Parts of Art

       So what makes it a harmonious blend?      Harmony is a combination of units which are similar in one or more respects. Units are harmonious when one or more of their elements or qualities, such as shape, size, or color, are alike.      In this sketch, done by my husband in preparation for a painting commission of a Chilean vineyard, I am struck by the harmonious blend of the directional lines that lead the eye through the painting. Design in art is not random, it is planned by the use of the elements of design, such as line tone, color and form. In this drawing, the lines of the vineyard rows lead the eye of the viewer toward the distance and then back toward the front. Harmony is achieved by the variegated, yet similar, lines that form the rows of planted vines.       In 2019, I am going to explore all aspects of visual harmony. Whether it is fashion, art jewelry design, mixed media, or just different aspects of harmonious living, I am going to blog on under the rathe

 Yep there’s something to that. Santa, because he’s Santa, has to be extremely organized. He’s actually a genius of planning and preparation! Imagine all that he has to do and keep track of all year long, not to mention on the big night!  His to-do list must be a million pages long. Hopefully Santa takes advantage of technology to stay organized So, in light of making the best of the most wonderful time of the year, here are three simple tips for effective list making: 1. Keep it simple      Santa’s list is long, but he’s had a long time to practice and perfect it. Your to-do list needs only the most important tasks that MUST be completed that day. This will prevent you from being overwhelmed. A short list will allow you to prioritize and focus on the essentials.  2. Plan ahead       While you are most likely not managing a village of elves or magically making reindeer fly, it is important to be prepared for the day ahead. Write your to do list the night

This has always been one of my very favorite shows. I was in it twice, then not invited back for whatever reason. Juried art shows are very competitive, and that’s all I can say about it! So after many years, and after moving far far away, I decided to apply. I figured, hey, I’ve quit my job, so I can travel, and it would be amazing to be in Florida right about now. So hallelujah, I got accepted. So I am heading south tomorrow morning and I must say, I can’t wait to be back. I love this show for many reasons. 1. First, they feed us. Yes indeed, they serve hot, home cooked breakfast and lunch to their artists, and then they give us a party, complete with dinner, beer and wine. What’s not to love? 2. Second, the quality of the art is top notch. Check out the video that shows the artist lineup and you’l see what I mean. Where I’ll be this weekend    Wait for it on the video- the categories are shown in alphabetical order, so of course I being a W am at the end! But hey, i

How does Wine and Art Night sound to you?                                                  Click for more info

Here’s another satisfied customer!  Mom says: "Meara did most of the work herself (I bent the wire for her to connect the findings). She had a good time piecing it together. What a fantastic idea to sell the kits at your shows. ” Before I started selling the kits at shows, I “tried it out” on two 11 year old twins. They did great! With very little instruction, they each produced a pair of unique and artful earrings. Since then I have sold many many kits, not only for 11 year old girls, but to women who wanted a fun craft for ladies night out, for birthday parties, for stocking stuffers, for grandmas to make with her grandkids, for jewelry makers to add to their repertoire with new materials, and to jewelry lovers of all ages. At a recent show, one of my customers came by who had purchased a kit the year before. She was wearing the pair of earrings she had made from the kit, and was ready to purchase again. I loved seeing how she took the contents of the

       In this festive holiday workshop we will focus on designing and producing the components of mixed media collage. By the end of the session, guests will be able to take home pieces of wearable or frameable art that can be given as gifts.   Materials will include handmade textured paper, acrylic paint skins, canvas remnants, polymer clay beads, paper beads, and various painted and textured surfaces. All tools and materials will be provided to guests. Holiday snacks, coffee and cold drinks will also be available.  Santa’s Mixed Media Workshop takes place on  Saturday, December 1 Schedule for the workshop:  10 AM introduction and demonstration  10:15-11 design and build parts of parts of art 11 coffee & snack extravaganza 11:15-12 put all the parts of art together The workshop will take place in my inspiring and peaceful country studio outside Alexandria Indiana. Once your registration is completed you will receive directions and details. Se

