New Art Gigs: Music To My Ears

Red Suede Blues: cello sonata

Danforth Museum School Faculty Show, 2015
Oh, Susannah! and Troubadour

Bit-O-Honey with the red and turquoise trim

cello comprised of 1867 pump organ parts

#sudburydesign 2015

#sudburydesign

Coming up;  Sudbury Art and Design 2015
Opening Reception: March 21,  4-8:30pm
Show/Sale March 21-29, 11-4 by appointment
60 Nobscot Road  (off Rt.20, in the big barn!)

Sand / leather wall art / 48"x36"

It's all in the details!

Sea 

Bits of Books Produce a Whodunit

Whodunit, is third in this particular series of my found-object assemblages.  Much of the series' content originated from discarded library materials.

Whodunit, 7x24"

 Musty books were sliced-n-diced to create this patchwork drama, including tintype portraits of mysterious ancestors, and a vintage delivery crate from Funk and Wagnals. 

Page curls are due to a wispy bandsaw cut

 The worm-worn timber substrate was salvaged from the dark underbelly of a century-old barn. Its lengthy intricate texture and bronze patina have earned unexpected exposure after a gingerly cleaning and sealcoat of varnish. 

Notice the character in the hat sharing her un-portrait-like hand gesture
---not withdrawn at all.

 A footnote from this gumshoe:  --- Train your eye to spy.  Seemingly tattered and tainted minutia  ---covertly rich in uniqueness, often goes unappreciated by the untrained eye and left on the cutting room floor. Clue in to rough edges, stains and doodle marks; they add character.

Pass-It-On Wine Wraps

 My design.  Totally original.  This is it.  The way to gift wine.  (Copyright 2014)

write a message and pass-it-on

made made salvaged leather / no two exactly alike

Selling now at Sudbury Art Association Holiday Market, MA
Five Crows, Natick, MA
Wellesley Holiday Gift Shop, MA
*almost sold out in two days at Maynard ArtSpace Holiday Market 

Owls Are A Hoot

Reclaimed timber, leather, piano hammers, odds and ends ...

Bandsaw, hand drill, hammer, sander ...

All these owls have flown the coop, but more are

perched at the Sudbury Art Association's Annual

Holiday Market at 421 Boston Post Road
(aka Rt. 20) until December 24.

Free-Motion Stitching Has Me Climbing the Walls

Ovals, leaves, surfboards ... call the shapes that you want.  Applying FMS to colorful, textured, pliable, lightweight leather shapes and then exhibiting them on a wall brings a new mind-set to the uninspired term, wall-hanging.

detail of FMS (free-mtion stitching)

Leather wall-hanging, 30"x 45"

previously made earthy pillow with similar shaped motif

This large leather wall-hanging SOLD recently at Anthi's Drawing Room, Marion MA.

The earthy colors  and textures in this wall-hanging reminded me of stones in a river or creek bed.
The tricky part in this project was figuring out the path for attachment.

River Stone Flow, 40"

Student Projects / Summer 2014

Ready to take flight

Would you believe a lightbulb
is underneath it all?

A 10-year old student had a hoot repurposing an
assortment of found objects

Exploring mark-making in black-n-white on brown

A teen sketched her pillow design, cut the leather,
sewed together the 4 sides & sketched the free-motion stitching for me to add.

The technique of fusing plastic bags was introduced.
This student then took her newly-made "plastic cloth" home and used it to cover her block hooks.
 Very cool !

Purple Pig did not forget to stop and smell the roses.

This student wrote his name in bold marker lettering,
water-colored the negative space, cut apart the squares and rearranged the pieces 

Found-object fish

Art in the summer studio moved along swimmingly.

EVENT: The Texture of Textiles

There's A First Time for Everything

 

I love that my students are always up for trying new things in the studio.

     

  Another returning student explored painting with knives. She added dimension and texture to her canvas by trying new techniques and unusual materials.

This student is musically inclined so
she designed the first ever clock to
tick-tock 'n rock from my studio.

If at first you don't love it, paint over it! Doodle and dab.        
    

Another bright idea and first! 

This student was the first to design a pillow and use a sewing machine in the studio.
 She sewed the straight lines and I added the free-motion stitching to her canvas & leather creation.

A 9-yearold boy surprised me with his knack for fine-line mark-making.

Creating a walldoll was added physical therapy for a hand on the mend.
Aside from working his clever mind, this student sketched, cut, drilled,
gripped pliers, twisted wires and managed a glue gun.
His "Mister Kaens" assemblage is more that meets the eye.

ADULT ART CLASSES / Natick, MA

FYI:  Check-out Five Crows in Natick for their spring schedule art schedule for adults.
www.fivecrows.com

The upcoming Monday and Tuesday morning workshops are taught by yours truly.
Two 4-day classes offered: Fish or Fly  and Cutest House on the Block.
They each start at 10AM.
See what you can create with a simple block of wood.

Repurpose an old lightbulb when you sculpt a spring bird or a summer fish.