Sister Art

It's been a while since I have posted...busy, busy, busy...Okay, so I was actually completely out of delightful commentary and thoughtful insights. Until today--I found an amazing website called "The Sister Project", or TSP for the hip who join this group. The site is actually a blog, or a bunch of blogs, all celebrating sisters, art, and expression. Take a few moments to visit here...you'll be inspired, enlightened, and have access to fantastic artists of all media.

As one of five sisters, I really found myself lost in this site. Trust me, it's worth your time. Sloan Tanen's "Sister Chicks" will simply leave you weak from laughing. I've included one of her series here...

This is for my older sisters who went to Catholic school. I don't know what I love more, the chick tied to the bed or the teeny, tiny saddle Oxford shoes...Plus, they remind me of marshmallow peeps. Our family has a strange obsession with peeps. Another story for another day...

One of my most favorite artists is also featured on this site, Lindsay Carr of Little Robot. Her illustrations are breathtaking and her paper theaters fantastic works of art. I'm trying to entice Lindsay to illustrate one of my poems for a children's book...wish me luck!! Below is a classic example of her work...

Isn't she grand? Anyway, please visit these sites and ENJOY!

What Time is it?

Time is something I am very aware of. I often incorporate images representing time and the passage of time in my jewelry and writing. I am very aware of the changes that time inevitably leaves behind. I try to mimic what time can do to the metals I so love to work with. I treat copper, brass and silver with chemicals to speed up this aging process because I love the color, the texture, and the patina of time.

In the past few weeks, I’ve found myself wondering why the passage of time is so difficult for humans. Why we don’t see the beauty in ourselves as we age like we do in the precious metals, jewelry, and art we adorn ourselves with.

Aging is a natural, biological process we have absolutely no control over, no matter what Olay tells us. Aging is amazing. It is wondrous. It is mysterious. It is celebrated in ancient cultures all around the world, and yet here in the U.S. aging is considered a dread disease, a condition that is shameful, embarrassing, and completely intolerable.

The lengths we will go to try and hold back the hands of time. The millions, and millions of dollars spent. The torture, both psychological and physical, we are willing to endure for the illusion of youth. And for what? Approval? Acceptance? If so, from whom? To what end? We still age—we still die. There is no magic lotion or elixir that can stop any of this. We simply fool ourselves because—let’s face it—we’re certainly not fooling anyone else, no matter how tight the face, how huge the lips, how firm the breasts.

To maintain good health, well-being and to live a full life—where is the shame in that? Why do we see aging as a desecration instead of a celebration?

As a woman approaching her mid-forties, I too struggle with what the passage of time has given me. A bad back, skin that doesn’t exactly snap like elastic, and yes, my boobs have decidedly moved a bit South. But, I have learned more about myself in the past five years than I have in the past forty. I think clearer, I see more (especially with my new graduated lens eyeglasses), and for the first time in my adult life I am AWARE of who I am and who I want to be. I look in the mirror and, yes, I wince. Where is the girl who taught 10 aerobics classes a week for years? When did my pores get so huge? Why did no one tell me about back-fat and gray hairs in your EYEBROWS?

But, I have to laugh. I laugh (especially after a glass or three of Prosecco), at what women convince themselves they are getting away with. Cat-eyes and cliff-like cheekbones. Faces and lips so swollen with fillers and frozen with toxins they look like victims of some sort of terrible allergic reaction or unusual thyroid condition. Hair extensions, eyelash extensions, everything but what we really crave—a LIFE EXTENSION. Can’t get that at a salon or surgery suite.

But, we can choose to live our lives to the fullest. To treat every day as a gift, something to be treasured, filled with conscious action and given back to the world. To look outside ourselves, away from the mirror. Humans are blessed and cursed with self-awareness. What we choose to do with this awareness, I believe, is what defines our lives.

I want to try to become like the women I often write about. Beautiful, older women who not only embrace time, but revel in it. They do not fight the passage of time, they use it as a stage upon which to deliver the greatest of performances—the performance of their LIFE.

Beauty is defined by action, not by celebrity or pharmaceuticals. I choose to live a beautiful life. Would you care to join me? I certainly hope so.

NOTE: This post was inspired in part by the passages of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Two iconic individuals that defined and fought what we consider “beautiful”--both have left us far too soon.

Beyond the Norm

My good friend Norm Gitzen, a fantastic artist, sculptor and wildlife lover, was recently featured in a short video created by students at Palm Beach Junior College. Please take a few moments to visit Norm's world--he's a "true believer" and his art reflects his love of wildlife and passion to protect what remains of nature. GO NORM!!

Handmade Chic Interview

I invite everyone to take a good look at Rachel Baron's blog, Handmade Chic. Rachel is a wonderful glass artist (Inferno Glass Beads) and a staunch supporter of handmade art. She graciously interviewed me for the blog--THANKS, RACHEL! So, stop by and visit with Rachel for a few moments when you can, and visit her website for lovely glass creations!

Wonderfully Weird - Using the Unusual in Jewelry Design

If I were to write a book about jewelry design, the title would be the title of this post. I really love incorporating unusual elements into my work. There are many names for this type of design--mixed media, altered art, assemblage jewelry, and found item jewelry are but a few. I'll go with assemblage jewelry for the purposes of this post.

