CERAMICS

 "Hortimus Bombus" (Bumblebee)

This is a jar with a lid that has a bumblebee happily perched on top!  The outside of the jar is covered in giant sunflowers and a whole lotta buzzzzzzz!  Buzzzes go round and round the sunflowers fluttering around the flowers and houses along the bottom.  The bumblebee has wire wings and wire antenna.    Measures 11" x 5" together. 

 "Lover Lover"

This plaque is reminiscent of my childhood when I would help my grandpa dig root vegetables out of the ground and they would be funny looking or twisted together.  How extraordinary that they thrived together through all that hard dirt , I thought to myself.  So the letter on the plaque is the love story of the lives of two carrots, meant forever for one another.  "Lover Lover, Remember in the spring when we bumped into each other in the dark?  Oh my, and I the chilly nights that we snuggled so close bring joy to my heart.  I still smile when I think of the hard times we made it through like when we needed rain so badly in that hot July sun.  Now we'll close this chapter of our lives together and begin a new, dancing and mingling together in a carrot stew!  Sincerely, Yours Truly".  Measures 17" x 7" x 1/2-2". 


 "The Dare"

The Dare.  What would you do if you were totally free to be yourself, toss that bra and underwear and jump on a swing, kicking those feet in the air and smile so hard your cheeks get rosey?  These 4 tiles are just that.  Fun, fearless and playful.  These have notches on the back so that they can hang on the wall or they can even be embedded into a kitchen or bathroom tile setting.  They look great staggered also.  Measures 15" x 4 1/2" x 1/4-1".  


 “Today I Will Start Something Really Great”

I love a gardener’s hands, the weathered, dirt filled crevices, the rugged beauty, the story they tell.  I remember my grandpa’s hands so vividly.  I am reminded of them every time I start digging in the dirt.  Especially in the spring when I get the shovel out and plant a tiny seedling.  With some sunshine, love and hard work, I know, just as he did, that I am starting something really great.  Measures about 8” tall x 11” wide x 1” deep and hangs on the wall.  SOLD.  

 "I'm Beet"

I love beets!  That red juice and beautiful rings on the inside, but oh to be a beet, one might just throw their leaves up and say, "I'm so Beet"!  No matter how much you love beets, this will make you smile and would look great on a kitchen wall, or any wall that needs a little love.    Measures 6 5/8" x 5".

 "Burn Baby Burn"

This retro toaster has smokin' hot flames and an ornery smile.  Here to burn your toast once again, you'll stomp, curse and scrape at what is probably the very last piece of bread, now charred!  Buttons read stop and burn (setting on burn).  It has a mind of it's own so watch out.  Perfect conversation piece that will surely brighten up any wall.  Notches in the back of the four pieces hang securely on the wall.  Toaster measures 12" x 9", toast 4 1/2" x 5 1/2", flames about 4".   


This is a bowl I made for my sister.  I'm drawn to the retro style and radiant color combinations.  The woman, in various forms, is in several aspects of my work; chubby, beehive up-do, horn-rimmed glasses, I love her!   

 

The Lobotomy of Lawerence T. Randall is a tile made for him, commemorating the "retirement".  

  These are the results of right brain thinkers, gone mad.



 Curvy, round and layered, the woman on the top of this semi spheric lidded piece was inspired by my grandma.  Her head was representational of my hair at the time.  The colors of the glazes seem to vibrate next to each other.  This piece was a breakthrough for me, artistically and conceptually.  

 

 A lot of my work starts as a card for someone.  This one was a little watercolor I made that went to a whole new level as a ceramic relief.  Haven't you ever had someone make you a really gooey, drippy, messy peanut butter and jelly that made you smile?  Mmm, I have.

 Grandma and Pa both had dentures and were not ashamed of it.  This piece is inspired by them.  Growing old, losing your teeth, getting chubby, and still smiling about it seems okay.  This holds two toothbrushes in its arms, happily. 

