AlterPieces

Painted enamel over opalescent white on gold foil, copper, brass, steel, epoxy putty, paint.  Created as a Secret Santa gift for Jamie Bennett, December of 2013.

Painted enamel on copper, with brass, leather, and antler detailing.  My Secret Santa Gift for Christmas 2012.  Cord and antlers by Steven Gordon Holman, the recipient. 

Fabricated silver locket with interchangeable enamel portraits.

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The series consists of four brooches made from high-fire vitreous enamel and painted wood.  For the eyes themselves, I fired layers of white enamel to a copper ground and then used extremely thin applications of ceramic pigments to build up the painted eyes, firing each layer at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Each eye consists of 30-plus firings, and was painted completely by hand with no use of transfers, decals, projection, or tracing.  The settings are cut and shaped wood and the details of the “frames” are painted with acrylics; the pin backs are fabricated copper with a steel pin stem. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition.

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition, with the relationships between the eyes' models and wearers up for investigation by visitors.  

Copper, enamel, steel, wood, acrylic paint. 

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition, with the relationships between the eyes' models and wearers up for investigation by visitors.  

Copper, enamel, steel, wood, acrylic paint. 

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition, with the relationships between the eyes' models and wearers up for investigation by visitors.  

Copper, enamel, steel, wood, acrylic paint. 

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The series consists of four brooches made from high-fire vitreous enamel and painted wood.  For the eyes themselves, I fired layers of white enamel to a copper ground and then used extremely thin applications of ceramic pigments to build up the painted eyes, firing each layer at 1400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Each eye consists of 30-plus firings, and was painted completely by hand with no use of transfers, decals, projection, or tracing.  The settings are cut and shaped wood and the details of the “frames” are painted with acrylics; the pin backs are fabricated copper with a steel pin stem. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition.

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition, with the relationships between the eyes' models and wearers up for investigation by visitors.  

Copper, enamel, steel, wood, acrylic paint. 

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition, with the relationships between the eyes' models and wearers up for investigation by visitors.  

Copper, enamel, steel, wood, acrylic paint. 

The History Lover’s Eye series is a variation on the traditional “Lover’s Eye” keepsake, and uses paintings within the portrait gallery of Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, NY, as the models for the eyes. The pieces were mounted to portraits in the Huguenot Street gallery for exhibition, with the relationships between the eyes' models and wearers up for investigation by visitors.  

Copper, enamel, steel, wood, acrylic paint. 

Pencil on paper from life.

Painted enamel bolo slide with a brass setting. Copper, brass, enamel, vinyl, wood, glass.

Experiments with the grisaille technique, which uses very thin applications of translucent white enamel over a black background to build up values.

Thaumaturgic Lamp is assemblage and a functioning slide projector.  The housing for the light and frame for the external lens come from a found silver-plated teapot, while the mechanisms are made from a combination of fabricated copper and brass as well as reshaped plumbing parts, drawer pulls, threaded rod, and other assorted found objects.  The lenses were salvaged from an x-ray machine.  The slide being projected is made from pierced and sawn copper sheet. The piece was first exhibited at the Persen House, a pre-Revolutionary War building in Kingston, NY.

Fully functional slide projector; uses hand-pierced copper panel to project silhouettes.  Silver-plated copper teapot, x-ray lenses, pipe brackets, clock chain, drawer pulls, kitchen lighting, copper, brass, wood, duct tape, felt, steel.

Fully functional slide projector; uses hand-pierced copper panel to project silhouettes.  Silver-plated copper teapot, x-ray lenses, pipe brackets, clock chain, drawer pulls, kitchen lighting, copper, brass, wood, duct tape, felt, steel.

Shadow cast by Thaumaturgic Lantern, with overlay of light coming through antique windowglass.

Champleve and painting enamel on copper.

Champleve enamel on copper.

Champleve enamel on copper.