Working small. Every winter my work goes small. Dolls usually. Sometime beadwork. Often I will make jewelry. I'm enjoying the details. It feels a little like crawling inside - hibernating only not. I have to be careful not to judge these periods to harshly. To enjoy them and let them influence what will happen next in my "real" work. 

I have been playing with torch fired enamel for the past few weeks, it's very addictive, reasonable fast unless you are enameling on nail heads like me. It does not seem to work well on larger pieces like my woman. I have tried repeatedly to get the enamel to stick to her but every time if just peeled off. I'm using a small butane torch, I don't think it gets hot enough for the size of the piece. I'm using thompsons powdered enamel on mostly copper, although I experiment with whatever metal shows up.

Enamel on copper fun, fun!

Learning lessons, sometimes it works and sometimes it fails.

Enamel on nails.

 

Time

It gets away from me...

I finished the mural I was doing back in July. Brittany's place a safe and sound center for girls.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2014/08/01/young-reporters-new-shelter-aims-to-help-sex-trafficking-victims-be-safe-and-sound

After I finished the mural I drove with my children to Arizona to drop off my oldest daughter at college!

I'm still not use to not seeing her everyday thankfully we have technology to keep us connected.

I will write another blog post about our adventures in New Mexico.

Approaching the end

Installation begins in a few days, here are a few more progress shots. It's been really fun. I am getting nervous, worrying they will not like it.

Don't give up.

Spring will arrive

The top piece is a crab apple branch for Hennepin county medical center, post surgery.

 5 feet by 18 inches

Bombus Affinis 14 x 17 inches

I just returned from my third weekend in prison, with alternatives to violence program. I am now certified to be a facilitator. What does this mean exactly for me. I am still not completely clear why I am doing this. It has been very helpful to go into the prison and talk and listen to these guys; to see their humanity, their vulnerability, to listen to their stories and struggles. I feel hopeful that they desire change, but I also think I understand the reality of how hard this will be. Once they are released it will be very difficult for them to find work and shelter and very tempting to return to drugs and alcohol. Many will return to prison because it will become their only alternative. This is a very difficult to contemplate and part of where I struggle in what way can I help? I am only an artist, searching for an answer, I suspect the answer will be art. 

This is a piece I started after my second trip into the prison.. 

With thanks to the giving tree.

This tree started as a community project at HCMC (Hennepin County Medical Center)

I first out lined the tree and then cut out hundreds of leaves and bark pieces to bring with me.

We set up a table in the hallway in front of day surgery and invited any one who passed by to participate, we had over 45 participants. I brought it back to my studio and finished it up.

This piece will hang out side the day surgery waiting room. I hope it will bring hope and solice to the people waiting.

Sneak peek of what's next for inside post surgery.

It began here

'

Where love and art intersect = healing

To learn more about the Karen go here http://www.mnkaren.org/about.htm

Big love!

A work in progress...

And a little snow shot

Glass casting

I am back to playing around with glass frit and seeing what can happen...

Again I don't really know where I am going or what exactly I am looking for but I am having fun.

Keep playing!

I like how you can see the big red hand outside

Texture

I love these thingies I can't stop playing with them...

Where will it all lead.... To be continued..

Totem

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At long last we installed the mosaic (beads) before the ground frozen and just a day before it snowed. It stands just over 10 feet tall and sways just a bit in strong wind.

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The top piece looks like this

We also installed the hand which was a little community project from last summer, it has a whirligig center that spins in the wind, I am planning attaching a mirrored disco ball to the top of the fingers and more...

Coming out for air and sunlight

Summer finally made it to Minnesota and I can come out to play soon. I am headed up to Lake Superior on Friday-our ocean.

I have spent the last three months working on panels for Dubai, 2 school residencies and a library residency. With little time to settle into my beautiful new space my office is still full of packed boxes... I can begin unpacking next week, right?

We laid out the panels for Dubai in the park - which is our backyard Yay! So we could see them all together before they left.

Thanks to the greatest assistants ever Tara, Eamonn, Adrienne and Iris!

The texture in the white area is so nice, I wish I could show it better.

This was the smallest only 2 panels about six feet long.

This was the largest 15 panels! I could not get a full picture of it.

Everything has been really fun to do and I am sooooo tired.

Now on to my next dreams of whirligigs and spinning mosaics outside the studio more photos to come..