The Art Dept

     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!  ...

     Alexander Calder was one of the most prolific artists from the 1940’s through the  mid 70’s. He is most known for his sculptures and hanging mobiles, but he also  made over 1,800 pieces of jewelry.      There are many similarities between Calder’s jewelry pieces and his art. He used basic, inexpensive materials, had a fascination with negative space, and used silver wire. Through his jewelry, which adorned the likes of Anjelica Huston, Peggy Guggenheim, and Georgia O’Keeffe, Calder gained a whole new luxury audience in the fashion world.           Calder first made jewelry at age 8. He made necklaces for his sister’s dolls, using beads and bits of copper electrical wire. The influence from his sculpture on his jewelry is evident. Both display an unmistakable sense of balance and energy. Calder’s craftsmanship is always visible. He never used solder in his jewelry pieces and instead linked them – just...

                One day at an art show a man came rushing up to my booth. He had heard that I make jewelry pieces from the dried paint from artists palettes, and he just had to see it for himself.     "Oh my God, this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" He exclaimed, picking up one of the necklaces and inspecting it.  “Please tell me you have a patent on this?!”        Well no, I didn't have a patent on it, I explained. He gave me an incredulous look and said " Well that is the first thing you should do! I would hate for someone to steal your idea!” That’s when the dreaded internal dialogue began. You know the ones, those pesky inner voices that say  “What were you thinking, putting your idea out there for someone to steal? Are you that dumb? How can you be so naive? You better quit now before someone steals it from you.”       The next morning I was on the phone with a very ...

    "The thing I remember best about successful people I've met all through the years is their obvious delight in what they're doing......and it seems to have very little to do with worldly success. They just love what they're doing, and they love it in front of other people" Fred Rogers      That must be why successful artists are always looking for their next show. That’s where they get to love it in front of others. I personally really love and look forward to my upcoming shows for that very reason. It's my time to tell my story!         I often thought in making my art, that I need to work in a "fish bowl" where people could see me work. Of course the other side of this coin is the need to work in my private studio, which is where most of the work gets done.       I once had a shop that was about the size of a large closet, which was also a fish bowl of sorts. It was 1988 and hand painted clothing was popula...

    This year I decided to come up with some new show pieces so I could have exciting, attention grabbing jury images. With this goal in mind I sketched, designed, tweeked and re-drew on paper till I was sure I had a strong look.  Then I assembled the pieces using my chosen materials:  dried paint films, leather, jasper, epoxy clay, handmade papers and canvas. One of the pieces I came up with was this one.       At work in my studio, I squirrel away for hours on end and come up with a plethora of crazy jewelry pieces. Sometimes at the end of the day I look at what I have made and think to myself " OMG who would wear that?! What was I thinking? Am I crazy?"  (I am, after all, an artist with an on-going internal dialogue and at times I need to tell it to shut up!) The funny thing is, when I go to a show, and put those pieces out, someone comes along that is the perfect fit for the piece. It's like I made it just for her before we ...