Nature's Paintbrush

January Colorado Sunset

A few Moments Earlier

"Mother Nature has taken out her paintbrush again..." I said to the person driving the car, as I pointed to the sunset and reached for my camera. "And what a beautiful palette!" Mindlessly, I said these things to that slavish reader of Discover Magazine, memorizer of scientific factoids, analyzer of natural phenomena, rejecter of all things mystical and magical: my husband. Without even pausing to consider the inevitable scientific explanations.
He did not disappoint.
"Nonsense." He said. "Colorado sunsets over the prairie are beautiful because the physics of sunlight works well here."
Told you.
"Of course," I humored him. "And everyone knows that the skies are redder at sunset than at sunrise because…" Here he would normally complete the sentence for me. He disappointed.
"… because," I labored on.… "…because of that train whistle effect? Don’t they call it red-shifting?" It made sense to me. You know, as the earth spins towards the sun in the morning and away in the evening?
"You mean the doppler effect?" Now he did not disappoint, completing my thought. "That only works with sound. Applying it to sunlight would contradict Einstein’s theory of relativity, which requires that light travel at a universally constant speed without regard to the motion of the observer."
Quickly, before my eyes could glaze over, I snapped another picture.
I flashed him an indulgent little smile, then plodded on. "Of course. Everyone knows that sunsets are caused by all that stuff in the atmosphere, aerosols, pollution, particles…" even though I sensed his lack of conviction, still I soldiered on. "… and because the air is warmer, and more humid in the evenings than in the early morning." Did I also mention that he is a stoic? I saw his head nodding slightly forward in a kind of grim determination not to disagree with any of my continuing observations. So I gave him my summation: "I just wanted to see if you were paying attention."
"Think rainbows," He offered. His patient inner professor had found its voice. "Think how, after a rain, the water droplets in the air scatter and bend sunlight into its various wavelengths like a prism, which our eyes interpret as color. When the sun is on the horizon its light must travel through many more miles of Earth’s atmosphere than when it is overhead. It scatters the shorter blue frequencies, causing the sky to appear blue, and leaves only the red for us to see on the horizon. And since, on the Great Plains, clouds almost always form in the west in the evening, they provide a dense canvas for…?"
I refused to help him out. I just wanted to hear him say it. I continued snapping photos, capturing every swirl of Mother Nature’s hand.

Instructions for DIY Jewelry Display

We spend a lifetime accumulating a collection of jewelry that defines our lifestyle. But, unlike the collection of clothes that hang in our closets, the necklaces, earrings, and bracelets that we have acquired are not disposable. We hang onto every pendant, ring, and pin, treasuring the memories they evoke. And they continue to reflect our moods, set the tone for an outing, or… or become invisible at the bottom of a drawer or inside a box on the vanity. Why not display them like the fine art and keepsakes that they are, I wondered?
A few years ago, when I ran a custom frame shop, I made a simple jewelry display for myself. I still use it and have since made many more at the request of family and friends. So here is a simple DIY project for anyone who would like to keep her jewelry collection at hand, and on display. They also make wonderful gifts.
Because I had beautiful framing materials at my disposal I chose a rich cherry molding to make a 16x20 frame. There are, of course, many choices of imported frames in the art and craft supply stores that carry ready-made frames in various sizes, shapes and styles. It will be easy to find one that will fit your wall, cabinetry, and color scheme.


At the hardware store, pick up nylon window screen and a piece of thin, stiff cardboard or plastic which will be cut into edging strips to hold the screen in place.  Or matboard works beautifully for the strip and can be purchased with the frame.

On a padded counter top, lay the frame on its face. Cut the screen material to overlap the frame about an inch on each side. Snug the screen to the inside of the frame using the strips to hold it in place and staple each side in place, as in the photo. Trim the remainder with a utility knife.  Attach a sawtooth hanger or eyelet and wire.

Earring wires hang nicely on the screen. For necklaces or bracelets, use ornament hooks, or make your own from 18 ga. wire (I used Artistic tinned copper wire) as seen in the 3rd photo.

Your favorite jewelry will be easily accessible for the woman on the go!

The Feedback of Art

Butterfly earrings by OxArtJewelry - Large, Medium, Small & Petite

We hear it every day in the world of commerce. " New and improved! You spoke; we listened. Designed with our customers in mind."

How can the artist compete in the commercial world, when we hold ourselves to higher, more personal standards? When our goal is quite the opposite of seeking mass appeal, or discovering the lowest common denominator in the creation of our works of art? These are not simply products that we are producing! They are adventures in abstraction, color, texture, space. They are personalized expressions of our passions and our sensibilities.

Several weeks ago I received a request from a lady who had admired a pair of earrings from the butterfly collection that I had listed on Etsy.  She thought they were gorgeous, and knew they would add luster to her jewelry selection. However, through experience, she had learned to never buy an earring that weighed more than 5 grams. She asked what these earrings weighed (they weighed in at 7 grams), and if they exceeded her limit, would I be able to make her a similar pair within her constraints?

Years ago I had abandoned commission painting of portraits and murals precisely because I never liked the idea of creating art that needed to conform to the expectations of others.  Still, this request offered a different kind of challenge: wearable art must be - before all other considerations - wearable.

