more trash to treasure

Last Saturday while I was scouring the Portland Antique Expo for inspiration, I fell in love with this little plastic elephant. Don't know why, but I simply had to have him – he just made my heart sing!

At another booth I picked up a small orphaned dresser drawer, complete with a mission-style drawer pull – a perfect shadow box for my new little baby elephant! That evening I was in the zone and by 2 am (yes, A.M.!) I finished this piece that literally makes me smile every time I look at it:

Since I last shared photos of my art, I've created a few other pieces as well. This one has elements dangling from fishing line and jingles like a chime when I walk around the house with it:

And this little darling was inspired by a piece my former co-worker Bev Soasey created years ago for a friend of hers:

I love old illustrations and photographs and use them as often as I can. These next two pieces also make great use of old photo album pages, another one of my faves – they create a beautiful frame for the image and allow plenty of "white space" even after adding a few embellishments.


Right now I'm working on a shrine of sorts. It's getting close to being done, just need to figure out a few last details and then add wings – intrigued yet? Yes, I promise I will show pictures when it's done. Stay tuned...