"Things Were Different in 1959"

“Things Were Different In 1959" ● 

A silverware drawer provides the compartments to tell this story about life in the 50’s. I grew up on a farm in south Texas. On the farm we went to a Curandera (a medicine woman), not a doctor. We prayed to god and sang along with the “Mouseketeers". We played, we laughed and we wondered about a world bigger than our own. Our home was happy, it was safe and it was filled with stories, some mysterious and some wondrous.

Although we left the farm years ago, the memories are fresh and filled with mystery and wonder, still . . .

A Salvation Army bell, a Mickey Mouse toy, a rosary and other found objects tell the story inside a wooden drawer. The glass covered drawer is collaged on the inside with maps, an original vintage photograph of someone's grandmother, a hand written letter dated 1959, and anatomy images from Altered Bits. The backside is collaged with pages out of a "Gray's Anatomy" volume, a hand cut image of the human head is layered on top of the text.  (click on images to enlarge)
 

"The End" (Happy Birthday Zach)

"The End" (Happy Belated Birthday Zach) ●
A couple of months ago, my dear friend Sue Selman asked me to make this for her son, Zachary who was having a birthday soon.  I was thrilled. I have known Zach for about 10 years, he was a sweet teenager when I met him vacationing with his parents on the beach in Zihuatanejo, Mexico.

He is now a handsome young man of 25 and is sweet and caring as ever.

From what I understand, he really loved getting this for his birthday, and I loved making it for him.  Happy belated birthday Zachary!  Hope to see you and Holly soon!

Inside a box lid, collaged in maps and layered in green tissue papers are children's wood blocks that spell out a saying attributed to John Lennon:

"everything will be OK in the end, if it's not OK, it's not the end" 

a miniature Hackney Carriage and a CAPPELLA drumstick finish the piece.

"Up To Your Ass In Alligators"

"Up To Your Ass In Alligators"●

   Simply put, I love working with scrabble tiles! These pieces are so fun to make. The hardest part is finding the perfect substrate to put them on. It can be a box, a lid, a small cabinet door, a picture frame, most anything will work, the tiles just have to fit.

    People love these simple works. On the days I work at the gallery, I love to watch people stand in front of these and try to read them. When they finally read through to the end, they will inevitably crack up with laughter. Sometimes they look around, hoping no one is watching.

    For this piece, I took a wooden game board and laid out the scrabble tiles to spell out my favorite saying: 

"WHEN YOU ARE UP TO YOUR ASS IN ALLIGATORS, IT IS DIFFICULT TO

REMEMBER THAT YOUR INITIAL OBJECTIVE WAS TO DRAIN THE SWAMP"

     I attached a small rubber alligator on top. Ready to hang or sit on a stand. (click on image to enlarge)

Mosaic Stepping Stones . . . . a workshop?

To say that I have been in a 'creative slump' would be a huge understatement.  It seems like the 'mo-jo' is gone, the 'muse' is away on holiday, the 'juices' have run dry.    Truth be told, I have several art pieces started (10 to be exact) but for some reason none of them can get finished . . . . and I can't tell you why that is.

Has that ever happened to you?

Anyway, this past weekend, I invited 6 of my friends over because they all wanted to learn how to make mosaic stepping stones. . . . . I love making mosaics. And teaching my friends how to mosaic fulfilled my need to 'create' and, I guess I can also say that I just conducted my first little 'workshop'.  

Everyone did great, the stepping stones were beautiful, they all loved the process and I know they are hooked!  Anyway, these are the two stepping stones I made.  At least I can say I finished something, right? (please click on any image to take a closer look)

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope I can have something "fun and finished" from the studio to show you next week . . . .

Cheers!