New Work at The Griffin Bookshop

I was delighted to be asked to show my work at The Griffin Bookshop this month. The Griffin is the coziest spot in town. It has books and art and jewelry and ....coffee. Rich, fragrant, aromatic coffee. I never learned to drink it, but I sure do enjoy the smell of it.

 This is one of the pieces I'll be showing there. This started out as a really beat up old cuckoo clock. I took out the insides, the numbers, the little bird inside the door.and finished the whole thing in flat black. After that, I took the large bird off of the top and replaced it with two owls.

Here is a closeup of the face of the clock. It turned out to be the perfect place for the little doll head I had embedded in ice resin. I had intended to make a piece of jewelry from it, but decided that she really belonged here.

This work is at The Griffin through the month of October. I hope you'll stop by if you're in town. You're in for a real treat!

Mixed Media Robot Assemblages - Alvin

by Leslie Brier

I am very excited to be attending Art and Soul 2012 in Virginia Beach as an instructor this year. One of the classes that I'll be teaching is Mixed Media Robot Assemblages.

This is Alvin.  He is the latest addition to the series. See the little car on top of the wheel? The wheel spins so that the car can drive around in a circle.

 Alvin is a very "green" robot. He bikes wherever he goes.

 Alvin is avaliable for sale at the PonShop Gallery and Studio.

In my next post, I'll introduce you to his lovely bride, Lucille.

Easter Pretties

By Leslie Brier, Brier Design

The weather here has been crazy. It was 70 degrees last week, and yesterday we had a two-hour delayed school opening because of ice. I decided that I'm going to ignore the weather outside, and pretend it is springtime inside. I made a new batch of Easter Pretties.

I molded a batch of bunnies and lambs, and set them out to dry.

Next, they got a coat of paint, and a box to sit on. After that, I added more color to the boxes with colored pencils, vintage trims and flowers.

And a sprinkling of glitter was the finishing touch.

This batch of Easter Pretties was delivered to Chicks Picks by Hillary. We tried them out in one of her fabulous shadow boxes. I've decided that I definitely need one!

In the meantime, I've made a little more progress on my cuff bracelet.

And now, both dogs are wondering what I'm up to! That is Miss Marilyn Merlot on the left, and Miss Brigitte Bordeaux on the right.

Works in Progress

by Leslie Brier, Mixed Media Artist

Since I got my studio cleaned up, I've been getting into all kinds of new projects. I signed up for Elizabeth Woodford's Beaded Cuff Bracelet Class at FCCA (Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts). I spent a fun afternoon last Sunday sorting through my bead boxes and boxes of smalls to assemble a litte grouping of items I wanted to use for my bracelet. They were so pretty that I decided to photograph them. They might end up as the back of my new business cards.

I put them on the floor in front of the sliding glass door to take the photos. Miss Bordeaux was very puzzled.

 On Tuesday, I took the first part of the class. This is how far I'd gotten by the end of the class.

And this is Bordeaux, wondering why I am taking pictures when I could be playing with her.

I started this piece to hang in my living room. This is the first time I've made a piece specifically to go in my house.

This is how it loos now that I've added the background in. It's kind of in an ugly duckling phase at the moment. I'm going to go in and lighten it up. I'm not thrilled with the way the colors are working with each other. Most of my pieces go through a phase like this, so I've learned not to get too concerned about it.

I like the way this particular section is working, but it is a little too bright. I'm debating about whether to go over it with watered down paint or watered down gesso. I'm also trying to decide what color the 3-D birds will be. There an awful plastic faux woodgrain at the moment. Comments and suggestions are welcome.