Studio visit

Welcome to my studio! This is a place where I spend most of my time. I am a member of Switchyard Studios, which is in Southeast Portland, quite close to the river. There are about 30 artists renting space on one floor of a warehouse. The floor above is home to a recording studio and below us is a ceramics distributor. Oh, I cannot forget the man who makes chicken coups on one of the floors above us, as well. The building is also situation right next to train tracks. So, I hear my fair share of train horns, rooster crowing and hip hop artists getting down! Its quite entertaining. The other day I sat in my studio working on a canvas necklace while listening to this really talented female vocalists record a song with a solid drummer, bass, piano, and sax. It can also be quiet and peaceful at times.


Here are some of the bracelets I described in my first blog post. Ah, it seems like only yesterday, I was a novice at all this. These bracelets are made from scrap fabric, macrame, stones, buttons, leather and shells. I will be posting them to Etsy and my website very soon.


I have also been painting a bit. Man, not nearly as much as I used to. But, I feel like my focus on jewelry has been a means of shedding some of the "what to do and not to do" lessons of art school. I often wonder what my paintings would look like if I had not attended and graduated from Art School. I am allowing myself the room to be creative in any means I see progressive at the time. I enjoy having these two creative outlets and I feel like they inform each other.

I have been working on this painting for months. Different ideas and images have soaked into like a sponge of information. The Swifts, my inner SE industrial neighborhood, my tiny macrame knots...

And here is some advice, check out the work of Todd Kelly. He is a Brooklyn based artist. I really like his work. www.toddkellyart.com. I won't describe it, just go see for yourself.