The Art Dept

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

       Once I spent a delightful afternoon visiting galleries in Asheville North Carolina. At one boutique gallery the owner told me about an artist whose whimsical sculptures I was enjoying. He said,  “She is an artist in her 80’s who has brought us her sculptures for several years. Her process is quite physical and labor intensive, requiring the help of younger assistants to lift the pieces in and out of the kiln and transport them to the gallery.”       When 2008 came along and its subsequent quashing of disposable income, she no longer could afford to pay her assistants. So what did she do? I don’t know, but somehow she figured out a way to continue to produce her work and bring it to the gallery. In fact, he told me with a smile, all she talks about when she brings in new work is “What she’s building next” and what her future pieces will be like. This woman is obviously persisting in spite of of her age, circumstances, the economy, or anyth...