Art on Exhibit!

I spent the morning hanging my solo show. I have been working all summer to get ready for this exhibit -- making new work, and matting, framing and mounting existing work. It was fantastic to see it all hanging together on big white walls!

The opening reception is tomorrow night, Thursday September 23rd from 7 - 8:30 pm. The exhibition is held at the Edward J Duffy Art Gallery at the Canterbury School in New Milford CT. The show runs through October 14 and the gallery is open to the public weekdays from 8 -3 and Saturdays from 8-12 or by appt (860-210-3800).


On exhibit are over 50 pieces, including the first public showing of the first half of the Loteria series and many other new works. I've discovered one drawback to working on a small scale - it takes a LOT of work to fill a gallery!

Many of the Loteria series are on display, as well as an assortment of gyotaku fiber and paper collages, insect work in a variety of formats, some new pieces inspired by cell phone photography and a few three-dimensional fiber houses.

I hope you can stop by!

El Cotorro

Lotería Collage Project

24 - El Cotorro (the parrot)

La Luna

Lotería Collage Project

23 - La Luna (the moon)

Finally! A few new pieces in the Loteria series. I'm nearly halfway there at this point and have started matting and framing the finished pieces.

Join me at Art-Is-You

Take a class here on the East Coast! Art-Is-You, the hippest mixed-media conference on the right coast, is around the corner and registration closes tomorrow. I hope you can join me (and a slew of other talented mixed-media artists including my uber-cool co-author, Elin Waterston) for a fun roster of classes in Danbury, Connecticut over Columbus Day weekend this October.

I'll be teaching a Bricolage workshop on Saturday, Oct 9. We'll be starting with paint, illustration board, stamps and a pile of found objects and will create unique, personal shadow boxes, a la Joseph Cornell but with a modern edge.

On Monday, October 11 we'll be constructing 3-dimensional Fiber Art Houses. These clever houses incorporate all sorts of imagery and can tell a story, pay homage to a favorite artist, express an idea or feeling, or be a neat way to show off all of your favorite things. I'm working on a whole village right now and am having so much fun!

If you want in on all the hip happenings, don't delay! Registration closes on Monday, Sept 6 at midnight.

Rubber Fish Chronicles

Have a hankering to paint some rubber fish?  Holy mackerel! You'll have your chance in Chicago this August with me at the Cloth Paper Scissors Create conference. I'll be bringing all of my fishy friends for a day of gyotaku painting fun!

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish - big fish, small fish and a seahorse and starfish too. Don't let this one get away. :)

I'll also be teaching a 3D fiber house plus a workshop on Jump Starting Your Art Career - now's the time to get serious about your art and I can help you. This is an evening workshop with lots of hands-on activities to help you develop your personal marketing plan for your career. Tons of useful, practical information about branding, dreaming big, approaching galleries, selling more art and much more.

Bricolage revisited

Remember the bricolage shadow boxes I made last July? Well, if you have a hankering to make one of your own, come join me at the Art-Is-You east coast art retreat in Danbury CT this October. I'll be teaching three different classes over the weekend and know that we'll have a rollicking good time.

The theme this year is Art Is... Wickedly Good and you can adapt your bricolage to that theme - oh the possibilities!

This retreat is about 15 minutes from my studio and I'll be able to bring tons of goodies to show and share. I'm so excited!

Colliding passions

I'm working on a new series of fiber art postcards and am exploring something different this time. I purchased an absolutely spectacular assortment of 60 jacquard batik squares from Lisa Shepard Stewart of Cultured Expressions a couple of weeks ago at a quilt show in Warwick NY and decided that they'd make gorgeous backgrounds for the postcards.

The fabrics are from Ghana and the colors are so luscious and vibrant  -- very different from my usual more muted palette. I don't know if it's the season or the weather or my mood, but I'm going with it.

I'm thinking about adding some photo transfers of the images I've been snapping with my iPhone using one of the several apps that give lomographic effects to photos. I've been noodling around with Camera Bag, Toy Camera, and Plastic Bullet but my very favorite is Hipstamatic.

I LOVE these hands. They're antique glove forms that we found in Judy Gula's booth at the Art Opera in NJ in April. They live on a shelf in my office and wave happily at me every day.

Stay tuned to see what happens next!

Recently I signed up for the Art Sketchbook Project from the Brooklyn Art Library and I got word today that my sketchbook has shipped. I picked the inside/outside theme and I can't wait to get started. It's not too late to sign up if you're looking for an inspirational and creative project.