Cat Light

This wall hung lamp is constructed with a taxidermy form of some type of large cat. Lion perhaps??? If you can identify it please let me know. He/she was an acquisition from the bargain room at the Jonas Brothers warehouse in Louisville. This goofy feline is sporting a hat made with vintage wooden foundry mold pieces, a bakelite socket and a low watt bulb.

Light Headed

This startled looking creature was an ebay find and he was listed as a doll head in need of restoration. I am so proud of the fact that I rescued him from restoration because he has obviously taken many years to obtain the PERFECT patina of age. And a perfect patina demands a perfect hat...so this cone head hat was just right. A little wiring and a low watt bulb and he is ready to light the way.

Let There Be Light

So it's a new year and I figured it was time to plow some new neural pathways and learn the ABC's of lamp wiring so that I could create some light up assemblage. This is a piece titled "Pearls of Wisdom". She measures 15.5" x 9" x 9". I'm figuring light and wisdom are a good combo.

Boulder Open Studios Tour

I am in the process of prepping my studio for this year's Open Studios Tour in Boulder. My studio will be open Saturdays and Sundays, Oct. 1 & 2 and Oct. 8 & 9 from 12:00 to 6:00. I am located at 3102 Palo Parkway (two blocks north of Iris off 28th St.) in Boulder. If you are any where near my studio please stop by for a visit. See ya soon.

Curses

Sometimes it takes me a loooong time to figure out how I will utilize one of my acquisitions in an assemblage piece. My brother in law gave me this wonderful vintage easel chalkboard that has a lovely instructional chart that can be viewed by turning the handles at the top of the board. It took me months before I hit upon the concept for this piece, but when I stopped at the chart for the letters of the alphabet illustrated in cursive I knew just what I wanted to do. Since currently there is a lively controversy surrounding dropping the teaching of cursive in schools I thought this piece would be particularly timely. I made a mold of a doll face and pressed polymer clay into the mold to make the faces. Then I stamped an indented rectangular space where the mouth is supposed to be and inserted the word "damn" written in cursive in those mouth spaces. I then made a sign with a large printout of the word "Cursive" and hung it from the bottom of the chalk board. So...did you love learning cursive, or were you one of those children who were silently cursing cursive?

Pressing Matters

The first two weekends in October I will once again be participating in the
Boulder Open Studios Tour. This will be my third round of being part of the tour and every year it seems to sneak up on me so damn quickly! I took a brand new assemblage to the Boulder Public Library to include in the show that runs from now till the end of Open Studios. My good pal Linda gave me a vintage wooden paper press and I found a largish antique German porcelain doll head that fit perfectly in the press for this piece. It was so perfect that the doll head has a crack running through her still intact head. Most importantly she still looks good given the pressure she is under.

Journeys

So I've discovered taxidermy forms. About a twenty minute drive from my Boulder home is the Jonas Brothers warehouse and I have had the slightly macabre pleasure of roaming the aisles of the warehouse stacked high with molded animal parts.

During a recent visit I acquired a beast from their bargain room that I believe is a deer...or something close to the deer family. Riding this beast is a brave figure who may not know the exact nature of the beast she is riding, and who might not know the way through the forest, and might not even know where she will end up. But she is brave because she has the courage to move forward regardless. May we all have such courage.