 

 There's an incredible old picture of my grandpa with him standing next to his yellow truck, staring into the sunset after a hard days work in his standard uniform, white t-shirt, dark cotton pants, work boots and cap.  Dirt on his hands, sweaty shirt, earthened skin.  This is a sculpture of him that way.  He stands in my kitchen and watches as I pile fresh tomatoes around him, just like he'd like it if he were still here.

 

 The expression on this bowl is unforgettable.  Half a face, x on the eye, with mottled, drippy glaze... you'll see more like this one, I'm reeling with ideas.  

 I made this shallow pitcher after a long stint of being away from ceramics.  I was just checking to make sure I still had it.  It was refreshing.

 

 The Ladylike way to peel.  I love the layers of colors, the contrast of textures and movement in this piece.  What does ladylike mean?  I grew up being told that, like sit back and look pretty.  To me, this represents what it should be.  Don't be ashamed to be what you are, don't be afraid to take matters into your own hands, don't let anyone take your confidence, and then you are truly beautiful, inside and out.  

 

 Underglazed bowl, yellows, whites and greens with designs.

 Bowl with incising and layered glazes.

 









 These five reliefs tiles are a story I made for my daughter before she was born.  The first one is that she notices its March on the calendar.  The next is getting busy cooking in the kitchen.  After that, she begins baking the cupcakes in the oven.  The next to last is bringing all the pans out and finally, putting on the fancy with a polka dot dress and ruby shoes.  The last picture is a side view of the second tile.  

These were truly a labor of love, with remaking the same things over and over and the layers of meticulous glazing as you can really see on the last picture.  I'm looking forward to more series like this, they really make me smile and I know Wren will enjoy them as she grows.

 


This was a Christmas present for my husband.  It's his head on a piggy bank.  I'm pretty sure he was wondering what he married when he got this but he is the pig of my heart, which is inscribed on the belly. 

 


 This set included a bowl with bones on it, two cups with doggie bone handles and a small pit bull with a cowboy hat.  I like this idea a lot, it's my take on a tea party I suppose.  The little pit bull seems ready to dive in don't you think?  

 



This was a fun one, it is the perfect place to hid a tasty doggie treat!  This lidded form has doggie bones on the front that say "Yum, Yum!" and a perfectly behaved golden retriever on top waiting patiently for you know what. 

 



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 PAINTINGS

 This is an acrylic painting I did for Seth and Jessi.  It's them when they grow old and Seth makes bubbles in the tub and Jessi giggles.

 Another acrylic that shows how to eat the hottest pepper in the world!  

 


 Both of these flowers are special in their own way.  The red pansy is deep, curvy and romantic.  It was a struggle when I was in college and trying to teach myself how to paint.  The yellow poppy was abandoned for at least a year or more and one day I knew what it needed, sat down on the kitchen floor and it turned into this.  It almost vibrates with life.

 


 This acrylic I made for some friends of ours.  This was a midpoint shot.  I layered blue and violet rings on top and it ended up a very dramatic piece.  The hand represented the start  of their lives together, the fish represented all the stories, places and directions that they may encounter and the water rings were the ways paths cross and where life takes us.

This young girls face was in a magazine and I was mesmerized by it.  Beautiful eyes, simple, hard-working.  It is a watercolor and it may be my favorite painting I have ever done.  I imagine seeing her someday with the mountains behind and a river to chase to no where. 

 



 BBQ!  This watercolor was inspired by the great bbq I've come to live and breathe virtually every day of the week.   As a subject matter you wouldn't think this would be all that big of an idea but it is.  Bbq is about great food but more importantly it is a gathering of great friends, belly laughs until the wee hours of the morning, that smoky charcoal smell on your clothes, all that beer, and oh yeah, those contests your supposed to try and win.  

 



 OTHERS

 This felt rabbit was one I felted from pure wool.  I changed her up a bit for my daughter.  The apron says "I love k-rots" and there is a cupcake too!

I couldn't find any bedding that I liked for my daughters room so I made this one.  This is my first very successful quilt and it was inspired by the tiles above.  It has so many colors and feels so cheerful!

 



 This is an old dresser I re-painted for my daughter's room.  

This drawing is of several industrial staplers intertwined and overlapping.  I loved the contrast of the glares on the metal.