In order to reduce the weight of these earrings to 5 grams I would need to trim the pieces by 29% in some combination of size and thickness of enamel.  I had never taken the time to really understand the ratio of copper to glass.  Would I be able to cut the weight 30% by cutting the size 30%?  I discovered it’s not that simple.  After considerable experimentation I now offer 4 sizes in my ‘butterfly series’ with the ‘small’ weighing in at 5 grams and the ‘petite’ version under 5 grams.

I can truly say my lighter versions were “designed with the customer in mind” without feeling like I have compromised my artistic perrogatives.

On the Origins of Innovation... and Art

A recent study suggests that innovation consists of five separate processes: associating, questioning, observing, networking and experimenting. Sounds reasonable enough. But what about art? Is it the same process as innovation?

Let’s do a thought experiment. We know that the mind has tremendous powers of logic, coupled with the ability to synthesize diverse concepts. Given a sequence of numbers 2… 4… 6… it predicts 8. Given the knowledge that protons and neutrons pair up to make atoms, the mind can easily extrapolate all the elements in the periodic table. Nothing artistic here.

But when the mind is afforded knowledge about evolution and genetics and the role of DNA, using all of its powers of reason and logic, it is unable to predict the existence of kangaroos. Why? Because kangaroos and giraffes are accidents of nature, produced by unpredictable mutations.

As it turns out, nature wields her artistic brush with her eyes closed.  She relies on happy accidents in order to innovate. Does the creation of art require a similar unpredictable serendipity?

Anyone who has ever worked in watercolor knows that we often rely on similar “happy accidents” for interest and texture in an under-painting, a sky or the foreground.  We flood the paper with colors letting the water and paint do its own mixing.  A “bloom” is created when a wet stroke is placed alongside a nearly dry area.  Pigments, water and watercolor paper must cooperate with the artist’s inspiration for art to happen.  Have you ever finished a piece and wondered “how did I do that”?

On a Personal Note...

Tarabino Inn, Trinidad, Colorado

One of our favorite places on this planet is Trinidad, Colorado, just as the leaves of autumn begin to show on the mountain slopes. In this historical mining town, we gather each year with three other couples that we knew in the springtime of our lives. Before we went our separate ways we all lived in Wiley, Colorado, a sleepy little village of 400 or so farmers, ranchers, and migrant workers (that would be US, as we have all long since moved on to other climes and endeavors.)
     Our reunions have moved well beyond the endless reminiscing about the past. We are not any kind of sequel to “The Big Chill” or “The Four Seasons.” Instead, we savor the moment, and the earthy, lush, piedmont of Trinidad. We simply enjoy one another as we spend a weekend yard saleing, antiqueing, and boutiqueing. Or sampling the home made breads, goat cheeses, and locally grown produce at the farmer’s market.
     The consensus of our group is that Rino’s Italian Restaurant, located in a magnificent old Methodist Church, is Colorado’s only 5 ½ star restaurant. The half star is awarded to the owner, Frank Cordoba, for the live musical entertainment ranging from Elvis to Italian arias. (Reservations highly recommended.)
     We plan ahead each year and select interesting accommodations, which have ranged from a former bordello above Blackjack’s saloon, to the historic Tarabino House, now a bed and breakfast. The three story mansion, built by Italian immigrants cum retail magnates, lends its own story of elegant fragility as we renew relationships that would tarnish if neglected.

The Music of Metals...

Enameled Copper Breastplate by OxOriginalArtJewelry

Every material I have ever worked with seems to have its own way of expressing its inner beauty, much the same way every individual on earth has inner beauty waiting to be discovered. Or the way sounds can be transformed into music, with patience and experimentation.

As I became more familiar with pure copper in my jewelry work, shining it to reveal its inner brilliance, treating or aging it in solutions, heating with a torch or firing it in the kiln, I began to listen to its music. Each piece reveals itself in a rainbow of color as it oxidates and self-patinates throughout the jewelry making process.

So I decided to allow one piece to sing its own melody entirely with its own voice. For this experiment I created a specimen in the shape of a breastplate, or bib, with lots of open surface, devoid of texture or embellishment, to allow the copper ample space for self-expression. I shined it to its natural glossy state, then applied a coat of protective transparent vitreous enamel to the edge, like a frame, and fired it to seal and preserve that edge. The results were stunning: the copper actually glowed beneath its protective glass blanket.

Each time I fired with subsequent coatings of transparent enamel, the unprotected areas oxidized, aged, and revealed their own patterns and characteristics. It painted itself. It expressed itself. It found its own voice, created its own music.

How often do we forget to listen for the harmony in the materials we work with?

Jewelry Giveaway

Aquariann, who blogs at "Art and Tree Chatter of Aquariann", is a talented colored-pencil artist who creates bookmarks, buttons, magnets and prints in fantasy motifs.  Her Etsy shop is full of unicorns, pirates, mermaids and fanciful winged creatures.  She posts beautiful photographs for Wordless Wednesdays and informative articles about subjects covering both art and the business of art. Aquariann also features great giveaways to promote the work of others that she lists in her extensive file of favorites.

Today aquariann is hosting a giveaway of a pair of my enameled leaf earrings!  If you'd like a chance to win, go to her blog (link below), look around and follow instructions.