Commemorative

When we lost my mother-in-law in 2018, we found a lifetime stash of jewelry.  All costume, but some very nice pieces, even after all of us took what we wanted.  Having been bitten by the mosaic bug, a crazy idea slowly emerged in my brain--a way to commemorate Joyce's loving, generous nature for each of the ladies in the family.  I picked up six heavy-glass square votive-holders at Michael's and started designing!  

I chose cardinals for one sister-in-law, favorite animals-wolf for one niece, manta rays for the one going into marine biology & binturong for my zoo-docent daughter.  Hubs & I got his fave racoon and my other SIL & husband got their three bulldogs.  

I put the animal image on the front and left corners on the other three sides for jewelry & matching bric-a-brac.  That was the fun part! After grouting, I glued all on with clear E-6000 so with a candle inside they light up beautifully.  It was no small feat getting it all done by Christmas, but I was a woman possessed! 

A Reworked Welcome

Years ago, I had bought a wooden plaque with this saying on it from The Christmas Tree Shops.  It was cheap, of course, but it made me happy. I liked both the saying and the colors.  It hung for only one or two seasons, however because the colors faded.  So then it sat in my "fix" pile, to repaint.  When I came across it recently, I knew it was destined for something sturdier than painted wood.  I used glass, beads & thin-set to withstand the elements. Thin-set is definitely not my fave to mosaic with, so it took quite a while to complete, but I like the result. 

 

Scottish Favorite

     Happy to have this finished at last!  Although it's kind of sad, too--like saying goodbye to all the characters in a great book or TV show.  I think we enjoy ruins as much as in-tact castles.  The ghosts here were very...erm...let's say "playful."  You can ask me about it next time you see me in person.  In the meantime, hope you enjoy my loose rendering of this highland gem.  

 

Castle Landscape

My first Paper Painted landscape!  It's small--12 x 18.  I made some dopey mistakes, but it was easy enough to fix them up.  I'm really liking this process.  It looks great in the new floater frame that Mike made for it.  I stained it a warm brown.  All the while, creating this one, I was wishing I had worked larger.  A landscape needs space, after all and I think I am ready!  I am becoming quite comfortable with the techniques working with paper.  

I started my next one, below, on an 18 X 24 wooden panel.  I did the sky and undercoat of the bottom grass in paint, but the rest is/will be paper.  I guess I love my castles!  This is a-very-loosely-based- rendering of one of my favorites--a Scottish ruin called Kilchurn.  We had some playful, yet spooky, experiences there!

 

They Can't All Be Winners

    This is my one and only decent attempt with stone carving.  Not a fun endeavor and I've had difficulty with my right elbow ever since.  Consequently, "Mezza Faccia" has always remained unfinished.  It's a large heavy chunk of marble that would be beautiful and shiny if someone ever wants to finish it up and polish it for me!?!?

Magic of Clay

     For a time I thought I'd work primarily as a sculptor.  I think my first love has always been 3D--Architecture and Sculpture.  I love working with clay!  Then I fell into forensic work and clay was usually too heavy for use on fragile remains.  2D was much easier for police departments to manage and get out to the public when seeking an ID.  The two young boys at the bottom, however, were commissioned as demonstrative evidence in a New York court case.  

 

Preserving Family Heritage

     These three books are another of my attempts to pass along family heritage to my kids, nieces and nephews.  My Dad passed along his passion for genealogy to my husband and Mom passed along a vast collection of old photos and family anecdotes, all of which she adored. I'm the youngest of my generation and as it flowed downhill, I caught it all.  

     With my husband's enthusiastic help we put all we knew into these highly packed, but concise, 10" x 10" volumes.  I create in Mixbook, which gives me room for text, pics and creativity.  Mike is not only my tech support, but he can find anyone in the world if the records exist! On the side, this talented man has found the birth parents of now more than a dozen adoptees!  Together, we compiled, researched, and reached out to cousins we had never met.  In some cases we visited them and were rewarded by widening our wonderful circle of family.  We gained more knowledge and even some new photos into our family's past.  Many say it's a labor of love, but I say it is essential to know who you come from and where you fit in!  And besides all that, it's fun!

 

     Each volume dives into the long generations of one of my grandparents.  You will notice that there are only three. The fourth, my father's father's side is in the works. Dad had so much research on this historical New England family that we are still wading through it, even though, surprisingly, there are less players to know as most of the lines have died out.  Ahh, well....there are always a thousand projects going on in my house....don't give up, kids...we'll get there!  

The Artist and the Army

      In 2018, five years after my father's death, I compiled and arranged his writings and artwork in this book.  My initial goal was to make a catalogue of his artworks so that his grandchildren could choose some paintings, most of which I house in my studio.  I've got some hanging, but would certainly prefer the rest to come out of their cubby to be displayed and enjoyed.  But then I found his Army narrative, church sermons and life stories that he'd not quite completed before Alzheimer's took it's toll, and I knew the project had to be so much more.  It was a wonderful journey for me and is always rewarding when the clan asks me questions or periodically refer to the things he'd shared.  Maybe someday, I'll tell my mom's story.

Quest of the Cave King

     My son, Kegan, fresh out of Art School, wrote and illustrated this funky children's story about acceptance.  He tells it with a keen sense of the the absurd and his own wacky humor.  The Book is available for $12 on Amazon.  Here he is reading it to a 4th grade class.  Seeing these always brings me happy tears. He keeps telling me he is working on another, but we'll see....

                                  

Sometimes You Gotta Go Soft

    Quilting is Art on the softer side! Here are just a couple of my biggest projects.  Hubs says I'm very serial, so when I get onto one of these, I ignore my studio for a while.  The purple is an unfinished pic, but the quilt is done and on my bed.  The two T-Shirt quilts once adorned my boys' beds and I've made others for friends, but they are not as much fun as putting together all those gorgeous fabrics.  (When I'm painting I have to put on blinders when I step into JoAnn's!) The two smaller ones were experiments in landscapes, one after my first trip to Italia.  While I enjoy sewing, it'll never be a serious endeavor for me.  My daughter, however, is fantastic!