Bouffant Blonde

Don't all little girls twirl around and dream at some point of being a dancer? Dancing Girl reminds me of all those dreams. Fantasies really. Very few girls ever have the talent and staying power to realize that dream. Dancing Girl is an original dimensional piece that is approximately 24 x 48". Her body is made of super-thin plywood. Her skirt is lace, with a pink ribbon for the waistband. Her fingernails are painted to match her outfit. Of course.

This cabinet was my contribution to the Funky Furniture Auction held at Landmark Park recently. The event was to raise money for a scholarship fun. The original cabinet was stained a dark brown. It came with hearts cut into the doors and chicken wire behind them. It didn't have a back. I was told it had been chicken wire. It was definitely country -- which I'm not. I took the old doors off and put new doors on. It cut some har, a couple of eyes, put on nose knobs and some bright lips and Miz Bea was almost ready. I added her shoes and hat and she was set. This piece of functional art is whimsical and unique. And it was all for a good cause.

This table and chair set is one of my favorites. It's bright and colorful. Just happy. Kids seem to really love it. Parents like the alphabet that's around the table edges. It turns the table into an educational tool. Mr. Fish is so happy and delighted to see the kids that gather around him. It's like he's talking to them. I never intended to build children's furniture. Sometimes at auctions I would happen onto furniture that needed redoing. I'd buy it, paint fun characters on it, and sell it. People wanted more and more. Hence the building. I've evolved over the years in my attempts to make tables and chairs that are sturdy enough to withstand the children who climb on them and write on them and spill juice on them. Of course, anything is destructible. But I think my sets are pretty solid. The downside of this became the children's furniture artist label. This is a really small part of what I do, but it's what people remember the most. That can be f...

This piece of art was a different avenue for me. I'm accustomed to bright colors. The idea seemed to come from nowhere and wouldn't let go until I created the piece. Each piece of dimensional art takes a great deal of time. I think people sometimes confuse it's simplicity with quick and easy. It's neither. Obviously, the idea came first. Then I drew the face. It took several tries to get exactly what I wanted. Then I traced that onto thin plywood and cut out two exactly alike. I used a jigsaw for that. I added the frame to a 24 x 48 inch (approx.) piece of plywood. I painted each side. Then I painted and inserted the two faces. Each face has an eye and an eyeball cut out on the band saw and layered for the final piece. I think what I love most about this piece is the truth it speaks. Black and white and whatever color out there looks at the world from their view. It is truly a rare person who considers someone else, someone different from them. Yet, we're all see...

This g iraffe is one of my favorite art pieces ever. It was just so much fun to do. And doesn't he look happy? He now lives in the nursery of a precious little girl. As always I started with an idea. I'd never done a giraffe before and wanted to give it a try. I started by drawing a pattern. It took a while to get that exactly right. Next I selected a thin piece of wood for the backing. It's approximately 24 inches by 48 inches. I selected another thin piece of wood and transferred the pattern I'd drawn onto it. I cut it out with a jigsaw. The "frame" is made from thin slices of wood that I painted and then glued around the edges. The giraffe tail is made from toothpicks. Each of the "spots" were cut on a bandsaw, as were the eyes and hooves. I layered it all together and Mr. Happy Giraffe was born. Creating dimensional folk art is fun but it also takes a great deal of time, effort and imagination. Things that might work well on a canvas won't ...

Bright and bold color is such a wonderful thing. It's happy and festive and makes me want to smile. Except it does seem to offend those folks who think brown and adult must go together. Who said? Now, I really don't have anything against the color brown -- so long as I don't have to live with it. It's a safe color, I suppose. Everyone accepts brown. It's a standard of sorts. Like oak furniture. Everyone loves oak. Except me. I prefer mahogany or cherry and I really like distressed black wood. But I digress. I recently painted a bedroom bright green. Kind of a lemon green, if that makes any sense at all. I'd purchased the paint from The Home Depot a year ago. I meant to paint the room but everyone else's art projects -- those I get paid for especially -- always took priority. I finally decided to plunge ahead and do it anyway. I love it! It's cheerful and happy. My mother -- a typical brown person -- looked at it and said she hoped I had good sunglasses...

I always wanted to be a Bouffant Blonde. You know the type I'm talking about. Teased blonde hair that is perfectly in place at all times, no matter the circumstances. I wanted to be funny, with a quick giggle, and flashy smile. I wanted to always know exactly what to wear and when -- and to look stylish and pulled together. It was not to be. I am who I am and mostly I've made peace with that. I am a Bouffant Blonde -- mostly because my hair never stays in any one place for very long. I've really given up taming it. It is straight and wind-blown. That's okay. The earth contains a few men who have given up on making me do their bidding so I guess my hair fits me after all. I don't giggle. I laugh. Sometimes I tell a joke. Not one of those long, drawn out things but more of a spur of the moment sarcastic remark. I will likely never be a flashy dresser. I'm not that into fashion. My posture is horrible. And I shop on a budget. Urghh...But I do okay. I was not made...