F*@#! This is so cool!

Clusters of Asymmetry

Here's a little unbalance for all you lovers of order! These pieces feature a single stone, dramatic and bold, yet dangling lightly with an asymmetrical cluster of canvas, leather and recycled vinyl hand cut leaves on an antique brass chain and sterling silver wire rings. I am very into the mixed metals right now, love the contrast of the old and weathered brass accented by the sparkling fancy silver. Just about ready to paint a new set of canvases of different colors and patterns. I'm thinking details; lines, honeycombs, contoured floral patterns and animal print! Also excited to incorporate more salvaged and hand-me-down fabrics I have acquired from my sister, a textile designer in NYC, and from one of my favorite places in the whole wide world (for real), SCRAP!

materials, materials, oh how i love thee!

Everywhere I go, the hardware store, pharmacy, post office, on a hike, supermarket, you name it, I lose track of time. I end up wondering what I could create with whatever object my eyes have noticed. Ace Hardware is amazing! Chains, screws, electrical wire in tons of colors! Needless to say, it sometimes takes me close to an hour to run a 15 minute errand. Going to SCRAP, A School and Community Reuse Action Project in Portland, Oregon, is a trip never under 45 minutes in length. Leather, wood, yarn, donated clothing tags, styro-foam, TONS of fabric, old magazines - this place is a 7 days-a-week yard sale! (www.scrapaction.org)

I recently returned to Portland from the East Coast where I spent 7 days visiting with family and friends. I cannot tell you how much I loved and needed their hugs, kisses and talks. On the last day of my visit, I packed up the belonging I brought with me, and a few extra items, clothing, an old painting, and a purse. As I shoved these items into my backpack, I realized the purse I was bringing home was actually quite gross and that maybe I could use its components (buckles, straps, fasteners) to make something really cool. So, I grabbed some scissors and began cutting. In walks my brother, also frantically packing for his trip back to Switzerland, and gasps,"What are you doing?" I replied, "What. I can use these pieces to make jewelry!" He gave me that look. He knows me very well. What probably flashed through his mind was the time I "destroyed" his Bronx Zoo wallet only to put it back together with collaged imagery covered with clear packing tape (so cool), or maybe the time I cut his olive green cargo pants to make a cute mini skirt. He knows me very well.I love materials. While on the East Coast, I also made a trip to the Fashion District in New York City. My mother and I spent about an hour drooling over brilliant stones of varying color, shape and size. We went to Phoenix Beads on 37th between 5th and 6th Ave. I am eager to start working on some mixed media necklaces, earrings and bracelets. I envision delicate necklaces with chain, a few stones, and canvas cutout leaves or feathers. Whimsical and feminine. Very sexy. Also, some macrame circles with dangling stones and canvas.

This is what I do. I turn these little treasures into pieces that make sense to me. I'm not sure how I reach a finished piece. I do research what other artists are creating. And nature, fashion and the city influence me, as well. Often times I'll start with one idea and end with something entirely different. I don't always know what a piece needs. A button, a buckle, a bead. Some canvas, some leather, some fabric. A braid, a knot, a chain, a crystal! Variety is crucial. It is so important to play with materials. Get a sense of what you are working with and break down those fearful thoughts - "I'm gonna ruin it", "I' m gonna run out of material", "I don't know what I am doing" - these thoughts freeze you as an artist. You'll never get anywhere with these thoughts hanging around.
And get messy. My studio is usually covered with scraps of string, canvas, fabric, wire, etc. But this is what it's all about. Organized chaos. And sometimes just chaos!

everything you imagine is real

In addition to being an artist, I am preschool teacher.
My kids are hilarious! They are also true. These kids respond to other people and things they see with such genuine feeling. They are inspiring. The other day, I was making sandcastles with one of my students. She watched with such focus as I filled a bucket with sand, packed it down and then turned it over to reveal - A Sandcastle! Her response, "Oh!! It's beautiful!!!!!" Pure joy! This same little girl is the smallest in our class, but attempts to drive the largest of toy tractors when we play in the gym. She's got such might, such conviction to be independent. We wash hands in the bathroom before snack and if I ever turn the faucet on for her, she turns it right off and then on again. She can do it! Inspiring.


Watching my students explore, learn and stand up for themselves makes me think, if they can do it, why can't we all accomplish what we want? What's stopping any one of us from creating that picture we have in our minds? I'd like to thank my preschool classes for giving me strength.

I think they have all the answers. Its like that Picasso quote that I love so much.
"It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child".
Here's another one, "Everything you can imagine is real".
It's too bad he treated woman so poorly.

Here's a secret. When I paint canvases for my canvas jewelry collection, I imagine a child painting. I imagine how they move the paint across their paper, sometimes slowly, sometimes quick. I image them paying more attention to the colors swirling together in one tiny area, than if the piece has a nice composition overall. If you have not already, take a good long look at the painting of a child. It is of a world which most of us have forgotten.

I am contemplating the start of a series of paintings. I want to somehow take my many years experience watching kids paint and draw, and create a tribute to them. A tribute the truth of children. Hmmmm...

Next time you share an experience with a preschool aged child, remember that they may have all the secrets. Or, at least they will make you laugh, maybe thats the real secret.