Upcoming Show and New Works

I am excited and pleased to tell you that I will be participating in the Great Falls Studios Spring Show on the Green on May 30-31.  That's the last weekend in May.

We will be setting up in tents on the Great Falls Village Green and there will be a Plein Air Painting Competition going on, too. It should be quite a festive atmosphere.

I am very excited to be exhibiting some of my acrylic mixed media paintings for the very first time.  Please stop by and tell me what you think.  I am having great fun with this new medium and its possibilities.

At the same time, I have not neglected my other medium in which I feel so much more comfortable.  Below are my two newest pieces, each special in their own way.

I decided to make these pieces because I have another that I made for me and every time I wear it I receive compliments whether from checkout clerks, waitresses, friends or the aide giving me a flu shot.  

The pieces start with a base of "Faux Bone", developed by Robert Dancik, a well-known jeweler and teacher from whom I took my first faux bone class.  When textured and colored, it looks like old ivory or bone.  You need special saw blades to cut it and after extreme texturing with special files and sanders, you apply shoe polish or acrylic paint to fill in the cracks and crannies.  

That's just the beginning, however. I've added some collectible elements. 

The first, 17 Jewels features a wonderful watch interior which I obtained from Springers Jewelers in Bath, Maine.  It's a lovely old shop and looks much like it did 100 years ago (there are pictures).  

When I went in and told them what I was doing, they gave me a treasure trove of abandoned pocket watches and parts.  To this piece's watch part, I added an extra flywheel, a carved ivory, ebony and gold cameo, a bronze coin and a lovely handmade cobalt glass bead I found at the Cumberland, Maine Craft Fair some years ago (I only bought the one bead!).

The second piece, Cinderella, has as its centerpiece a fabulous antique Cinderella watch (Swiss made) which I've suspended using resin in an old pocket watch casing.  I cut out the faux bone so that you can see the inscription on the back of the pocket watch.

Both these pieces and many more will be available at our May 30-31 Great Falls Village Green Show.

Finally, here is one of my new mixed-media collages that I am especially proud of:  Deux Chevaux.  My inspiration was a photo I took last year in Cucuron, France.  The title means Two Horses which, in this antique car that is no longer made, signifies that it has only two horsepower.

I don't think that running a car on two horsepower is really possible, but who's to say?  At any rate, my piece was lovingly and painstakingly collaged using acrylic skins, coffee filters, handmade paper. I even included mica so the windows look shiny and real.

Stop by and see me.  There will be at least thirty other artists participating in what should be a fun occasion.