Upcycled Jewelry Workshop

On Wednesday night, at Ostara's Coffee House in West Cape May, I led a workshop in making upcycled jewelry. I brought all kinds of wonderful materials such as costume jewelry, charms, hardware pieces, fabric trims, and other oddities that I found in my studio. My students were cranking out their creations in large amounts. One young woman made 18 pieces! Here are a few photos of their work. Next Wednesday, July 25, will be my second Embroider Your Own Denim workshop, also at Ostara's. Come join the fun from 5:30-7:30pm!

Live the Life You've Imagined

I made this piece of jewelry at the Museum of Art and Design in NYC yesterday.  I was assisting my friend, Debra Rapoport, with the workshop.  The base is a palm leaf plate  (Debra salvaged a bunch of them from a friend's wedding!) which I wrapped with some cord cut from a thrift store polar fleece blanket to create a warp for weaving.  Then I proceeded to choose from a table full of the most interesting and unusual materials:  rolls of paper tickets, wool roving, dried tea bags, the scraps and selvedges from sari silk, orange juice lids, and all kinds of other ribbons and fiber.  It was a veritable smorgasbord for the imagination.  Eight of us spent the afternoon creating and chatting and laughing together while museum visitors stopped by the open studio to check out what was going on.

I think the skirt that I wore to the workshop sums up the whole experience just perfectly!