Busy All the Time and Having Way Too Much Fun

I got major inspiration from reading and re-reading Kate McKinnon's new book on sculptural metal clay.  The techniques she introduced inspired three new pieces, with many more residing in my head and waiting to materialize.

I've been working on bee-themed pieces, both encaustic mixed media and jewelry, for FRANK Gallery's "BEE Show" that opens in June.  Encaustic is eligible, because it is in large part beeswax.  The encaustic technique is one that dates back to ancient Greece where shipbuilders used beeswax to caulk joints and waterproof the hulls of their boats.  Pretty soon, the Greeks were painting the prows of their warships, sealed in wax I must presume, and scaring the beejezuz out of the Trojans. Jasper Johns was the only 20th century artist to use encaustic, but now it's enjoying a resurgence, and I can understand why.  I find it compelling and addictive, because I can layer just about anything in the wax. Multiple images, paints (oil only) and fabric, paper, etc. can be secured in multiple layers.

So, I move between my jewelry and painting/collage studios (both upstairs in my house) as I work on pieces.  It satisfies the ADD (or OCD) in me.  

Today was one of those interesting synchronicity (for lack of a more descriptive term) days.   I've had a necklace, made of sterling, large white freshwater pearls, and rutilated quartz briolettes, languishing in the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts for the past six months.  It's a gorgeous piece, and I couldn't understand why it hadn't sold.  Well, today, two women wanted the same piece.  Alas, the second woman came in after it was already bought by the first.  She had looked at it the day before and went home to think about it.  Any other time she would have had first dibs, but not today.  Interesting, huh?  Anyway, I promised to make a similar piece for her if I can find more of the large briolettes I used in the original.

It's a joy to be doing what I'm doing and to have the freedom to pursue my creative work, which isn't always lucrative but is always satisfying.