Parts of Art

Okay folks, I know I recently declared that I am done with jewelry making until further notice.   Famous last words!   I just hit a great after Christmas sale on beads, and they WANT to be made into some amazing new upcycled pieces of wearable art.  Then yesterday I pulled some delicious dried paint off the artist palette. Yeah, I can’t help it. It’s too hard to resist!                                                                       I mean come on!! Aren’t they all just too good to wait?!      So to celebrate the New Year and give all of us some time to play and make art in the studio, I am excited to announce a special event at a special price: Upcycled Treasure Workshop   It promises to  be a super fun time filled with ideas and materials that you can use to come up with your very own wearable art jewelry! All materials and tools are provided, and there will be something yummy to eat and drink. Come on over!!

Now that the presents are unwrapped, the cookies are eaten and the mistletoe is down, now what? Tis the season for looking to the New Year and asking the age old question: So NOW what? I have been pondering that question a lot, especially in terms of my art and where I am going with it.  So I pulled out a large journal that holds a history of such thoughts and plans, and wrote this:  Not that you can read my writing, and I do realize it goes right off the page! I especially like the part that says “in no particular order”. There is something cathartic about simply emptying all the thoughts and plans onto a sheet of paper,  just writing down all those thoughts that have bumping around up in the gray matter, needing a place to land. Good, it’s done. Now I can fold that list into a little paper airplane and send it up to God. (At least in my heart) "Begin, continue, and end every work, purpose, and plan with God. Self-sufficiency and self-confidence have b

     The weekend before Thanksgiving I participated in the Eau Gallie Art Fair in Melbourne, Florida. What a great experience that was! It was my last show for the season and I finished with a bang! So, it’s wrap for 2019.  Once again I had the privilege of meeting the women that I made the pieces for. Here are some of them:  She was on the hunt for something fun and festive, not too much, not too little, something that would show up against her hair and bring on the razzle dazzle.  She made an immediate connection with this piece, dubbed femme du bois- woman of the woods.  Her husband convinced her to try it on,    and as soon as she did there was this great sparkle.  This woman is clearly a lover of color and this pair of orange dangles spoke to her.  I have to admit sometimes I wonder- who would ever wear this? And then she comes along, and WOW! They were definitely made for her!  She came to my booth in her electric scooter and was accom

       So it turns out as I suspected. I got into a show that was clearly NOT a juried art festival. It was a two-day arts, crafts, and wine festival, complete with the usual   plethora of made-in-China crafts and commercial vendors. Ok, so I should have known better. I mean, I pretty much knew what I was getting into when I signed up and sent in my money. So why did I do it when I knew better? The reason is simple and valid: my son and daughter-in-law live right across the street, and I want to spend time with them.    So, no big surprise that my well heeled ladies did not attend this particular venue.   I had to make a decision what to do with my head. How to make the best of it when a show is not the best fit?   Here's some ideas:  Work on inventory. I use the time to go through my inventory of wearable upcycled art and tweek, re-do, and otherwise artfully alter. It's always needful and profitable.  Plus, people like to see an artist at work, so take advantage

Here’s another page from my illustrated journal.  It’s an impression of what I see when I look at my studio window. The walnut grove in full swing, shedding its leaves with gusto.  And as inspiring as it is to be in the studio with the wood stove cooking, I am not there now.       I left for Florida on Sunday (just in time to miss the arctic blast that came through Indiana)  and arrived at the doorstep of my son and daughter in law on Monday. I got to meet our newest Walker, my first grandchild,  sweet little girl, Avery Lee. So for the next few days I will be holding the baby, cooking and baking in their beautiful kitchen, and enjoying walks on the beach.  I intend to collect new imagery for future art pieces as well. Already this morning I became intrigued with the curvilinear design of the sea oats.  Of course seeing the ocean is always breathtaking, even when its overcast and the wind is gusting.   I might need to bring my journal down here and do some dr

       Here’s a  couple pages from my current illustrated journal, entitled Autumn to Winter 2019.        Both pages pretty much tell the story of life in the studio.          I am full tilt in production mode in the studio. I have three shows- yes, three- in November; one in Indiana and two in Florida. Here’s my schedule . I am happy to have shows on my calendar because it keeps me in production mode. I’m also thrilled to be heading to Florida because I am going to meet my first grandchild!! And visit family and friends and do two art shows.   My workday in the studio starts with a page of the journal. I add color, then (if my cat doesn’t walk through it) come back the next day and add to it. Eventually the journal gets filled and it’s time to start another one. The collection of journals is growing, and each one is full of ideas for future paintings and mixed media pieces. It will be exciting to see what’s next.

