If you've gotten this far down the list, you either really
like my work or you are a relative.
Either way...works for me.
At the end of each school year, I make a special gift for my
childrens' teachers.
For 2009, I made a multi-layered box with quotes about
great teachers varnished over the surface.
Inside is a hand I sculpted out of clay that holds a crystal ball.
This particular teacher taught math, ergo, the numbered dice for the base.
Funny how the same ideas evolve at the same time.
Using stock vintage black & white photos on stationery became quite vogue.
(The cover photo had a cigarette, and I substituted an ink pen.)
The dialogue balloons are cut out separately and attached with foam,
and are all pretty funny. ( "I'm a Queen! My pantyhose says so!")
Everyone needs humor.
Of course, I have the most fun with my own photos.
This time I put the pictures on a set of wooden cubes in a felt-lined holder.
And when I'm old and in a nursing home, everyone will think I was quite the Player!
In college, I took a portrait photography course.
Using clothes from different decades, I made a series of self-portraits.
They made a nice grouping, so I boxed them up as a coaster set;
"Tjody's Life in the Faux Lane"
Does anyone actually USE coasters anymore? Hmmm.
Until my children were ten, they thought it was pretty neat
to serve their classmates bottled spring water with custom labels
along with their birthday cupcakes.
That ended when they got old enough to be embarrassed by it.
But by the time graduation rolls around, it'll be cool again.
( Embarrassing my children. Just one more service I offer... )
Now I'm just showing off.
The photo is my son, in a bucket, ergo; "Baby In A Bucket" baby oil.
And yes, he hides the bottle when his friends come over.
What do you give the woman who has everything?
Her very own fragrance line! ( Aided by some recycled Michael Kors )
"Amy: The Fragrance~ soft, sensual, and takes no sh*t "
I hate to pay $17 for a jar of body scrub. But I am
fussy about what I use. " Eureka! I'll invent my own!"
Baby Oil and coarse kosher table salt, 1 to 2 parts.
I'm not cheap, I'm resourceful.
It's amazing what you can build with Foamcore.
I created geometric patterns on the computer,
colored them with markers and glued the sheets
to stacked layers of Foamcore.
Then I used a band saw to cut the edges flat,
finished with a couple coats of textured paint and "voila!"
Instant...art !
Occasionally for milestone birthdays, I'll do a set of coasters,
featuring that person with significant things from their past.
( Didn't I tell you I could work miracles with stock photography? )
Some people knit, I make earrings.
I had so many I packaged them to sell.
( One season on eBay, and it paid for Christmas.)
This project didn't really fit in anywhere else.
Richard Schooley, of Castalia, Inc. asked me to create a "frame"
on which to display creative inspirational messages for an A.E.F.A. office.
It measured 16" by 22" and was built with Foamcore and handmade papers.
The little hand "waved" on a spring.
A spotted chicken clasping a big egg held the AEFA blocks.
Those are Swedish crayons hanging at the bottom, and the
messages along each panel are: "Play, Dare, Intuition, Curiousity."
I love books, and I like little projects like this one.
Leather, with photos and fortune cookie fortunes sewn onto rice paper.
The tassels are leather ties with brass and clay beads.
Photos taken at an assisted-living center are juxtaposed against
the random sayings on
a paper fortune,
giving this small book a delicate irony that is both touching and full of hope.
This is the same size as the leather one. ( 3" by 4.5" )
It is a poem, each phrase on it's own page, with photos I took of myself.
It speaks of the many sides of ourselves we show the world, while ultimately
seeking someone who will see us for who we really are.
This little beauty, ( 4.75" by 4" ) is a spiral bound fairy tale.
Well, a fairy tale I wrote. It's nestled in it's own little silk covered box.
The title of this one explains it pretty well.
"How to Promote Yourself with Lutheran Humility"
I have a keen appreciation for humor in all its abstract forms...
Every Thanksgiving, my sister Amy invites the entire family over.
I am in charge of decorating the table.
( I'm not known for my cooking. Enough said. )
One year, I made little name card holders, the same year
Oreos came out with mini-sized versions.
They doubled as Christmas Tree decorations.
Wouldn't you know it,
someone came out with those damn S'More ornaments,
and I lost my chance to become a millionaire.
I did the same the following year, with little plaster sparkly acorns.
FIMO became my new best friend.
These were so cute in real life....
they look a little creepy here...
No self-respecting artist/mother ever lets an opportunity
like Valentines Day pass by.
When I come up with a good idea, I share.
Nice big empty frame, a yard of metal mesh screen from the hardware store
and you have a lovely display/storage for all those earrings you're
not quite brave enough to wear in public but can't quite give away...
Again, a good idea, and I share.
TV is fine, but too much and a child's brain turns to mush.
Every Monday, my kids got 20 cards. Each card was good for either
a half-hour of television, or 50¢ extra with their allowance.
( And of course, they lost one if they swore or punched their sibling...)
Yes, I sew. Have since seventh grade.
I also save too many things. Like old clothes that have
sentimental value but don't fit anyone or are falling apart.
So I make doll clothes out of them.
Each outfit has a special story, (the blue one is made from
a silk dress my mother wore when she was crowned Homecoming Queen in 1949.)
and I have a way to pass along family history to a future generation.
There's a wall in my house that was the perfect spot for a painting.
I love the work of Tamara de Lempika. I copied one of hers
that particularly suited the space, adding the leaves to match a chair.
I used acrylic paint. Those little 99¢ bottles from the craft store.
This is "Chip."
I found him at a yard sale. A little paint, a string of lights,
you have a perfect sculpture for a hallway landing.
Another foamcore project. This one was for my good friend, Scott Coran.
The picture inside is an illustration I did in oil of a mermaid couple.
The little hand is made of FIMO, and the little "crystal ball" fell off
a pair of earrings. ( Perfect size.)
The outside is sprayed with a textured paint and some funky paper
I got at an art store. The fish on top? Who can remember?
But I brushed it with some sparkly nail polish and it was perfect.
"And that," she said with a smile, "was that."
