Well I have been neglecting my blog, and thought I should start posting again now that my life is getting back in order!
First, I am very excited about the "Pinned and Pined For" event!  It will be taking place at the Screw Factory in Lakewood, outside of Cleveland, on Oct 18-21.  Many great jewelers from the area will be displaying work to sell. I hope to be at the opening Thursday evening to see everyones work! I should be heading back to the metal studio soon to finish a few more pieces!
Check out the blog:

http://pinnedandpinedfor.blogspot.com/

Secondly, I spent time this summer starting work on illustrated enamel buttons. I did a few Peter Rabbit pieces.  I will be continuing on related pieces this semester integrating die-forming and other surface textures.

Mural at Holy Spirit

I wanted to post a few pictures from a recent commission for Holy Spirit Parish located in Evansville Indiana. Fr. Claude Burns and I began communicating last summer when I was studying Iconography at Thomas More College's Way of Beauty program. Over the course of this past year, we worked through designs, and finally settled on an image of the B.V.M.  Mary's mantle envelopes a number of saints of particular devotion to the parish of Holy Spirit. These include Sts. Bernadette, Faustina, Theodore Guerin, Therese, Clare, Charles Borremeo, Benedict, Thomas Aquinas, Pio, and Juan Diego. I was able to bring in Gwyneth Holston, friend and artist from Denver Colorado, to paint alongside of me for a number of days. Our medium was acrylic paints.  The stenciled background motifs created a more celestial atmosphere. Bruce, a parishoner, donated the beautiful wooden framework around the edge of the design. I decided to go with a more traditional color scheme matching the windows of the church, and Gwyneth brought in Peruvian Marian designs to inspire our halo design. I am very thankful for all the parish support. And I was blessed to have Bishop Thompson dedicate the mural, though I was unable to personally attend the ceremony.

Below is the finished product. You might catch a glimpse of the Stations of the Cross along the bottom perimeter. I was commissioned to restore them a few years ago after they were taken down from a parish closing in the diocese and underwent extensive damage in the process.

Painting Mary's halo!

My great help....Gwyneth!

When I arrived, the wall was unfinished and still in need of spackling! With the help of Gwyneth, my parents, and friends, we were able to spackle, prime, and begin the design quickly. Here is an image from the beginning stages. We were able to reach everything with a scissors lift and scaffolding.  The scale of the wall ranged from approximately 30ft in height to 50ft in width. All in all, it was begun and finished in two weeks.

Soon I should be getting pictures from the Bishop's dedication! Can't wait!

A link to local diocesan article on the mural announcing Bishop's dedication:
http://www.themessageonline.org/local/2012/01-20/marian.html

Here is fellow artist Gwyneth Holston who was happy to help!

http://gwynethholston.com/

Earrings

The following earrings are influenced by my first line of jewelry. The hoops are fashioned in the same accord as the bracelets. They seem to have a tribal feel about them. 

Copper, silver earring wire, and spray paint.

The following flower earrings were form-folded using a rolling press. These are my favorite! I was hoping to make a line of flower brooches.

Copper, silver earring wire, and spray paint.

The process included sandblasting colored pencil, and patina.

My first post

Hello.  This is the beginning of my blog space! I will try to keep up-to-date posts on my current art projects.

For starters, I will begin by posting some of my jewelry from last year's production lines. These bangles are etched copper and painted.  The patterns were derived from the iron work of Savannah's rich historic architecture and ancient Islamic floor tile designs. The technique of form-folding enabled me to hammer these bangles into a natural curve that fit the wrist. They were then spray painted and sanded to bring out the relief from the etching process. Some were touched up with a liver of sulfur patina to darken the copper design.

Here are a few more colors and designs.