My Weekend at Valley Ridge

This past weekend, I made the familiar trek to Valley Ridge Art Studio in Muscoda, Wisconsin. This trip was to take the workshop, "Hunter, Gatherer, Maker - The Art of Found Object Assemblage" with Jane Wynn. I had never met Jane before, so it was exciting to get to know her and be in her class. She has a book out entitled, "Altered Curiosities." I had planned on being at this workshop since last December, but due to some health-related problems with my husband, I didn't think I was going to be able to attend. In fact, I was so sure I wouldn't be able to go that I didn't even have anything packed for it. The workshop began on Friday morning, and I was still at home. I didn't know what to do. But Mike was getting along all right, and insisted that I go and have a good time. So.... I scrambled around and tried to gather an assortment of found-objects to take along, get all my tools and supplies together, and pack my suitcase. Finally, at 11:30 a.m., I was on the road. I arrived at Valley Ridge late in the afternoon. The workshop was almost over for the day. So I unpacked my stuff and settled in to get busy. Fortunately, I was able to continue working in the studio that night, so by day 2, I was pretty much caught up with everyone else. I have to confess, though, that I didn't build my own box to house my assemblage like most of the others did. I used a deep cigar box instead which saved me some time.

After the workshop was over for the day on Saturday, a few of us took a little 'field trip' to Muscoda to visit the studio of Ellis Nelson. Now that was truly a treat for me! Here is a little visual of our trip there....

Ellis Nelson, who is 81 years old, is a nationally-known Metalsmith/Sculptor. His work has been on exhibit at galleries across the country. He was also featured on the television show, "Good Morning America" as well as CNN. There is even a book published about him!

This is a page from the inside of the book.
This is Ellis. And this is where you'll usually find him...sitting outside in front of his studio. An array of his work is for sale in front of the building....
along with the large 'Grim Reaper' he made from metal.

Yep...this is his place! And wait until you see the inside........

Over the years, he has equipped his studio with a number of imaginative machines which were self-built in an effort to accommodate his work.

Get a load of this place! It was like a page out of some crazy steampunk magazine!

I totally love his anvil!!! It is enormous, and the patina on it from all the years of use was absolutely amazing!!!

And check out this chair! I think it was once a barber chair, but I'm not for sure. There was a lone light that hung right above it. In the darkness of the studio, it reminded me of an electric chair! And that evil-looking piece behind and to the right of the chair is his furnace...

Ellis actually built this furnace himself. It is a heat-regulated furnace fueled by sawdust. And he is the only person who knows how to run the thing! It serves as a source of heat for the studio, as well as a forge for his metal work.

It was such a treat to get to hear him talk about his work, and to see his place up-close!

After we got back to the studio, I got busy with my assemblage...

By Sunday, I had a general idea of what direction my piece was taking. Here are a few pics of my work in progress....

I had an old tin-type which I wanted to use in my piece. Unfortunately, I wasn't happy with how dark it was. You could barely make out the woman's face in it. So...I used a photograph of my great-grandma, cutting out her head and gluing it over the woman's head in the tintype. Voila! Problem Solved! I then added little touches of paint here and there on the photograph.

Here is another element I made. In the 'community' junk box, I scavenged an old brass plate which was possibly some kind of doorbell at one time. I totally dismanteled the piece and reinvented it. The bottom base of this piece was a piece of 2" by 4" wood that I got from another student in the class. I nailed my reinvented bell piece to the wood, and painted it up. The text was from an old 1908 newspaper that Jane had brought along with her. I attached a brass decorative stamping under the bells, and also added some teeth that I brought along. No, they're not real...they were from an old dentist's sample card.

I had also lined the entire cigar box with the old newspaper, and applied different paints to it to create a nice patina. Now I had to decide how I was going to arrange my assemblage.

And here is the interior of my cigar box assemblage. I made wire hooks, and suspended the tintype and the old wire light protector thingie from the top with two tiny eye screws. It swings and can be removed if I want.

I may fine-tune the piece a little bit sometime in the future, but overall, I am pleased with how it turned out.
And here is a group shot of the class, with Jane sitting in front. I am so glad I was able to get to the workshop. I had a great time, and learned some new techniques which I'm sure will come in handy in my future work!