       People often ask the artist, when seeing a painting, “How long did that take?” The simple honest answer is something like two hours and forty some years. Two hours of painting, and forty some years of work, design, research, trial and error, determination, struggle, blood sweat and tears.         Looking back at 40 years or so of making art, and what I have learned:           When I was in Design 2 in the Art program of my University, our professor gave us an assignment. It was called “I Am-This Is.” The idea was to describe who we are and then give a visual representation of it. Since I had recently gotten involved with a Christian ministry and was learning how to live according to God’s Word, I wanted my story to reflect the Word in my life. My idea was to build a house- like a doll house, where each room displayed an aspect of my life, and then somehow have one room that was full of light. In the Art Building we had access to the shop, which was a spacious

It’s one of my favorite lines at a show, but I’m not just making it up. It’s true.  “I made this for you before we met!” When I set up at a show it’s with my entire repertoire of handmade wearable art. Most of the pieces I have crafted in my country studio in the middle of winter with the wood stove cranking and no one around but the cats. At times when I’m working away in my studio, I look at a finished piece and think to myself,  “Who would wear that? What was I thinking? Am I crazy?” And on and on. Then lo and behold, I go to a show, and something wonderful happens. I meet the one I made it for.  It happened several times at my last show, which was Penrod in Indianapolis.  This is a necklace I made as a show piece, which means it was photographed and used to jury into art shows.  It is a unique piece, entitled “Yoke” because of the style of the necklace.        I put it in my showcase at Penrod and eventually she came. She and Yoke clearly made an immediate connection, mad

Thirty years ago, when I first started my Parts of Art jewelry line, I had a little shop about the size of a walk in closet, where I sold hand painted clothing.   I would order tees and sweatshirts, fleece jackets and denim dusters, and paint custom designs on them.  This denim duster is the one and only piece of vintage denim that I have kept all these years.  This month I decided to paint it and make it my inaugural comeback into hand painted clothing. To place a custom order or make a purchase, visit my Etsy store here

    To the ancients, sage was connected with immortality, or at least longevity, and it was believed to increase mental capacity. The genus name is derived from the Latin word for salvation. The plant was at one time used to counteract snakebites. It was also sought after for drinking tea, even by the Chinese, who eagerly traded their own fine green tea for it at a ratio of 4 to 1.   The oils in sage have been said to have antiseptic, astringent and irritant properties, and have been used to dry perspiration, treat sore throats and mouth sores, and even lower blood sugar in diabetes.  So what do I like about it? The color, of course! Here’s the young sage in my herb garden back in June: And here it is now, at the end of August:    Now for a description of sage green from the classic color book: Bustonobys Color Manual:  "Grayish green of a dull character, resembling the undried narrow, wrinkled leaves of the sage plant, used as a seasoning in cooking. Sage

      It starts with several pieces of textured and variegated purple dried acrylic paint which have been peeled from the artist palette. They are layered, designed, embellished until it becomes a piece of wearable art from the palette.  They are adhered to a red violet painted strip  of soft leather and finished off with a silver toggle.  There are also vintage beads, clay, glass and handmade paper in the equation, all in delicious shades and tints of purple.  Finished length is 8”. What’s not to love?  For more information or to add this to your collection, go to my Etsy Store here . Enjoy!

    It’s officially the Dog Days of Summer, folks. If, like me, you find it challenging to make every day count when it’s hot and dry and you’re tired and it’s easy to get in a funk, here’s some ideas:    1.   Do the same thing every day . Since when has routine become a bad word? My routine is what gets me out of bed in the morning. It’s what keeps me from going in circles or wasting time wondering what the heck I should be doing. All I have to do is look at my Google Calendar and it tells me that at 7 AM it’s time to get up, make coffee, and get into God’s word. At 9 it’s time to clock in to the studio. At noon I go inside and clean one room. (There are 7 rooms in my house, one for each day) If it’s Tuesday my routine includes driving to my favorite coffee shop for a great coffee and some serious internet time.         This being said, there are no two days or hours or minutes that are the same. Ever notice?! The daily routine is simply a template to plug in to life to give i

 After weeks of rain followed by days of intense heat and humidity, plus a lot of weeding, watering, and some random doses of Miracle Gro, we have finally arrived at the WHOLE POINT OF SUMMER. Drum roll please!! Here’s the latest harvest from my salsa garden       And here’s what to do with the goods:  Take some juicy ripe tomatoes and chop them up. Add chopped cilantro, garlic, onion, jalepeno pepper, juice from 1/2 a lemon, a bit of olive oil, a sprinkle of sugar, some salt. (Don’t expect me to tell you exact measurements. I’m not a food blog after all.) Now throw it all in a processor and give it a quick whirl.   Now, enjoy the WHOLE POINT OF SUMMER. Is your mouth watering yet in anticipation?