel to and fro in the summers, and host my soirees but still had not realized my artistic dreams.

At the end of the summer of 2007 I meet my amazing life partner and we slowly moved to our current solitude. A quiet soul who avoided the spotlight, an extraordinary artists of his own, making all sorts of jewelry styles and designs. Wanting to spend more time with him and less time is creative chaos of changing over the seasons we decided to take a book making class at the local mixed media art center, named the Queen's Ink located in Savage Mill Maryland. I was a reluctant participant saying " I don't want to take an art class, they will be all arty and I won't fit in." I loved that class as he knew I would and I started to believe that maybe I was an artist and I had found my true joy. Over the next few years we would take any class that was book making in nature or would further our techniques for the books we were now creating. Many of the classes were taught by Chrissie Hines and she became a confidant and encourager of my craft along with the owner of the Queen's Ink, Patti Euler. They, along with my partner, saw in me something grander than I could not yet imagine.

I created a website and sold my first book in the Autumn of 2010, followed the next year with our debut show at a local high school, band fundraiser. We heard many kind words from the beginning as no one had seen what I was offering. In the beginning my books were on pre-made covers or up-cycled game boards held together with recycled mailing tyvek envelopes. They would go through a few redesigns orchestrated by the engineering mind of my constant companion and forever life mate. I wanted my designs to be unique and included decorative papers throughout the signatures and moved away from cardstock to a finer parchment paper used for awards. The spines became solid and we used the long stitch as a decorative design.

We designed a Secret Belgium Binding allowing us to weave our long stitch throughout the spine. I found a supplier that sold us parchments that are used in reproduction documents like the Gettysburg Address or the Declaration of Independence. They became the pages of our Latin line of books  that has a bookplate on the front inside cover that reads "Omnia mea mecum porto" It is translated on the inside back cover  and  reads "All that is mine, I carry with me." This is the inspiration for my work. I created a double book for my niece's wedding and sell them as a guestbook or a photo album for their wonderful day. It is not gender specific and I have had the privilege of making a groom and groom book and still waiting for my bride and bride book My latest design is what I have named Houdini Hideaway Books that are hidden inside a decorated box as a companion piece that mysteriously levitates as the lid is lifted, absolutely magical!

There are many artists whose classes I have taken that have influenced my work, among them Wendy Vecchi, Laurie Mika, Anna Dabrowska, Chrissie Hines, Patti Euler, Michelle Delorenzo Arsenault  and Amee K. Sweet-McNamara to name only a few. I hear the universe agreeing with me and saying I am indeed an artist but not yet discovered...

                                          Picture is taken by my sister