Bead and Button Show

Last week was the Bead and Button Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I was there the entire week working with Thomas Mann. I assisted him with his "Learn to Saw" workshop and "Container to Wear" workshop during the week, and also helped set up and work in his booth during the show.
His booth was set up the same as it was last year, with a workbench set up in the front where we gave sawing demos, and people could actually sit down and try it for themselves.

He brought his assistant Angele along from New Orleans to help too, but she needed to get back home on Friday. I was glad to get to know her...she's a great gal, and a lot of fun to work with! The other person who helped out on the weekend was Sarah Mann (no relation), who used to work for Tom when she lived in New Orleans. She is also a terrific gal who makes beautiful jewelry. Her and I both had jewelry pieces which were selected to be in the "Eight Counties" exhibit at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin back in January.

On Friday evening, I had a pleasant surprise when my daughter came to the show.

Tom didn't realize who she was, so Jessica and I messed with him and let him give her a sawing lesson. Although she is very artistic, she isn't into metalsmithing, so she's never used a jeweler's saw before. He worked with her, and she struggled a little with it, but finally after she broke a blade, she told him that she'll let her mom teach her to saw at home. Tom asked her, "who's your mom?"... and she pointed to me and said, "she is!" The look on Tom's face was priceless! He had absolutely no idea she was my daughter, and we all had a good laugh.


So now that the show is over, I can relax and work on organizing my studio. It's been getting pretty cluttered and out of control, and I hate even being in it when it's such a mess!

Pugfest!!!

"If you think dogs can't count,

try putting three doggie treats

in your pocket,

and then give him only

two of them!"

-Phil Pastoret

This past Sunday, Mike and I put the 'boyz' in the car and headed for Milwaukee Pugfest. Both Popeye and Junior were not happy campers on the ride to Milwaukee. They both had on their harnesses that the seatbelts go thru, so they were both strapped in the back seat. They whimpered and cried most of the way down there. They'd much rather be on my lap in the front seat of course, but I knew they'd be much safer secured in the backseat. They finally quit their sorrowful moans about 15 minutes before we arrived at the event. As soon as we got them out, they were ready to go!

So here's a recap of Popeye and Junior's big outing...

They just entered the building and are overwhelmed by all the other pugs...

We weren't in the building 2 minutes, when Popeye decided he had to poop! By the way,
Junior followed suit about 5 minutes later...




Ahh...they both feel better now and want to check everything out...



Junior finds a frilly little girl to check out...


There are ALL kinds of pugs at Pugfest!!!




A huge, three-legged pug on steroids???

No...it's Gus, an English bulldog whose color is fawn like a pug. Notice the line of drool coming from the side of his mouth.

There were old pugs...

"faux" pugs...

black pugs...

brindle pugs...

sissy pugs...

'pooped' pugs...

and sleeping pugs.


It was a quiet ride home. The boyz both fell fast asleep after their big day.

However, Junior seemed to get his 'second wind' once he got home, and was up to his usual mischief again...gutting his little stuffed animals!!!

The Family Of Geese

"Happiness comes of the capacity

to feel deeply,

to enjoy simply,

to think freely,

to risk life,

to be needed."

- Storm Jameson

For the past three days, I've had the pleasure of being able to watch a family of geese in our backyard. It's a father, mother, and their five little fuzzy yellow babies. Each day, they wander about, enjoying the sunshine and the lush green grass. This is the first year that I've ever had a little family of birds that I can watch throughout the day. The dad is always on guard, and shoos away any other adult goose that comes close to them. As the day wears on, they go for a swim in the river. It is sooo cute!!! They float along in the river in a line...mom in the front followed by the five little babies, with dad in the back. Early this morning, I looked out the window to see if they were in the backyard, and sure enough, there they were. The sun was just coming up, and they were in the grass just at the shoreline. Mom was sitting in the grass with her head tucked down, and dad was standing with his head tucked down. I didn't see any of the little babies, though. All of a sudden, they decided it was time to get up. The momma stood up, and underneath her was a pile of fuzzy yellow babies, ready to wander around the grass! She must've been laying on them to keep them warm.

I love watching the birds in our backyard. My daughter always teases me that someday when I'm old and gray and living in a nursing home, I'm going to be the one in the wheelchair by the huge birdcage, watching the birds all day.