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You never know who you’ll meet




  It was 2001 and I was participating in a juried art show in DelRay Beach, Florida. I had stepped away from my booth for a few minutes, and when I came back was surprised to see a woman in my booth. With her face about five inches from the displayed jewelry pieces,  she was closely inspecting them!  Undaunted, I greeted her and then started in on the usual explanation of my work. I peel the dried paint from the palette and transform it into jewelry. After a moment of listening, she said, “I can tell they’re made from paint, because I make paint.” 
     
     At first I wasn’t sure I had heard her correctly. Up to now, I had never met anyone who makes paint!  But then she introduced herself to me: she was Barbara Golden. Okay, Barbara Golden of Golden Paints?!?! OMG! I had a celebrity in my booth, at least a celebrity in my world! I mean, Golden Paints was only the biggest name in professional artist acrylics! 

    I was thrilled to meet her and get unsolicited feedback from her regarding my jewelry. She assured me that, to her knowledge, no one was making jewelry from their dried paint. She went on about what an innovative use of paint this was, (who would’ve thought?) to make it into one of a kind jewelry pieces! She did tell me about some of their customers, and their unconventional use of the Golden products. Like the man who made bricks by layering coat after coat of dried acrylic paint in a box until it formed a brick, then used the bricks to build a wall of his home. 

     She left after a few minutes, but soon returned with her mother. I told her how much I enjoyed wearing my Golden paint shirt. It was a plain gray t-shirt but it had a display of all the Golden paint colors, one brushstroke per color, set in rows across the front of the shirt. (I think my husband and I had received ours at a workshop where Golden Paint was featured.) Both Barbara and her mom lit up when I mentioned this, because they both had personally helped paint the brush strokes on each shirt! It was an earlier version  of this: 




   That afternoon encounter was as meaningful to me as if I was an athlete who just met the coach who would make me great. Her words to me confirmed that my idea, and my art is original and worthwhile. Meeting Barbara Golden was a true highlight to my weekend show, and one I will not forget.

         This year I am celebrating 30 years of Parts of Art. That’s 30 years of peeling paint from the palette and transforming it into jewelry. Wanna see it? 

                                                      visit my shop here


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