sticks and stones

I am pleased to report that three of my pieces have been accepted for a show at Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina! The show is called Sticks and Stones, featuring art created from natural elements, and runs from March 6th to May 1st. Apart from being included in the show, the exciting thing is that Jerzy and I are taking this opportunity to do a road trip, so I can attend the opening on March 6th. I've never been to North Carolina, so I'm really looking forward to the whole experience. It's about a two-day drive from here to there, and once we are there and I've delivered my pieces, we plan to explore the State a bit. So lots of driving! Below are my pieces...I consider them a triptych.

synapse 1

synapse 1 (detail)

synapse 2

synapse 2 (detail)

synapse 3

synapse 3 (detail)

the wives

When I saw my friend Laurie Boisvert's latest piece, "the wives", I was awestruck. She has created a series of silver lockets to represent each of Henry VIII's wives. I find this work to be very evocative and a good balance between well-conceived and visceral. You won't see these lockets on her website - these photos were taken by one of the galleries that show her work - but you will find many more fascinating pieces on her shiny objects site. She has given her permission for me to share them with you here. Enjoy...

wall art, open frame-mounted sterling silver with pomegranate seeds encased (Catherine of Aragon)

wall art, open frame-mounted sterling silver with hinged links (Anne Boleyn)


wall art, open frame-mounted sterling silver locket with needle point inside/silk thread (Jane Seymour)


wall art, open frame-mounted sterling silver with kuembo interior: 22 karat gold leaf fused onto sterling silver (Anne of Cleves)


wall art, open frame-mounted sterling silver locket and rose bush clipping (Catherine Howard)


wall art, open frame-mounted sterling silver and paper (Catherine Parr)

sanguine yearning

Red Alert - Week 1 opens today. The vernissage (opening) will be the evening of Valentine's Day. I've called my piece sanguine yearning. Sanguine refers to blood but also to optimism and confidence. I will refrain from saying what the piece means to me. My hope is that it will evoke personal associations and emotional responses from those who view it.

clotting

Motivated by Red Alert, an upcoming red-themed exhibition in which I am one of the participants, I've been mucking about with plaster bandage and sanguine ink. I started to experiment and ended up creating what I have come to consider as small clots, but they are essentially nests or vessels (of course!). Below are some glimpses of my materials and process. The show opens in a few days and I will post some photographs of my finished piece when it is done. I'm always finished at the eleventh hour...