Friday night’s opening was successful and enjoyable. I loved having Rick and Becky there, and many other friends showed up despite the First Friday traffic. Every artist should have the opportunity to see work in a setting that shows the development of an idea. I’m so lucky to have had that – thanks to Matt and Carole Weissler at La Vida Gallery.

My show at La Vida Gallery opens tomorrow – I made a quick trip down there this afternoon to drop off the last piece, and Matt had almost finished hanging the work. What a great job he did. The walls have been painted white and the pieces really stand out. Here’s the final collage construction. It doesn’t really fit with any of the the others although it is kind of a companion piece with the twig and silk collages. Those Da Vinci women’s faces just mesmerize me. This one is called “Starling.”

Totally inspired by what Ann Pearce did with the shard faces, I developed some new finishes for her. Can’t wait to see how she uses them and how her clients like them. Here they are- the finishes are called Moonlight (light silver ivory), Oceana (iridescent green) , and Twilight (Raku purple).

Here are three new small constructions that I have just completed. I really like them. As with anything new, they seem a little undefined/refined, but the idea of a mythical guardian who helps us choose our lifepath has always resonated with me as it has in many other cultures. Here are the first three pieces. They are made of fired clay, paper, wood and gold leaf on stretched canvas. Each piece measures 12×12 inches, the titles are beneath the photographs.

The first Sunday Studio workshop was a huge success – I was amazed at the beautiful work the attendees created – each one striking, each one different, each one well-crafted and thoughtful. Personally, I had a fantastic time and can’t wait to do it again on June 17th. See the video of the afternoon, below. If you would like to know more about the workshops, visit my workshop page or email me to schedule a special session for your own group.

Janet at Silver Moon Designs ordered some shard faces, and look what she’s doing with them – keeping them very simple, finishing them with Jacquard Powders – lovely work:

My friend Ann Pearce, amazing bead-woman and jewelry designer, called this morning, inviting me to her shop to see what she’d done with some shards she’d gotten from me. To say that I was blown away is an understatement. She’d transformed the little faces into Crown Jewels with her artistry.

She matched beads – copper, blue, crystal – to the finishes on the faces, truly elevating them to special one-of-a-kind pieces. I told her that I was temped to purchase them! Here are some photos I took at her shop this morning. Visit her if you want to see more. Her bead selection is amazing and she will help you select or put together real treasures.

Thanks for making me look good, Ann! I wish my photos did justice to the depth and shine of your gorgeous work.

 

Here’s a video made in my studio that shows the basics of my Face Shard workshop:

Two new pieces for the La Vida show, both started with a photocollage image printed on silk and adhered to stretched canvas. I wanted to give a feeling of constraint and longing to the images so I drilled holes in the frame sides and created a loose construction of twigs – artistic “burglar bars?” I like the effect and will probably explore this idea a bit more. Come to the show and see:

These little books are perfect for experimenting – I’m working on several to take to Kathleen Sommers‘ shop on Tuesday. I start with a small (5×5) pre-bound journal and create a collage on the cover. This particular one, finished tonight, really mixes the media and metaphors – Peruvian textile photo, Japanese Noh mask, African beads, clay face shard. But somehow it all seems to work.