King David, The Birthday Boy

I forgot to photograph the crown I made so I thought I would share this photo one of my coworkers sent me. This is my boss on his birthday. Unfortunately you can't see the green bicyclist that started all of this!

Does This Happen To You?

It started out simply enough. It always does right?

I decided to make a crown for my boss. It is his birthday this week and he seems very excited about it. He is an adorable 70 + year old man, with a fabulous sense of humor and a fascinating history behind him. He deserves a crown! I decided to keep it relatively simple with a few references to his passions (rebuilding tossed out chairs and biking). As I recalled I had the perfect adornment for one area of the crown, a small green bicyclist, I knew it would be perfect. And that is where the trouble began.

Try as I might I just can't seem to organize my art supplies. They are oozing out of every corner in my small apartment. I have them housed in clear boxes, cardboard boxes, shoe boxes, cigar boxes, large tins, large plastic jars, plastic bags, it goes on and on. And yet amid all of that stash I knew I had a small green bicyclist.

I was sure it was somewhere on my work desk, in a bag, or maybe it was in a box. I went through everything I could easily access, no luck. I went through the boxes on the shelves to the right of the desk, again no luck. I went through the massive drum size tins under my desk, dumping the contents and sifting through them. I found troll dolls, plastic squid, centipedes, rubber finger puppets, plastic babies, dog house charms, army soldiers, bowlers, and hula dancers, but no green bicyclist! By that point I had worked myself into a frenzy, I was obsessed, nothing else would work on that spot of the crown but that specific plastic green bicyclist!!! I moved more boxes and went through the broken jewelry, the containers of beads and feathers, still no luck. Maybe I had used it in something, or perhaps I tossed it out during one of my feeble attempts to clean up.

I don't take defeat easily but after almost 2 hours of searching I decided I was going to have to rethink that portion of the crown and find something else. If I still had the bicyclist I would probably find it 6 months from now while looking for something else. I had met defeat. Then, out of the corner of my eye I saw a shoebox I missed, it was wedged under another box. Was it worth pulling out and going through? Probably not, but why not. So I pulled the box out started going through the contents-Styrofoam balls, toothpicks, tubes of glitter, scarabs, monopoly money, and there in the corner I saw it, a lone green bicyclist!

So now I am sneezing like a fool from all the dust I stirred up but my work area is a bit cleaner and most importantly my boss has a small green bicyclist on his crown!

Happy Birthday David.

At Last....

Now that I have successfully remembered my password I can re-engage myself on here! I hope the holidays were full of good times for everyone and 2010 proves to be the year we all want it to be.

Here is a bit of what I have been up to (I apologize for the goofy layout, I can't seem to master the posting of photos on here)..........

This is an encaustic piece I made as a house warming for Erin. Another apology, I photographed it at night and the flash bounced off the mirrors and wax no matter what I did, hence the bad glare. That is pretty much true of all these photos, sorry.

Close up detail......

These are Christmas gifts I made for some of my favorite people.

I made this for Erin, my creative muse.

(back view)

This one was for Miss Kim, who definitely lives life la vida loca!

This was for Marek'a, Mistress of the cosmic universe.

M E T A M O R P H O S I S

Butterflies have been crossing my path a lot lately and when I think about them and what they represent I guess it is no coincidence that I came up with this Metamorphosis piece. A lot of times when I am working on an art piece I find it directly ties into what is on my mind or what I am going through, even if I was not conscious of it at the time I was executing it.


I can't believe it is Labor Day weekend already, where did summer go?!? I must admit I am actually glad summer is gone, I have always been more of a fall person. Growing up in the northwest I loved the crispness of September air and the earthy colors of falling leaves. I loved putting an extra blanket on the bed at night and spending late afternoons in front of a fire drawing or painting. Of course now that I live in the "tropics" September usually marks a season of even hotter, more humid weather. There is no crisp air, there is heavy damp air. There are no falling leaves or a need for extra blankets. There is a need for finding the coolest, most air conditioned theater, book store or restaurant you can find and spending time there, lots of time....

Despite that I still find the fall season a time of renewal. The shifting of energy is palatable and it seems like anything is possible this time of year. I don't know if it is brought on by the seasonal changes or if it is tied into a larger cycle of life (September is my birth month), whatever it is I always find renewed energy and an overwhelming desire to spread my wings and go off in a new direction come September.

This September I have started a new job which I am very excited about. Not only do I get to work with local artists once again I get to help keep the diverse heritage of this community alive, something I think is important for any community. I have a lot of challenges ahead of me but I am energized by all of the possibilities. I really do feel a bit like a butterfly fluttering through the sky.

Sirens Of The Sea

Father's Day was a festival of mermaids at my friends gallery. It was the first annual Mermaid Fest and it featured The Mermaids of Hawaii, a synchronized swimming group, artist demos and an array of work celebrating the sea and it's mythical creatures. Here are a few of the encaustic pieces I did.

The wax really enhanced the underwater feel of the pieces, adding a murky layer to some pieces and giving the effect of encrusted buried treasure
to others.

I must admit mermaids are not a theme I would consider doing but it turned out to be fun, and I got to use up a lot of the shells I had laying around the house. And the fact that the pieces sold, well, that was like discovering the pearl inside of the oyster, something you hope for and yet you are surprised and delighted by when it happens........

Hawaiiana Calls...

I have a friend who owns an art gallery in Waikiki. It is full of what I refer to as "tourist art", photos, paintings, and prints of palm trees, sunsets and waves. She only sells work made here in Hawaii and it must be reflective of the islands. I sell lava and kukui nut jewelry there and do quite well with it but it isn't a direction I would normally go in. I am more inclined to make dramatic costume inspired neck pieces or leis of recycled items I picked up off the street. But the kukui nut bracelets help pay the rent and sadly that is what it is all about these days.

Anyway, she has been after me from day one to do some art work for her, paintings or the collage boxes I am known for. The problem is, what I am known for and what she offers in her gallery are not the same thing and I have not been able to generate any enthusiasm for making "tourist art". But times are tough and I could use the money so... I thought about melting some wax....

I decided I could stay true to myself and do some tongue in cheek Hawaiiana works that would not be offensive to me or her clientele. And adding wax to the images definitely makes them stand out from all the other offerings out there in the tourist market. Hopefully I have made them interesting enough for anyone to consider.

1 Fetus + 1 Tile = Infantile

Once again I wonder where time has gone and why I haven't been on here more. OK, well I know why I haven't been on here more but time does slip by at a fast rate these days. I got hit with that nasty flu bug that was going around, it knocked me off my feet much longer than it should have. Then there was the death of someone who was very special to me, that has left me numb and blue and not feeling up to much of anything. I have finally rallied a bit and felt some art therapy was in order!

If you have been following my ramblings on here you know my friend Erin sent me a blank metal tile which was calling for some makeover magic. Also, a very long time ago she sent out a plastic fetus, not only to me but to many of her artist friends (you have to love a gal who has a bag full of plastic fetuses). I think everyone has used them in some creative way but I still had not done anything with the two I received and I was beginning to feel guilty about that. I still have a project in mind for one of them but I decided to take the other one and combine it with the tile to make an infant-tile :)

The finished piece is called Infantile de Infanta,

the infant child of Portuguese royalty.

I am feeling better already..........