FAIR HAVEN, Vt. -
Sugaring season is in full swing. But instead of collecting the sweet stuff with sap buckets, Priscilla Hughes uses them for something a little bit more -- well -- fancy.
"I've tried canvas, that's kind of boring for me because it's all flat -- there's no place for a surprise," she said.
The Fair Haven artist turns the average sap bucket into a piece of art. She started her company, Simply Said by Priscilla, five years ago, hand painting different scenes or designs on each one. "I needed a gift for somebody, somebody who has everything, so I decided I would make them, so picked up a sap bucket, painted a barn on there and she loved it. And I loved it. It was so much fun," she said.
And it has gotten sweeter from there. Her newest creation -- the story bucket. Give Priscilla some information about your life and she turns in into a functional scrap book. "It captures different parts of people's life, so they got married in Las Vegas, they met at the Wheel Inn," she said.
Reporter Gina Bullard: "Did you ever go to art school or get training?"
Priscilla Hughes: "I never did, but ever since kindergarten my favorite day was art class day."
Her sense of detail will surprise you, the entire way around the bucket. One client ordered a piece for his wife who loved the New England Patriots. Since Priscilla isn't a football fan she did her research -- even down to the players weights.
Each bucket takes upwards of 20 hours to paint and she's made more than 200. "Really, it's kind of cool because it's putting a piece of Vermont in people's home. I've shipped from Canada to Hawaii," she said.
Putting a sweet spin -- on a Vermont tradition.
