I like to give back to my community by donating a unique piece of furniture for "Chair Affair"- a benefit auction for the NW Furniture Bank. I often use my metal tooling skills to create my piece. I enjoy doing and teaching metal tooling. I often do artist residencies, teaching art to students on Key Peninsula. I particularly like to use Natural History or NW Tribal Art themes, as I am amature Naturalist (My garden is a Certified Wildlife Habitat) and I have long studied the forms of Northwest Tribal Art. It is good to explore different interests in the wide domain of Art and Craft- each experience opens insights in other art areas, and creates new connections in the brain. It's a good thing!
My favorite piece I've made for Chair Affair- Copper tooled top and frontpiece illustrating the NW Indian legend of how Raven stole back the sun for the people from a chief who wanted the sun only for himself. The key to the chest has a leather chief hat attached.
Copper tooled top with various types of wine in their typically shaped bottle that I made for Chair Affair.
A chest both to raise money for the Furniture Bank and to raise awarenes of the plight of the West Coast Monarch Butterflies- now reduced by 90% due to loss of habitat and climate change.
One half of a commission for Peninsula School District for Evergreen Elementary. I taught kindergardeners to tool little smolts to travel down the mural creek, "mom and Dad" salmon swam up it.
The second half of the commission for Evergreen Elementary. I have not seen them installed yet. The 5th graders also helped create small tooled "jewels" to add to the mural (frogs, newts, birds, snakes, etc).
Hand made Cedar Oar with woodburning, painting and copper accents- went for a big price at the Oastistic Auction.
An Oar I made for Oartistic Auction to benefit the Gig Harbor Arts Center Alliance (I'm on the Board)to help us get a very expensive but necessary economic feasibility study- it went for $800!
Tooled Aluminum top that I made for a pub table for Chair Affair. I heard it went to a serious golfer. (I could not attend that Chair Affair Gala- I was in France!).
My first casting- but not my last! It's so easy (except carrying the finished piece to where I want it in the garden)and fun to paint them in outrageous colors.
Just a little accent for the studio sink.I did a number of backsplashes in our new home. I am getting ready to do mosaic on Porch post bases, and for more garden accents too.
I made this to be Garden Decoration and hose guide. I left it in old garden, I guess I need to make a new one or two for the new garden.
