Meet Sailor Jerry

Sailor Jerry is at the FCCA Show this month. He is riding on a little "boat" made from an old filmstrip projector.

He has a lot of navigation equipment to help him get where he's going.

In his well in the front, he has the catch of the day - an octopus. In my next post, I'll show you "what lies beneath!".

 

Cabinet of Curiosities Show

 

It's show time! My Cabinet of Curiosities Show has been hung in the Members Gallery at the Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts.
The opening is this Friday, September 7, 2012 from 6-8:30 pm.

Here is a sneak peek at the show:

 

 

Details of "Royal American Traveling Circus"

 

 The low ceilings and rustic walls are the perfect background for these pieces.

 

 

FCCA is "the place by the river where art and history meet." Indeed, FCCA is not only an art center; it is the caretaker organization for one of Fredericksburg’s historic buildings called the Silversmith's House, circa 1785. The brick filled half-timbered structure is a nice example of a middle-class family’s home in the era just after the Revolutionary War. The property is also the site of Fredericksburg’s first Fourth of July celebration in 1805 and was used as a forward Union hospital during both Civil War battles for Fredericksburg. 

 

I'll be posting more photos of pieces as the show continues.

 

For more information about the show go to: http://www.fccava.org/member_gal/9-12/

Etched Bullet Casing Pendants and ICEResin classes

 Thought is might be nice to drop into my own blog and say hello!

I am woefully behind on my posts and have vowed to do better in the upcoming weeks. I've just haven't been able to get myself, my computer, my images and my calendar all into one room. I'm sure you know the feeling.

I have been mostly working on getting many, many pieces completed for my upcoming solo show at The Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts in Sept. The opening is Friday, Sept. 7,  so the countdown is on. I'll have more information on that soon.

In the meantime, I'm having a wonderful time teaching classes at the PonShop Studio in Fredericksburg, Virginia  and at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, Virginia.

I'll be at the Artistic Artifacts Annex this Saturday, July 7 to teach the etched bullet casing pendant. I have made several of these for myself, but I keep selling them before I get a chance to wear them. That is a good thing, but I'm hoping I'll get to keep the one that I make in my Saturday class!
 Spaces are still available, and I provide the bulk of the materials, so stop by and beat the heat, and get a head start on your gift-giving as well!

 I have some upcoming resin pendant classes, too. I'll be teaching a two-part class  at the PonShop Studio in Fredericksburg on Sunday July 15 and 22. I'll be teaching a day-long workshop at Artistic Artifacts on Monday, July 16,

I just can't say enough about ICEresin. My students have all been so successful with it.

Art by PonShop student Meredith Jackson

Art by PonShop student Meredith Jackson

Art by PonShop Students

I'm looking forward to seeing my students' creations!

Octopi! Oh My!

I had three big deadlines last week, and I managed to produce pieces that I was happy with for all three of them. Last night I was up until 3 am cleaning up the aftermath of my flurry of activity. 

The three figures that I created are customized vinyl toys. Two are mini munnies and one is an off-brand that I got at the craft store. I dropped them off at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton for the Urban Decay Show. I'm looking forward to seeing the variety of work there, including the work of two local artists, Jeremy Gann and Gabe Pons of PonShop Studio.

This first piece is my Octopus Bride. I removed her arms, added wing/fins where the arms were and then attached a deconstructed octopus toy to her bod and added lots of color.

Neptune is a modern guy. He has tunnels in his ears and a resin-filled ocean in his belly complete with a little gold ship floating in it. I haven't seen this particular body modification on a person yet, but I suppose it's just a matter of time until someone figures out how to do it.

Diver Dan is ready for anything. He has scuba fins and a very sophisticated breathing apparatus. He also has a mohawk made of lite brite pegs.

In other octopus-related news, I have a piece called Octopus in the upcoming Regional Show at FCCA

 

 

 The photo on the left shows the way the piece looked the day after our "painting around" session last November. The photo on the right shows the finished piece.  I checked it out with the other artists who helped me paint the background and they gave me the go-ahead to submit it.

And, last but certainly not least, I completed my quilt for the Art and Old Lace Challenge Sponsored by Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria. I grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to make this quilt, and the journey wasn't exactly a smooth one, but I am pleased with the finished product. For now, I can only give you a sneak peek:

 

I have fallen in love with the colors on this quilt, and now I'm in the mood to redecorate my kitchen in a sunny vintage style. Perhaps one day I'll have some spare time that I can devote to a little kitchen facelift. Let's not mention it to my husband just yet, though.. my decorating projects have a way of snowballing that results in a lot of work for him, and I just got the kitchen table clear of art supplies. I'll try to give him a few weeks of low-chaos living before I spring this one on him! (Love you, Honey!)

A Beautiful Day

It's been so long since I posted because I've been out having all kinds of fun!
We attended the wedding of my cousin Julie and her new husband Will.
They had a vintage tea-party themed reception and all of the guests were invited to dress up as well. 

  Julie and I are distant cousins. Our grandmothers were sisters, and I am old enough to be her mother, but we are also kindred spirits and very special friends. The age and distance between us disappears when we are together, and I'm looking forward to spending lots more time with the new Mr. and Mrs. Skaarup since they will be living closer to us now.

Each bridesmaid wore a different dress. I got to make earrings for each one of them.

 Cherry Blossoms for Emily

Pearls and tiny victorian handbags for Tina.

Pearls, lockets keys and dictionary pages for Becky.

I have a ton of pictures that I'm still editing. I'll post more on facebook soon.

In the meantime, I've been working on my teaching schedule. I'll have a list of upcoming classes posted soon!

His Royal Highness

Photo by Dale Brown

Now showing at the LibertyTown Food Show. First Friday is this week, April 6. The rest of his robot friends are at the PonShop Studio. More photos coming soon!

Handkerchief Babies

I have been working on my handkerchief babies series for the past year or two. They involve a small china doll, and lots of lots of antique linens and lace. I don't think I've shown one on the blog before because I could never get a really nice photo of them. Enter Donna Hopkins, photographer extraordinaire!

Photo by Donna Hopkins

 We spent a fun morning together, and she shot the most delightful images of my babies! We were looking for a prop to go with the top image when I remembered Rick's grandmother's Wedgwood tea cups. I brought one down and it matched perfectly. When we got to the second piece, I realized that my grandmother's tea cup would match this one. My china closet happens to be in my studio...Coincidence? I think not?



Photo by Donna Hopkins

Donna also shot these images of some inspiration pieces that I'm using for some custom artwork.

Photo by Donna Hopkins

Photo by Donna Hopkins

Photo by Donna Hopkins

There is something so soothing about her images. They make me feel like I'm "home". To see more of Donna's photography please go to http://www.patchworkphotos.com.