Red Folk Art Cross . . .

The cross measures 18" X 38". Wood, acrylic paints and embellishments of ceramic medallions and glass and mirror tiles.

An Afternoon at Lago Winery . . .

Today Roy and I visited the wonderful Lago Winery in Jamestown PA. The winery itself is located in a very old barn and has all the rustic appeal of a place in Tuscany. The stone silo on the side of the barn houses an authentic pizza oven brought over from Italy and the pizza is so good! Today we had a Margarita Pizza and a bottle of wine for our mid day meal. Also on the site is a stately old stone building that houses a bed and breakfast. You can read about the winery and the B&B here : www.lagowinery.com Here you can see Roy schmoozing at the tasting bar. This is the outside upper level eating area which is right next to the pizza oven. Here you can see chef/owner Doug with his head in the oven, checking baking progress. The mosaic on the silo continues the theme that is on the bars inside the winery. I have some artwork on display here at Lago Winery and today I sold 5 of my folk art crosses. Not a bad day for Friday the 13th! On the weekends the winery showcases local bands so we will make a point of coming back then. There is a huge performance stage at one end of the building where the entertainment happens. What a really fun day!

A Work in Progress . . .

I don't often show a work in progress because, more often than not, it changes so much that by the time the work is finished, it looks like a different piece! In this case, however, I wanted to show you a technique I think will make this one interesting. I was wanting to add text to the painting/collage. I used a Micron Pigma pen (waterproof) and wrote text using sayings about "wisdom" that I found online. It was not my goal to create text that could actually be read, but to give the illusion of words. I think I accomplished that. I wrote on plain white tissue paper and then attached the pieces of text paper to the painting/collage with Mod Podge. I had taped off parts of the painting to leave a lighter area on which to add the text strips. You do need to be careful when you do this (use a very soft bristle brush) as the tissue paper is quite fragile when it gets wet. On the posiivte side, because of it's fragility, the paper itself seems to just disappear into the background. I encourage you to give this a try if the idea of art text excites you. I think you could probably use this technique in art journals too.

Sunday in the studio . . .

Well yes, I did cut my thumb on a piece of metal. BUT, it doesn't hurt at all since I got some turquoise paint on the under side of the bandage. Really . . .

4 - Foot Folk Art Cross . . .

The big 4 -foot cross is finished! It is a combination of wood and acrylic paints, some of them metallic, some old watch parts ( thanks Suzanne!), some bottle caps, and some brass keys, along with a wonderful bisque angel. I have also incorporated some small ceramic tiles and some tiny glass mirror tiles. I recently scored about 200 brass keys from the throw away bin at a local hardware store that makes keys. That means you will probably see more recycled keys on more crosses! This view shows the colorful painted sides. This is a closeup of part of the cross showing all the attached found objects. This is the lovely angel holding a faceted glass orb. I am excited to make more of these. Many thanks to sweet Roy for making this one in his shop. Now I need another one (grin).

Random shots of my studio . . .

I spent today doing a lot of framing! Roy made 7 gallery frames for the Ring series and I stretched the canvases, and began painting the edges. After the paint dries, I will add a layer of black gel pumice which gives the pieces a nice textured finish. Here you can see one of them on the table being stapled and then trimmed. Here are 3 of them in various stages of edge painting, always black. This is my very messy table but everything is real handy. This is an auxiliary table holding the supplies I am using in the production of folk art crosses. I have bags of keys, boxes of ceramic tiles, and mirror tiles and glass tiles. There are also some small picture frames I will use on the front of the crosses for architectural interest. This photograph shows a frame on top of the artwork that is face down, ready to be stretched and stapled. This is where I am while waiting for paint to dry (grin). On the right is a champagne glass holding some very fragrant white roses Roy picked from our yard yesterday. OK... back to work! I have started designing the 4- foot cross. Stay tuned!

A Folk Art Cross

When I lived in New Mexico I became familiar with the beautiful Mexican folk art pieces, in particular, the crosses. I love the bright colors and simple shapes of their folk art. I made crosses there and decided to bring that back to my design table here in NW Pennsylvania. This cross measures 23 inches long and has some rectangular tiles I made from polymer clay. I have also included some smaller pottery pieces I made while attending a pottery class in NM. The remaining details include small pieces of turquoise and some old buttons. My next project is a larger, 4-foot cross. This should be fun!

Opening Reception of "Melange of Medias" at the Heeschen Gallery

June 15th was the opening reception of the most recent exhibit at the Heeschen Gallery in Meadville PA. I was one of four artists showing work. Below are some photographs of some of the 13 pieces I exhibited. It was a fun evening!

The show was a wonderful mix of 2D and 3D representations. Here I am in front of "Ode to Fat Moe" who was a crowd favorite! On the pedestal is my most recent doll, "Duman". This sculpture was named "Above the Wheel" by Kevin Rohde. I love his work. The dolls look really nice when top lit! The exhibit will run through July 28th. I was pleased to be invited and hope that my local readers will take time to visit the gallery. When you do, say Hi to Fat Moe for me!