I’m working on this piece titled “Family Ties”, it’s about my sister and myself and it’s really two separate pieces that will be hung independently and my initial idea is to have shoestrings over the years to tie them together. The shoe strings come from a comment made during one of the drives to  Florida over Christmas vacation with my sister and I fighting in the backseat, one of us said “her shoelace is pointing at me” and promptly used that statement as a reason to smack the other!

It’s proving to be a challenge, trying to figure out how to mount the pieces I have cast in resin so that the perspective communicates how the black-and-white is referencing the past and the colors are referencing the present.

I have some interesting things brewing in my head, it’s evolving out of a perfectly rectangular shape into something almost more like a best friend necklace where there’s a jagged edge where they connect. I will keep you all posted, any and all comments are helpful, look for more posts with different photos as things evolve.

I am super excited to be working on a project collaborating with a poet, Don McLagan, who also happens to be a friend. We are collaborating on a piece for the Art in Common Places initiative. Don’s poem and a photo of my artwork will be printed on a poster and put around town in places where you would not normally expect to find fine art. The goal here is to introduce creativity and art in places where people may not have the chance to get in front of things like this. 

Don and I have enjoyed Wednesday morning FaceTime calls working through the possibilities and ideas that could bring our work together meaningfully. I can’t wait to see the results!!

Very excited to be part of this amazing exhibit! At Mara Gallery in Sarasota, there will be 16 artifacts and 16 artists who have been inspired by them to create modern day versions.

Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Art sales benefit Halo Arts Project Fellowship Awards. Halo Arts Project, Inc is a public charitable 501 c 3 organization.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://haloartsproject.com/event/justified-ancient/#tickets

As you can see, slaving away is really not an exaggeration! I am working with 50 squares of cast resin with interesting objects and better than them. The stones form a pair of spirals whose center is a separately cast resin piece with very interesting interiors!

The slaving away part of this really comes from having to do whatever I do to one Square, I have to do to all 50 squares! Because this is not my first rodeo, as I am encountering things that I can make jigs for, I am setting myself up with a set of tools to work with this 50 square mold so that at least all my figuring out will not be for naught😆

The biggest challenge I faced, was trying to figure out how to ensure that every single square was positioned both at the same exact height, because in this piece, I would like them all at the same height. There will be other pieces where I play with varying heights, but not this one.

This piece they need to be exact, and I have constructed strips of pvc with Teflon tape on top that will slide underneath these squares, while I am gluing them into their drilled holes on the background, and keep them exactly the same distance apart from the background. The idea is that once the glue is set, and they are all properly placed, I will be able to slide these five strips out, and all will be well!

The photo with the T squares, and the red marker lines on the background is the layout on the final backing piece for the placement of each of these squares. I have placed frisket paper, which is a low tack clear acetate sheet over the PVC background so I can draw on it and keep it protected. I will also be able to mark the drill hole positions on this, drill the holes and then remove the frisket paper so that I can place the squares properly🤞🤞🤞

Check back for the finished product, I have also figured out a wonderful hanging system that is secure and allows the piece to float an inch and a half away from the back wall where it’s mounted. I haven’t decided yet if I’d like to put some back lights on it so that there will be a soft glow around the edge.

yes, it has been a while! Lots going on in the studio: several 3D wall pieces in the works, one has a home already! I’m experimenting with metal finishes and patinas over PVC - light weight and dimensional. Also working on cutting 12” steel hemispheres into what appears to be alien artifacts - basically seeing what I can do with my plasma cutter and an open mind.

And, of course, I continue to do custom designed pieces for those hard to find spots! The sunset piece incorporates driftwood  with welded, painted steel.