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.
Funny how the same ideas evolve at the same time.
Using vintage black & white photos on stationery became quite vogue.
The dialogue balloons are cut out and attached on foam,
and are all pretty funny. ( "I'm a Queen! My pantyhose says so!")
Everyone needs humor.
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 it when his friends come over.
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...
What do you give the woman who has everything?
Her very own fragrance line!( With thanks from Mr. Michael Kors )
"Amy: The Fragrance~ soft, sensual, and takes no shit"
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 !
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."
One career move I would love to undertake is art director
for a children's book publisher.
I saw an opening, and put together a box of my work, shaped like a book.
"Reasons To Make Me Your New Art Director Could Fill A Book."
Opening the cover, it said "This one, as a matter of fact."
It wasn't to be. They decided not to hire an art director, after all.
Color me blue...
This is something I do for very special people.
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? )
When my cousin turned 54, she warranted a special book with memories from her many friends.
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!
I had never worked with paper maché, so this was a fun project.
Balloons, blown up to different sizes, are covered with
strips of newspaper soaked in glue and water.
(Take you back to elementary school?)
Let them dry.
Then pop the balloon and you have an egg-shaped shell.
I made a nesting egg. Each one fit inside the next smaller egg.
I used the theme of "A Woman's Nature" with visuals exploring
aspects of a woman's character involving "Power."
At the center, in the smallest egg, a baby.
My work is intuitive. I don't know what that baby means...
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, okay? )
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 abused 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,
and I have something to pass on to future generations with family significance.
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.
The photos in the frames have their own story, below.
Another foamcore project. This one was just for fun.
The picture inside is an illustration I did in oil of mer-people.
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."
