Inspriation in London....

We spent a great weekend in London.  We enjoyed Kensington Palace- sadly, Princess Diana's dresses have been moved to the Fashion Museum in Bath.  We saw a wonderful exhibit of Grace Kelly's clothes at the Victoria and Albert Museum- I loved it and have many new ideas for dresses.  As we were walking towards Harrods, we passed the window displays for Harvey Nichols.  These photos are from the window displays.  The first one is a close up of a very large dress made of clothes pins.  Again, is it mosaic or collage?  The second grouping is a tree made of pencils.  I have also shown it up close so you can see the detail of the pencils and how a simple thing like a pencil can be divided into points, erasers etc. to create different images. What I love about this kind of art and what I do, it inspires people to view things in a new way, hopefully to look at your world in a new way. 

 

Weekend in NYC- influences abound!

I have just spent a long weekend in NYC with my husband.  We have taken the opportunity to visit several NY landmarks and to act like tourists- even though both of us have lived in the city at one time or another.  Travel is so refreshing and important, I was a flight attendant as a young adult and truly enjoy experiencing new things, cultures and influences.  The first exhibit that we saw was the King Tut exhibit created by National Geographic.  While I thought the exhibit was a little lacking for the ticket price, I enjoyed seeing the intricate details given to even the smallest of items for the pharoahs, such dedication by the artisans of the time.

Influences were everywhere, this is in a store window for the new book store at Bloomingdales.  The dress is made of advertising pages from magazines.

This is a fabulous art structure/sculpture on the roof of the Metropolitan Museum- a mosaic of bamboo!

A large mosaic portrait at the Metropolitan Museum.

We also saw a great exhibit titled 'American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity', you can definately expect to see numerous dresses in my 'Fall Collection' directly related to this exhibit at the Met.

And I had to throw this in, while I didn't see it this weekend in NY, I thought it appropriate for this blog entry!  Is it mosaic or collage!?!

My friend and mentor, Gabriella Brunner, once told me to always keep my eyes open, you never know when inspiration or objects will present themselves.

Tuckers Point Hotel & Spa in Bermuda

This is a wonderful video about the Tuckers Point Hotel & Spa in Bermuda.  They represent my work in Bermuda.  I am so proud to be associated with this property.

Video of Tuckers Point Hotel & Spa, Bermuda

Little Lolita

Introducing 'Little Lolita'....  This piece is now over at the Aspen Chapel Gallery for the Opening of 'Pssssst.....Sizzling Art' on July 21.  She is the final piece of 6 who will be shown at this exhibit.  I have been working with smaller pieces, in this piece I used the matching dessert plates from the same china pattern I used in 'Lolita'.  'Little Lolita' is actually only 10 inches tall.  I then used the 'middles' of the plates for the bodice, I like how the ivory and the white of the china work together in the bodice. 

'Lolita'

Introducing 'Lolita', I created 'Lolita' in Bermuda earlier this month for the opening at Regali, Tuckers Point Hotel.  The inspiration for this dress came from the fabulous dress Demi Moore wore to the Oscars.  It had layers and layers of ruffles and came up in the front to reveal her beautiful legs.  I love, love this design and plan to work with it again using different materials.  'Lolita' was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Greg Dorsett of Maryland.  Mr. and Mrs. Dorsett were on vacation in Bermuda to celebrate Mrs. Dorsett's Birthday.  Mr. Dorsett asked me to secretly deliver 'Lolita' to their hotel room while they were out as a special Birthday Surprise.  'Lolita' was then overly wrapped in bubble wrap and went home on the plane with them the following Monday!  Happy, Happy Birthday to Mrs. Dorsett and I hope 'Lolita' will forever serve to remind the Dorsetts of a wonderful Birthday weekend in Bermuda!

'Miss

Introducing 'Miss Ohio'. I have been working on this piece off and on for 6 months. I never, never spend that much time on a piece. This piece was so difficult for so many reasons. First, creating these layers on the skirt as part of the armature is really difficult. My hands were torn up after trying to get into those tiny little spaces with wire mesh. Then when I was concreting it, I had to create new ways to apply the concrete as my tradtional method would not reach the inner sections under each tier. As I worked in applying the tile, I had to inch into each section to adhere the mirrors. Finally, grouting into those crevices took 2 patient sessions. I am so happy to be finished with her, I can't tell you! I am thrilled with the result and hope she will find a happy home!

Miss Iris

'Miss Iris' - named for the color of tile used in the bodice.  I found this tile at the fabulous Lowes.  They are liners and the color is an absolute match for the blue and white china I use in my pieces.  I was surprised to see that the color is Iris, would have given it more of a blue name.  'Miss Iris' is part of a not what I would really call a series, but a trial using smaller busts.  She is only 15 inches tall.  She is headed, along with 'Miss New Mexico', to the E.S. Lawrence Gallery in Aspen.  Ken and Kathy Johnson will be hosting a group of PR agents on Friday night- hope my girls make a splash!