"Obligations"

"Obligations"●

   This is the third fish is a series of 3 created in the same style.  The first, "I Saw One In A River Once", the second, "Some Sort Of Sacrifice" (both can be seen on this blog) . All are made in the style of the early 'memory jars' that were popular in the 1800's. Memory jars, or jugs or bowls were made by first covering the vessel in mortar and then attaching small everyday objects such as keys, shells, coins and other personal momentos belonging to someone who had deceased.
   This one is called "Obligations", and it speaks of happy times and hard times and all the times that are our life.  In my interpretation I have taken a wooden fish, applied a coat of acrylic paint and covered it with hundreds of small vintage keepsakes. These include watch parts, crackerjack prizes, vintage jewelry, campaign buttons, coins, screws, bottle caps, and many other old found objects. On top, I added a cork screw to double as a handle to make it easy to carry. (click on picture to enlarge)

"Laugh Lines"

"Laugh Lines"●
Just finished this piece last week.  In a sewing machine drawer, covered on the inside with hand made red paper, I affixed a laughing clown head thinking the word 'LAUGH' in children's wood blocks.

A small crank music box plays the tune "Alouette"- a popular  French Canadian children's song about plucking the feathers off a small bird.

The outside is covered in tissues and words to laugh by.  On the back I attached a mirror and  placed 3 wooden coasters on top to add depth and interest.

I apologize for the photos, it is a difficult piece to photograph. If you click on an image you can enlarge it enough to take a closer look

"Escape Again"

 

"Escape Again"●

This piece started out as a plain wooden wine box. It is now covered inside and out with maps and pages from a vintage encyclopedia. A sweet porcelain doll's head, with closed eyes, apparently dreaming of places she wants to escape to, sits inside. Vintage children's blocks spell out her thoughts, and a small mirror reflects  the doll's face.  Inside, a wind-up music box plays a dreamy tune. 

The box is covered in front with glass, and topped with a clear glass knob. (click on image to enlarge)

"Silver Fish"

 

 

9/11/12 UPDATE: This is an art piece I made and posted last year.  

I am re-posting it because I entered it in a show sponsored by SCRAP

They are having their 4th creative re-use exhibition at 

ARC Gallery in San Francisco. 

Exhibition will run from December 1, 2012 to January 9, 2013.

Wish us luck!

"Silver Fish" ●
A wooden fish on a metal stand came into my studio about a year ago, and waited his turn to take center stage. A few weeks ago, my husband and I were in San Francisco for a few days, and I made a point of visiting my favorite store in the city:  SCRAP.  I never know what I’ll find there, the materials in the store change daily, but I always find an abundance of “art materials”. The warehouse is organized by type of material: wood, metal, glass, fabric, paper, images, plastic, natural materials, beads & buttons, arts & crafts, toys, and more.

This day at SCRAP I found a ton of these silver buttons being sold by the cup-full, and I instantly knew they would make a beautiful "fish dress".  I gathered all my other “silvery” bits and bobbles to include coins, bottle caps, milagros, washers, beads, charms and earrings. And I started nailing . . .

About a week later, Silver Fish was finished: be-jeweled and be-dazzled, sitting on his metal perch, ready to celebrate in silvery style. (click on image to enlarge)

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"All and Many Treasures"

"All and Many Treasures" ●
    I was in San Francisco a few months ago, and got to see a terrific exhibit of art work done by an amazing collage artist.  The works were on 20 x 20" canvases, each piece in the series contained anywhere from 10 to 20 small collages created directly on the canvas, creating many small vignettes within each canvas.  The artist used layers of papers and medium and color to create depth and dimension.
   I loved the work, and I wanted to try my hand at it, only I wanted to use 3 dimensional objects, since I work  primarily in assemblage. This is what I came up with.
   I took the lid of a wooden box (approximately 8" x 10" x 1") and I 16  wooden blocks ( 2 x 2 x  ½” each).  I covered the lid with hand made paper, and then I collaged each of the 16 blocks with various magazine images, vintage sheet music, maps, etc.
   I then embellished each block with a treasured memento, or a special keepsake. Each one creates a tiny vignette, telling a story of a time spent with friends, a trip to far away places, or a long lost love. (click on image to enlarge)