I love summer. Its a time to take time. My husband, Doug, and I have spent a lot of time so far sitting in the back yard. We drink coffee and discuss everything from the state of the yard, to people we know, politics and even our wills. One of the things that I have been doing this summer is redecorating our bedroom. I am making this light to go in the bedroom on my nightstand. It is an old Christmas tree stand. I love taking vintage, well made objects and repurposing them. Isn't it very Steampunk? I had to recreate some of the screw heads and things with Apoxie Clay, but you can't even tell. At Art And Soul in Virginia beach this fall I am teaching a class on altered lamps. One of the things I will do in the class is teach people how to wire up a found object to make a pendant or a lamp. I think it is very empowering to know how tho wire up a socket, plug and switch. Join me?

The show season is upon us! I only do a few shows a year, but still, I need to make sure I have enough great and new stuff to sell. This year during the winter I did an online art course teaching how to approach galleries and improve the quality of my work. I really feel like I made a big jump in the quality and uniqueness of my jewelry this year and I am proud of what I have been making.

So if you get the chance, come and see me. I will keep the "where to find me" section up to date as the season progresses!

Now that the holidays are over it's time to take a breath! I love this time of year as I get a chance to reflect on all that went on in 2013 and plan for 2014. What shows should I jury for? Where should I teach? What galleries should I pursue? Well it already looks like it is shaping up to be a busy year!

I was part of a Holiday Art Festival at Knox Farm State Park. It was held in the mansion and it was so gorgeous with everyone's display! This is mine. I decided to forgo the dark side (mostly) and glitz it up! The next weekend I hosted an open house with Kat, Michelle and Trey. After that came the opening of the Gift Show at the 464 Gallery. Busy!

Things finally came out of the commercial zone when my son and his girlfriend arrived home from college in Arizona. It was a sweet time of catching up and making new memories with family and friends. One of the highlights was going to the Corning Museum of Glass to make blown glass vases and ornaments.

Here's to a creative 2014!

My first show in a long time! I used to do them all the time, but recently have only had my things in galleries. I was asked to do "First Fridays" at The Dress Shop on Allen St. in Buffalo.  The Dress Shop is an awesome clothing store that has different, stylish, and even retro clothing. They asked me to bring down some of my recycled tins necklaces. Don't you LOVE the dress form. I was coveting it. Unfortunately, Danielle, the owner of the shop was quite attached to it and noticed me trying to sneak it into my trunk! (Just kidding!)

These tins open up. You can store you secret stash in there. I thought it would be a great place to store $20. The 20 somethings told me they would use it for condoms. Go figure!

Here's my booth from the Roycroft Festival this last weekend in East Aurora, NY (my town!). I am fortunate to live in a town that is very appreciative of the arts. I may have shaken a few people up with my altered baby doll heads though. People either loved me and complemented me on my demented thought process or sneaked past the booth and whispered "spooky", which I also took as a complement!

My niece, Liz, came for a visit yesterday. She was an art major in college, but wasn't using her talents much in the last few years. It was so much fun to sit in the new studio and be inspired together! I love her!

In fact, I have had lots of visitors. Here's another niece, Auggie. I think she is my muse for my baby head creations!

We ended up taking out old kitchen cabinets and reusing them in the studio. I have to say that the space is pretty nice looking! I was planning on plywood!

Things are up and running in full swing! Check out the new things on the site. I am gearing up for some shows starting in early May.

Well, there are several good reasons I have not had much blogging going on. The best of these is that I have had all my stuff packed up for the past couple of months! We are converting our old garage into an office for my husband's recruiting business and an art studio for me!

In a couple of weeks I should be up and running.....hopefully!

I finally got my hands on some more of those little furniture casters to make my bathtub puttis. They are so hard to find for a reasonable price! They just need a paint job. There are also some pocket watch necklaces waiting for paint in the background.

These are the babies I use for the puttis. I got a whole bag of them at the antique mall. I think they are supposed to be baby shower favors, but I think they look creepy. I think they look like something out of The Matrix!