By Leeanne Griffin

Looking for a custom piece of jewelry, home décor or some other one-of-a-kind gift? If you’re not yet familiar with Etsy.com, a one-stop shop for everything handmade, you should be. And if you’re looking for fun and fanciful, Annmarie Sherrick is your Etsy artist.

Sherrick, 34, is an elementary-school art teacher by day and a designer in her free time, working out of her home studio. Using glass, shrink plastic, acrylic, decorative paper and recycled materials, she designs whimsical, colorful collages, jewelry, mobiles and other handmade items.

“I love using ordinary objects in an unexpected way. I am driven by a variety of materials,” she writes in her Etsy biography. “I love capturing a fleeting moment. Simplicity is beautiful to me.”

Sherrick says she gets her artistic inspiration from many areas of her life ~ everyday events, experiences with her two-year-old daughter, the excitement of her elementary-school students. Even her studio name, Smiling Gecko, came from the six pet lizards with which she shares her home.

“I was lucky to have a wonderfully happy childhood, and I gather inspiration from that,” Sherrick said. “Many of my pieces represent memories and moments from childhood.”

A graduate of Massachusetts College of Art, she originally intended to study photography, but inspired by her mother, a teacher, she switched her major to art education. While in school, she discovered glasswork, which she calls her “first love.” She also works extensively with plastics, creating distinctive designs with photo transfers.

“I love playful things,” Sherrick said, also referencing the selection of brightly-colored felt brooches in her Etsy shop. “I love telling stories through my work and every piece does truly have a story.” For example, a fuzzy yellow-and-white dandelion brooch was inspired by her daughter’s summer fixation on the weeds.

Through Etsy, Sherrick has had the opportunity to create custom pieces for those looking for unique items, something she says she loves. “You’re making something special ~ and I love getting to know the person [in the process],” she said.

Among her custom projects? Pet portraits. Sherrick paints these from submitted photos, using acrylic on a 10” x 10”canvas. She describes these on her Etsy site as a “great gift for the pet lover in your life, or to honor a furry friend that has passed.”

Sherrick discovered Etsy a little more than a year ago through an acquaintance and says it’s been a “wonderful support system.” She’s been able to sell her pieces across the United States and Canada, she said.

“It’s just a great way to get my work out there.” she said.

Visit Annmarie’s Etsy profile at
www.etsy.com/shop/SmilingGeckoStudio