Parts of Art

     “I made this for you before we met!” It’s one of my favorite comments when I’m at an art show with my Parts of Art jewelry. It happens at least once at every show: that piece that, after I designed and built it in the studio, and afterwards thought “O my God, who would ever want this? What was I thinking? Am I out of my mind?” Then I put it out there and sooner or later she comes along, spots it, and it is clearly, unquestionably made just for her. It’s the one aspect of doing shows that I love and dearly miss.       I have recently become a vendor at the Alexandria farmers and artists market in my little rural town. It’s literally the only gig in town, and all my actual juried art shows have been cancelled. So it happened, albeit with face masks and social distancing intact. Here she came, it was made for her, and it happily went from my neck to hers. Want to see what I made just for you? Visit my shop at Sandyartparts.etsy.com

    I have always believed that people love to see behind the scenes in the artist studio. It’s like looking behind the curtain and seeing what goes on backstage, to see how the art is crafted, what tools and materials are used, and how the artist thinks.        To this end, I am thrilled to unveil a new video that tells my story of the origins of Parts of Art.  A big shout out to the producer and videographer   @Moguefilms .                                           Here are some of the pieces seen on the video.                                              Want to see more?                                     ...

According to Bustanoby’s Color Manual, copyright 1939, which in my book is, hands down, no contest, THE authority of color:  "It is a deep blue. Compound of cobalt and alumina.  In admixture with white, cobalt Blue yields Sky Blue tints.   Cobalt itself is a tough, steel- gray metallic element similar to nickel, valued for the blue pigment it forms. A high percentage of the  world’s supply comes from a district near the town of Cobalt, in Ontario, Canada.” “ Dinky Bird” by Maxfield Parrish, 1904. Via   Wikimedia Commons  {{PD-US}}      Cobalt blue is sometimes called  Parrish blue  because artist Maxfield Parrish used it to create his distinct, intensely blue skyscapes.       Cobalt salts were first used to decorate ancient Chinese pottery with brilliant blue designs. Other ancient civilizations discovered the artistic potential of cobalt without knowing what metal they were using. One study don...

        This week I got some unfortunate news about a show I was so excited about and honored to have been invited to. The show promoters had to made the difficult decision to postpone the show from May to August 1 & 2. Now they want to know if we, the artists, want to still participate on the new date or get our booth fee refunded.               At first I thought, of course I’ll still participate! After all,  it took me so many unsuccessful attempts to get into that show, and by now I have produced and framed many art pieces. It was clearly an answered prayer for me to get in that show!       Then I looked at the calendar and realized that anot her show is on that same weekend.  Will it be this or will it be that?      It’s a show I did last year; a really good one for me. Dang it. I’d hate to miss out on that show! The other factor I have to consider is t...

I am very excited to announce that I have recently become the chairman of this great local favorite art  festival  :      Monument Circle Art Fair 2020 will be the sixth art fair held on the beautiful Soldiers and Sailors Circle Monument in downtown Indianapolis.    Six years ago, an artist who worked in the downtown area of Indianapolis stopped for coffee across from the Monument Circle on her way home. She looked at the monument and began to envision an art festival around its base.  One day she decided to make her vision a reality and got to work. The Monument Circle Art Fair is the result of her vision.         This past year that woman passed the torch on to me. I have been participating in the show each year as a jewelry artist, and have a great desire to see this event continue and flourish. I want the Monument Circle Art Fair to become a momentous event for our community.    ...

I wrote this on the back of an envelope at my last show: I’m sitting in my new white tent, four hours from my peaceful country studio.  It’s raining. Again.  And this time I’m too far away from my studio to spend yet another rainy afternoon there.  Which brings me to the age old question: Why am I here?  And, more importantly, What does it take to keep getting here?  So here’s my four part answer to the question about what it takes, which I believe also answers why am I here.  Show up Maybe once or twice in my 30 plus years of doing art shows I have experienced the perfect show. Perfect weather both days. Perfect location, lots of customers who bought exactly what I made for  them without questioning whether I had it in orange  (I don’t) or if I am from here (I’m not) or if I teach classes (nope). Other than those two perfect shows (which I actually may have fabricated in my memory) all other events have been a ...

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 ...

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 wa...

In this lively workshop we will focus on designing and producing the components of mixed media art jewelry. By the end of the session, guests will be able to take home pieces of wearable art of their own design.  Parts of Parts of Art 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. Snacks, coffee and cold drinks will also be available.  Parts of Parts of Art workshop will take place on Saturday, May 26th. 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. See you th...