Interview on love to know

I had the honor of being interviewed for the Love to Know web site. You can check it out at:

http://jewelry.lovetoknow.com/Wild_Animal_Art_Jewelry_Interview

Article on AJF

Great article by Cindi Strauss on Art Jewelry Forum which features my work and some other great artists from schools like SUNY New Paltz and University of the Arts:

At the Crossroads of Trends and Traditions: Emerging American Jewelry Artists Today

Tussie-Mussie

I apologize as this post is long over due. But what can I say its been a whirlwind of a summer. I spent about 7 weeks of the summer teaching at Belvoir Terrace, an all girls summer art camp in Lenox, MA. It was a wonderful experience and I am so grateful for the chance to work with so many talented artists, both on staff and the students themselves. I am also grateful for the chance to use the studio which was in the basement of what was called the "house" but was actually a beautiful mansion built in the 1890s.

This space served my needs perfectly as I had been asked to make a Tussie-Mussie for my friend Katja's wedding. A tussie-mussie (or Hussy tussy as my students preferred to call it) was mostly used in victorian times to hold a small bouquet of flowers that was normally given as a gift from an admirer. Each flower is meant to have a significant meaning so that the giver could communicate his/her feelings non-verbally. The bouquet was also meant to mask the orders of the Victorian woman. These small bouquets were held in ornate flower vases. They often were attached to a ring on a chain so that the wearer could have her hands free while it dangled from her finger. Below is the Tussie-Mussie holder I made. The second picture is from the wedding. As in the tradition of Tussie-Mussie, Kate picked out each flower in the bouquet for it's significant meaning. Congrats Katja and Andy!