The Art Dept

          I’ve always been a lover of paint and paint palettes. I vividly remember the excitement I felt opening that rectangular tin filled with round cakes of watercolor paint in elementary school. I was hooked! From that point on, I have wanted to explore and express within the inviting purity of paint.          In 1988 I had a beach side shop where I hand painted women's clothing. I was using acrylic paint in abundance. One morning I had cleaned my palette off, and had peeled a large colorful piece of variegated and textured acrylic paint from it.  Some friends of mine came into the shop (actually it was my minister and his wife). During our brief conversation, I showed them the peeled up paint and said, “This is too pretty to throw away, but I don’t know what to do with it.” The husband said, “Oh, you should cut it up and make it into jewelry!” We all laughed about it. It was like "Yeah right, I should try ...

    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?                                     ...

     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...

     Start with an oval of blue violet paint that has dried on the artists palette. Adhere it to artist canvas that has been painted some lovely color.    Add two smaller ovals, one on each side. Similar shape and color tend to give a design visual harmony.    Add two small squares to make a pattern. Same colors but different shapes; we are seeking the balance between monotony (boring!)  and discord (Yuk!)    Switch the squares and ovals around. Either way works. It's up to you. Don't worry. Really. The design police are not out to get you.     Start adding beads. Oops, I forgot to tell you you would need some beads. And some silver wire and a couple other tools. Hey this is not a tutorial, its a demonstration of artistic harmony.    So what we're after is the right blend of same but different. Similar color and texture, different sizes and shapes. At every step...

What's new about placid blue? It's not a new color at all. It has always been with us. It is what we want to see when we get up in the morning and look out the window at the sky.          It is one of the top ten Womens's Pantone Colors for Spring 2014, which makes it noteworthy.  See the Pantone fashion color report for Spring here Placid Blue is a soft pastel that is a wonderful compliment to the strong and bold Dazzling Blue.  Pantone describes it as a picture perfect, tranquil and reassuring sky that induces a sense of peaceful calmness.                   Placid blue bracelet upcycled from artist palette                    What is great about placid blue:  It is calming. It works well as a background color. It harmonizes with soft pastel greens and violets. It is a great solution for "what to we...

   Several years ago I was participating in an art show in Delray Beach Florida. What I sell is jewelry which I make from the dried acrylic paint from the artist palette.  During the show, a woman walked into my booth and was studying my jewelry pieces. I mean, really inspecting them more closely than the typical customer. I started to share with her my story, how I start with the palette and go from there.  She listened, then said “Yes, I can tell they’re made from paint. I make paint.” Well at first I wasn’t sure if I heard her correctly, not having ever met anyone who makes paint. Then she introduced herself. “I’m Barbara Golden.” To me this was akin to meeting a Hollywood star! I had a celebrity in my art booth! She went on to tell me about some of the more interesting and unusual applications artists have found for Golden Paints.  She later came back to my booth and we had a delightful conversation about ...

1.  Agreement in feeling or opinion; accord:  live in harmony. 2.  A pleasing combination of elements in a whole:  color harmony; the order and harmony of the universe. The Free dictionary.com So I am looking for harmony-in thought, in art, in music, in my relationships, in life.  The thing about harmony is that even if all the elements are different and seem to be unrelated, it only takes one similarity to harmonize them all.  This photo is of the booth I set up when I participate in fine art shows. My goal is to have a very streamlined and uncluttered look, one that simply says one thing: art to wear. The colors and lines are a pleasing combination of elements.  If you take a look at my former booth from my blog archives, I think you will see that there is more harmony now. What do you think? 