Assmeblage art is very big right now. Artists like Susan Lenart Kazmer, Tessa Rickard and Stephanie Lee and have pioneered this artform, bringing everything from doll parts and old dominos to burnt out miniature lightbulbs into fine jewelry design. If it can be bezel set, then by gosh BEZEL SET IT! The results are stunning, as you will see on these amazing artist's websites.

I am a collector of oddities, I always have been. My passion for wildlife conservation and animals is evident in my collection of "weird" which covers everything from glass taxidermy eyes to animal bones of all kinds. I especially love working with animal bones. At my work station I have several boxes and containers of bones from raccoons, opossums, and most recently, an iguana. All these items are found on the 30-acre wildlife preserve in which I live. Sunny south Florida is a great place to bone hunt and I often find great, bleached out bones from animal visitors long past. I've collected bones forever, even as a little kid. I like to think I honor the animal by turning their bones into something unique and beautiful to live on in their memory.

I never really considered this all that strange, until my sister visited me recently and discovered my bucket containing a complete opossum skeleton. I could tell she was simultaneously interested and grossed out. I remember she said, "Oh, I bet you'll do something really amazing with this." I immediately started telling her my plans for the vertebrae and teeth--I use these smaller bones in rings and pendants. She nodded politely and then said, "That sounds really cool. But, when you're planning Christmas gifts, remember this isn't for me!" She was trying to joke, but was also deadly serious. That got me thinking--one woman's weird is another woman's wonderful.

I've been lucky. I have created animal bone jewelry that has been appreciated (and actually PURCHASED) by many people. I've never thought twice about using bone or animal fur/feathers in designs. But I wonder, is there such a thing as too weird? Tessa Rickard, I'm sure, would argue and emphatic, "NO!" Some of her work incorporates human teeth for crying out loud! AND, the results are GORGEOUS as you can see in the Lark book 500 Pendants and Lockets, which features her designs.

I guess it's all about having the courage to put your work out there and not be overly influenced by those that may not "get" it. Art is fluid, constantly changing and open to interpretation. Most of all, it's EXPRESSION that matters. Yes you can use a clasp created from your Grandmother's beautiful vintage button collection to finish a necklace made from copper electroformed iguana vertebrae.

So, do you agree??? I've included a few photos here of some of my "weirder" work and ask that all you assemblage artists out there to send me images of your "wonderful weirdness". I'll post them here with links to your web pages.

OUCH! I Guess I Don't Really Need That Finger Anyway...

So I'm teaching myself cold connecting with rivets. I have some great books that illustrate the process (Susan Lenart Kazmer has a FANTASTIC book illustrating all the ways to cold connect), yet I continually go it alone. Why is it that sometimes you just have to figure things out on your own, even when you have great information at your fingertips? I find that I work this way often. Not sure if I'm just too stubborn or impatient to open a book first, or if this is just part of my "creative process". At any rate, my fingers bear the brunt of my self-taught "lessons". My left hand in particular, the hand I use to hold the teeny-tiny elements I am attempting to rivet together with a steel riveting hammer held firmly in my right hand. I've whacked the crap out of my fingers. Sigh, there goes my career as a hand model.

That being said, I love riveting. It is very easy once you have the right tools, and you practice a bit. I got my rivet hammers from Burnt Offerings Jewelry and Adornment. FANTASTIC mixed media artists, and they have great tools and supplies. VISIT THEM!

Here is my first cold connected bracelet. I made it using copper disks colored with patinas, layered with hammered copper washers riveted with sterling silver wire. I connected each disk "sandwich" with black rubber "O" rings. This took forever, I was learning as I went along, and I have to say that I was quite proud of myself when I finished. Now I know I can rivet with much more confidence and I'm already working on new designs.

So, don't be afraid to try something new--even if you don't think you have the perfect skills. Of course, don't be totally stupid--I'm not suggesting anyone teach themselves how to use a blowtorch! But, don't be afraid to pick up a hammer, or a book for that matter, and teach yourself something. Remember, Band-Aids come in the cutest colors and patterns now-a-days!

Continuing a Love Affair...Ahhhh, Patina

So, I've gone on and on about how much I love to work with copper, brass and chemical patinas. Well, Christmas came early for me--I got my new universal patina kit from Sculpt Nouveau. Talk about a kid in a candy store! This website has everything, I mean EVERYTHING you can imagine to work with colors on metal. The selection of patinas is endless and so are the possibilities. The kit I purchased has a over a dozen colors of patina, metal cleaner, sealers, and waxes all for $75.00!! TOTALLY WORTH EVERY PENNY. By the way, the folks at Sculpt Nouveau have some great videos using these patinas posted on YouTube. Just put "Sculpt Nouveau" in the search box.

So, I've been busy like a mad scientist mixing colors on metal and here are some images of the results...My first pin/pendant (and one of the most complex pieces I've done to date), and two bracelets I made using bezels made from copper tubing and brass bases. I so love these!!! I especially love the results you get from mixing blue and green patinas. These pieces are all available in my Etsy shop.