       Now that autumn is officially here, and the natural color palette of the landscape is warm and muted, I am focusing on the beautiful muted green called sage. Here’s  a description and recipe from Bustanoby’s Color Manual, 1939: Sage green Grayish green of  dull character, resembling the undried narrow, wrinkled leaves of the sage plant, used as a seasoning in cooking. Sage Green was recorded as a color name as early as 1596. In the reign of King Henry VIII, when the enjoyment of food was a high art, it was customary to have kitchen gardens growing sage and other plants, used as subtle seasonings for foods. This practice is still followed today in some rural localities. 16 parts Zinc White 8 parts Yellow Ochre 1 part Ultramarine Blue Speaking of the autumn palette, here is what I have recently pulled from mine:  Always looking for harmonious blends, I find that sage green pairs well with lavender and black. Interested in adding a little sage g

  Upcycled Treasure Workshop What : In this fun and innovative session we will make earrings and/or a necklace from all kinds of stuff from my studio! Materials include acrylic paint films, bits of canvas, strips of leather, various handmade papers, and beads made from twigs, clay and glass. There is no end to the possibilities that this session will bring to your jewelry making repertoire.  No previous jewelry making experience is required All materials are supplied Snacks, coffee and drinks are available  Where : The workshop will take place in my inspiring and peaceful country art studio When : Saturday, October 20, 10AM -12 to register for workshop click here

      I am a lover of paint and the painted surface. What the painted surface is able to express is a silent language that speaks with a voice louder than words. When standing before a painting, one can perceive this language, can even participate in the silent dialogue. The viewing of a painting becomes a conversation of sorts.        This month My husband and I celebrated our 40th anniversary by going to Bavaria, Germany. During our stay we visited five museums and saw firsthand over 2000 years of history expressed in paint. With bated breath I stood before masterful oil paintings I had heretofore only studied in art history textbooks.       One such painting was done by Rembrandt Van Rijn in 1661, and is entitled “The Resurrected Christ”. In this painting the viewer is face to face with a life size Christ who has risen from the dead.  Christ is boldly and with an expression of love and understanding facing his audience with the promise of redemption. With Rembrandt’s maste

                           I was contacted several months ago by the editor of Green Craft Magazine, inviting me to submit my Parts of Art earrings for the August issue of their magazine. This month I received a complimentary issue, and there they are, almost at the very back, but still, there they are!  And just think, it only took 30 years of doing Parts of Art to get published! I am honored to be  part of this impressive publication. 

     This neck piece was one I made several years ago, from a very thick and variegated section of an artist palette. The palette was not from the usual source (my husband) but was given to me by a friend who is a prolific painter. It must have  had 10 to 15 layers of dried acrylic paint on it! In fact, the top layer was so splattered and multicolored, I came to think of it as the Jackson Pollack palette.  Here are some of Pollack’s painting from his “drip” period:     Not that Pollack ever used a palette! He actually became best known for the large canvases tacked to the  floor of his barn studio,  on which he dripped paint straight out of the paint can.         But if he  DID  have  a palette, this is probably what it would have looked like! Here is the necklace in the design build phase at my work space:              I cut selected pieces from the Pollack palette into squares and adhered them to  brown leather, then black canvas. Next I connected the s

It happened again, and I just want to tell the story.        When I work on the jewelry pieces, I’m in my studio, by myself, squirreling away. I work on one color combination per week, and make as many pieces as I can in those colors. So it was silver and gray week, and I had this fabulous strip of dried acrylic paint which I had peeled from the palette. It looked a little drab, so I coated it with resin and sprinkled on some glitter. Then it wanted to be adhered to a frame of handmade paper, and then backed with painted artist canvas. Now it was beginning to get an identity! Because of the rectangular format, I chose to  suspend it from a smaller rectangular piece of textured silver clay. Then I finished it off with a strand of harmonious beads of paper, clay and metal.           By then it was time to clock out for the day. As I was cleaning up and organizing the work space, I took one more look at the piece I had just finished. And then it started: that internal dialo

Getting into shows is one thing, getting to shows is quite another. So how do you get to shows?       It does take some kind of large cargo space on wheels to accommodate everything needed for an outdoor art show. The artist, after all, is responsible to bring their tent, inventory, props, tables, shelves, displays, lighting and anything else needed to make the booth into a veritable outdoor gallery. In my years of doing shows I have seen people pull up in vans, pick ups, mini vans, step vans, buses, mobile homes, and UHauls of all sizes.        I have also used many of the above mentioned transports to get there. The best transport of all, however, I have used for the past 7 years, ever since my father passed away and left me his sporty  bright yellow Chevy Cobalt.     When I first inherited this little gem of a car, I was still using my husbands old jeep to get there. Obviously, one look at the Chevy would tell you there was no way all the goods would fit in it. Then one