Wednesday, June 1, 2016

In Living Color

In my jewelry and in my mixed media assemblages, I tend to be drawn to the same colors again and again.  These include the raw colors of all types of metal, and of metal in various forms of decay.  This palette is comforting to my eye, and somehow it has a story to tell.


In my work, the exception to this includes any and all of the folk art pieces that I create.  In these, all bets are off!  Bright rules; more colors are a wonderful thing; and generally each piece is polka dotted to within an inch of its life.



While I adore both of these approaches to my art, for years I've challenged myself to "add more color to my jewelry".  This has come in the form of beads, enameling, fiber, and various patinas.

In January, I joined the talented Debbie Keen and Nikki Thornburg-Lanigan for a weekend of creative play.  During our time together, we experimented with metal etching, enameling, graphite, colored pencils, and alcohol inks.  We learned from the good , the bad, and the ugly... and we had a ball!


As I posted this photos to Facebook today, I realized that this process of adding color continues to evolve for me, and I love where it's going.



The journey continues...