One way visual harmony is achieved is by use of color. Colors harmonize when they are similar to one another, either in their tone, tint,  or hue. Even contrasting colors harmonize with each other when they are balanced by size, shape, direction, line or texture. My lovely client came into my booth wearing a fuschia scarf with a geometric pattern. We found earrings to harmonize her look. The earrings are similar in color and line.  How do you think we did? What would you do differently? To see more jewelry pieces that harmonize, go to sandyartparts.etsy.com                                                                        

      Would you like to make a totally one of a kind pair of earrings from all kinds of stuff from the art studio? But don't happen to have an art studio at your fingertips? This little kit might just be the perfect solution! The kits come in all different color combinations and are each one of a kind. They are packed with bits of handmade paper, canvas, leather, dried paint chips, beads and all the findings you need to complete the pair. Imagine how much fun! The kits also come with a link to a video, where we show you the very simple how-to. Find the kits here:   

You are invited to come visit me in my booth at any of these fine shows: February 4 Winter Garden market, Orlando February 5 Lake Eola market, Orlando February 11 Winter Garden market, Orlando February 12 Lake Eola market, Orlando February 18 & 19 100 Artists Show, St. Petersburg February 25 & 26 Delray Beach March 3 & 4 Cocoa Village Craft Show March 10 Riverside Art Market, Jacksonville March 17 Riverside Art Market, Jacksonville March 31 & April 1 St. Pete Beach When you go to any one of these markets, look for my colorful and funky booth. Believe me, it is one of a kind, just like the jewelry! And it is positively full of new stuff!! If you simply cannot make it to any of my shows, but still MUST have a Parts of Art jewelry piece, there's still a way!! Go to sandyartparts.etsy.com and you will see right there on the screen before you all kinds of tantalizing choices. Once you make your selection and go to pay for it, type in ARTPARTS111 where it says "enter...

Most of my jewelry pieces are simply harmonious blends of color, shape and texture, and I am proud of how each one is a little wearable work of art. There are a few pieces, however, that go beyond the simple elements of art and aim to express qualities that are spiritual. One of those pieces is this necklace, called Poured from within. In the gospels, Jesus Christ taught his disciples about the gift of holy spirit, which they would be receiving at some point in the future. He said in Luke 7:38, " He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." That was spoken about 2000 years ago, and since then, anyone who believes can receive the gift of holy spirit. That spirit within is like a river of living water, and when we operate the gift of holy spirit, it pours forth from within us. We are, at best, vessels of clay with earthly and finite bodies. The beautiful thing is that inside this clay vessel is this living, sparkli...

In my on going adventure of finding beads I acquired a beautiful conglomerate of what I think is jasper. Not being an expert on gems, I am simply attracted to the colors and textures of stones and love the process of combining them with parts of art. This piece lived in my jewelry bead box for at least a year, waiting its turn for how it would be used. Then along came some beautiful double drilled jasper squares with hues of olive and sepia. I then found a delicious slice of acrylic paint with visual layers of spotted and marbled tans, dark chocolate brown, and pastel baby blue. It all came together with some gray pearl and clay beads. It made its debut on my Etsy store as the Natural Beauty necklace. It sat for four months, waiting patiently for its owner to find it. But no one came forward to call Natural beauty their favorite. When it came time to renew its time on Etsy, I pulled it out to re- photo it. Then it sat on my work table for a few days in the bundle of...

I now have kits for those of you who would like to try your hand at making a pair of one of a kind Parts of Art earrings. The kits will be available soon on my online store, sandyartparts.etsy.com, or at my shows. Each kit contains an assortment of dried acrylic paint, papers, canvas, beads, and all the findings you will need. To see a video on how to make the earrings from the kit, simply paste this link into your browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzS6_TMk30U Once you make a pair of earrings, if you email me a photo of them and you will receive credit to shop in my online store! I am looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with using all kinds of wonderful stuff from my studio. Enjoy!...

One of my customers at a show picked out a necklace but wanted a few changes done to it. The day she picked it and tried it on, I once again got to witness what I call the "perfect marriage", where the piece is perfect for the woman.

Twenty years ago when I started cutting paint off of old palettes there was no such thing as internet. Not too many people were even using computers. It baffles my brain to think how much has changed since then. And now...I am so proud to say I have an online store. And a blog spot. And I can even send an email! I am more computer savvy than I ever dreamed possible.