Art

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I still have #1, and just dug it out of storage a few days ago. Both of these are done on 8×6″ MDF boards, with unbeaded lips for sliding under a wood frame. These were fun but bittersweet pieces to do. In the spring of 2008, I’d been playing with my micro-mosaic technique for two…

Read More Storm Study 1 & 2 Mosaics
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I don’t go to costume parties and I barely go to science fiction conventions anymore, so I have no logical reason to make hall costume pieces. Call it a challenge? The ‘Hamilton’ musical brought back tailcoats to public view, though steampunk and vampire costumers have always loved them. I’m also a big fan of the…

Read More Sage & Copper Tailcoat
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Amid my busy scary schedule this week, I’m contemplating the kinds of jewelry pieces I’d need to make to effectively ‘go wholesale’. It’s a tricky calculation. Too elaborate (my normal setting) and I could never afford the time or materials to set up even a hundred-piece order with a boutique. Too simple, and I run…

Read More New jewelry ideas, new markets
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I love book art. I love jewelry. More and more, I’m finding ways to combine them. I also really love the wrap jewelry from designer Chan Luu, and recently learned how to do my own wrap beaded designs. Cue a shipment of mini books back from a gallery, and a match that would be eerily…

Read More Tour Necklace/Bracelet
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The book is done! I haven’t even had time to list it on the 2017 Book Art page, but it’s up on SaatchiArt now: https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Sculpture-Two-Jade-Buttons/799858/4038430/view Update: August 8, 2018: this book and a few others will be for sale on the 23 Sandy Gallery website soon. Here’s a teaser. Yes, those are detachable cufflinks in Burmese…

Read More Two Jade Buttons
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Not quite the first completed project of 2018, but the first one ready to show off:   Spring Garland Earrings! 2″ long asymmetrical tendrils of beaded vines make up these lightweight, dramatic earrings. Findings: .925 sterling silver leverback ear wires from Plazko.com. Beads from Creative Destination, Drumbeat Indian Arts, Fire Mountain Gems, Bead World, Bead…

Read More Spring Garland Earrings
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For 43 years, Ornament Magazine has been documenting personal adornment through the world’s highest levels of wearable fine craft and art media. The magazine itself has a physical beauty that has never been compromised: thick paper, glossy finish, stunning photography, and deeply-researched articles. I first encountered Ornament in January 1979 in the skimpy magazine section…

Read More Ornament Magazine
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Artisans make bread-n-butter pieces: smaller, simpler objects that feed the bank account. But they also need room for the big or complicated gonzo works that feed their joy and skill. I don’t have pierced ears, I don’t intend to ever have pierced ears, and clip-on earrings tend to hurt me after about an hour. So…

Read More Earrings and other conundrums
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These are coming along nicely. The teeny rocketships are all embroidered, and now both sides of the text blocks are sewn together.  I debated hand-sewn seams to anchor the folds, but my hands and schedule said ‘nope’. So my trusty old Elna sewing machine did the work, in about a quarter of the time…

Read More ‘Rocketship’ Fiber Art Books
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For a couple of years recently, I worked at a strenuous but fun job painting faux finishes on fiberglass architectural forms. A mostly outside job winter or summer, it involved schlepping big cast brickwork arches onto sawhorses, fixing the (numerous) flaws from the manufacturer, and painting a three tone finish to mimic a particular type…

Read More Myself from Space
by 2 comments on "Tempe Festival of the Arts Awards, Fall 2017"

The latest award ribbons are done and delivered! As I mentioned here, they are based on the collage/printmaking work of Erin Curry. Here’s the Festival poster image, a commissioned piece. And here are the award ribbons I made in fiber applique, machine stitching, and hand-sewn beaded embroidery. Materials include polyester felt, commercial printed cotton, digital…

Read More Tempe Festival of the Arts Awards, Fall 2017
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Because they make me smile: Sugar Skull ceramic planters from a nearby Trader Joe’s. I’m wondering if I could coax a Datura seedling into growing in one, instead of the succulent shown. Probably shouldn’t, though. Responsibility in gardening, and all that. But honestly: wouldn’t it be gorgeous?

Read More Happy Halloween, 2017!
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Guilty as charged: I love Halloween more than I love Christmas. I used to be dazzled equally by both. I adored the lights, the glitter, the rich mythology. Both are consumer frenzies, but I hold that less against Halloween than I do Christmas. Not so much the fault of Christmas. It’s been hijacked by both ultra-conservative…

Read More Orange Orchids & a Halloween shirt
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I’m shamelessly neglecting my #Inktober duties. With so many disasters both natural and manmade in the news right now, I wanted to pull away briefly, and post two old-but-fun pieces inspired by Autumn. ‘Baltic Blue 1 and 2’ are large acrylic paintings on canvas, approx 22″x36″, done around 2009-2010. While pure fantasy, they were inspired…

Read More Autumn landscapes: Baltic Blue 1, 2
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A few years ago I posted this excerpt of a rewritten fantasy short story, ‘Red Amber’, a M/M erotic romance about creativity, grief, pride, and lost love. Here’s the current mood board for it. While I’m waiting on edit letters for THE PURIST, I’m settling back into this story. I have 12K of it written, so…

Read More ‘Red Amber’ update