Many Hats

I think an artist has to put on many different hats. No, these aren't always real hats. There's the creator hat. Traditionally this was the french beret. The entrepreneur hat...faux fur??? The trapeze artist hat...because artists often have to jump through hoops! I'm thinking though that the trapeze artist hat is actually more of a hair style...a ribbon, flower...shaved head?  The truck driver hat... maybe a baseball cap, this also might involve chewing something, gum...tobacco...beef jerky.... the end of a pencil. Personally, I like to chew gum when I'm driving my art around.

More on the hat and the gum thing later. For now I've just put on a new hat called "the contestant hat". Yes, I've entered a contest. It's called Artist Wanted: A Year in Review. Maybe you'd like to enter too!

Mother and Child

Please check out my online portfolio,  vote, share, tell your friends and maybe put on a new hat! The deadline to vote or enter is February 7

Honey and Bunny

Honey and Bunny ~Etsy

This happy couple is part of a series of hinged figures that celebrate the union of two souls. They might be siblings, lovers, friends or even pets! This pair is called "Honey and Bunny". 

They are carved from fallen aspen wood, connected with a vintage/antique hinge and painted with acrylic. The wood is coated with a light layer of wax to protect and seal the surface. There are two hooks on the back for hanging.


Size: 8.5" x 4.5" x 1"

On the Table

Here's some of what's in the works this week. Can't wait to get it all carved and play with paint for a few days!

Wandering in the Desert

Happy New Year! Many blessings to you  in 2012!

Message in a Bottle

In 1919 Marcel Duchamp, the founder of the art movement called Dada,  purchased a 50cc glass ampoule from a pharmacist friend. After emptying the original contents he had the pharmacist seal it again with nothing inside but Paris air. Duchamp took the ampoule to New York as a souveneir for a friend. It was later exhibited as one of a series of found object artworks Duchamp called  Ready Mades. At that time exhibiting found objects in the context of art just wasn't done. Duchamp and his Dada buddies caused quite a ruckus.

50cc Paris Air, Ready Made by Marcel Duchamp

So... I'd just like to say...Thank you Marcel Duchamp... for sending that Ready Made message in a bottle... you let everyone in on the sometimes grimey little secret...that in the right hands (and/or minds) found objects can speak volumes, tell stories, make jokes and even recite poems- of the visual kind. Sometimes it's done with elegant simplicity like the glass jar assemblages of  photographer, painter and assemblage artist Valerie Galloway. See more of her lovely works in her Etsy shop.

Submerged by Valerie Galloway

Entanglement by Valerie Galloway

Or with delicate poetics like those of jeweler, assemblage artist Marina Rios aka Fanciful Devices. She often titles and accompanies her works with snippets taken from arcane stories, obscure scientific facts and forgotten texts.  Click on the link below the photos to visit her shop for the wonderful descriptions of these pieces.

Blanca Queen of France by Marina Rios/Fanciful Devices

Futility by Marina Rios/Fanciful Devices

Assemblage artist and jeweler Priscilla Moore's lovely works tell fascinating stories through her subtle choices in found materials and techniques. As a bonus she often accompanies her pieces with historical anecdotes or poems. Click on the links below the photos to visit her Etsy shop for details about these pieces and more.

Tobacciana by Priscilla Moore/Read Between Lines

Affianced Edwardian Necklace by Priscilla Moore/ Read Between Lines

Mixed media artist Lynn Whipple creates poignant, multilayered works with an intricate combination of found materials, paint, and text. Visit Lynn's beautiful website and her Etsy shop to see more of her amazing works.

Mixed media assemblage by Lynn Whipple

Mixed media assemblage by Lynn Whipple

Little Cartoon Souls

Coquette - Little Cartoon Soul No. 10

Have you ever had a day when your life seems to be a comedy of errors? Maybe you trip over a that invisible crack in the sidewalk or the soda explodes from the bottle when you open it to take that first delicious sip? If this sort of thing has happened to you it's probably just your cartoon soul reminding you that it's there. We all have one dwelling somewhere inside. It's their cartoony duty to remind us not to take all of life's little twists and turns quite so seriously.

The Little Cartoon Souls are carved from found aspen wood and mounted on a vintage wooden toy block. Each has a pair of antique porcelain doll arms. They're painted with acrylic then lightly sanded to give the surface an aged appearance.

These Cartoon Souls are having a dance party in my Etsy shop!

Hekate's Angel and a Fairy Tail

Hekate's Angel

This assemblage and carved wood piece is named for Hekate the Greek Goddess of doorways and crossroads. In ancient Greece she was considered the guardian of the veil between the worlds, the material and the spiritual.

Hekate's Angel is made with a vintage doorknob plate nailed to a found piece of wood. There is a magnifying lens where the doorknob once fit. Behind the lens I inserted an antique porcelain doll face. Behind the keyhole is a tiny bone. The keyhole is covered with mica. I carved the wings from fallen aspen wood.They are painted and then gilded with metal leaf. There is a hook on the back so that the piece can hang on a wall. 
Size: 7.5" x 11" x 1"

Tulip

Tulip is from a series called The Secret Garden. As a child one of my favorite books was "The Secret Garden" The story of a young girl who discovers the locked door to an abandoned, overgrown garden. As the story unfolds the garden is revived along with the girl and her closest companions.

The objects in this series are worn and maybe a little crusty on the outside. They've a few chips and dings. With a little love and attention something wild and wonderful grows out from their ruins! Tulip is made from a vintage porcelain doll and carved aspen wood. I carved the wooden stems and leaves. Each detailed carving is attached by a tiny carved peg and glued in place. The wood is painted with acrylic and waxed.The figure is set in the stem with jewelers epoxy.

Tulip can sit on a surface or hang on the wall.
Size: 2"h x 7"w x 3"d