When is a piece of art successful? It could be successful if it sells, is shown in a gallery or gets a ton of hearts on Instagram. Art for me is more about how it feels than how it looks. It doesn't need to look right in terms of composition or other formal elements. If it helps me "move"move emotions that have been stuck inside for a long time then it really is an important piece, regardless of whether it looks good or even connects with other people. 

I've started seeing a new therapist so I've had to talk about my childhood a lot. Ugh, this was really difficult because even after so many years many of the memories are still very raw. I did this piece about the intersection of the world of childhood and the incomprehensible grown up world where really terrible things can happen. (My dad was very ill and died when I was six.) I feel like I've finally made a bit of progress by connecting with the feelings and translating them into images I put on paper, owning them and honoring them. 

​When you work in your art journal what makes a "successful" page? 

Why not make a necklace with a fully functional can opener as a pendant? This can opener has been in the kitchen drawer for a very long time but recently I noticed its potential as a base for a resin pendant. I used an image of a retro gal on a swing with clouds in the background, ice resin, and added a few rhinestones to fancy it up. I mixed it up with a piece of a rosary with beads and charms I had in my stash.

Yes! It really does still open a beer quite effectively and it quite a hit at parties. Creating a piece of jewelry using a digital keychain breathalyzer would also be a hit at parties but much, much more challenging aesthetically. 

When I was a child I overheard relatives talking about wild times in Cuba the 50s and it sounded really glamorous and exotic. I've always answered the question "Where would you most like to visit?" with "Cuba!"
Even though travel restrictions have lifted a bit my budgetary restrictions have not, so my son gave the the beautiful book "I Was Cuba" for Christmas this year. The bottom image is a photo from the book, copied on a color laser printer and transferred onto wood. The rest is the Cuba of my imagination. I've had lots of time to create my imaginary "Cuba" and really hope to visit the real Cuba someday soon. 

A friend gave me a vintage wooden ruler with a metal strip on the edge and challenged me to make something with it. I used the metal strip as a base for this pendant. Here's how I did it:
1) I removed the metal strip, created a teardrop shape then wrapped the top with wire. 
2) Traced & cut the shape from a vintage dictionary page, then filled it with Ice Resin.
3) Used Glue 6000 to glue vintage rhinestones around the edge. 
4) Attached the pendant to a vintage rosary. 

This year I dove into my collection of mid 60s Women's Day magazines to create my annual holiday card.  I quickly found myself floundering in a sea of tacky nostalgia: colored toilet paper, Sea Monkeys and other mail order fantasies, virtually inedible jello molds, and impossibly difficult (and often hideous) holiday crafts. 

Christmas with my mom pretty much centered around the pages of these magazines. We found so much joy making the budget friendly treats and holiday ornaments featured in Woman's Day and Family Circle.  We made a clever center pieces from evergreens in the yard and sent away for gifts in the special advertising section that practically never panned out, like a tiny working spy camera and a lemon tree that (never did) grow real lemons. 

I finally did make my collage Christmas card, but it took me a really, really long time because I enjoyed reading the magazines so much! 

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