Pseudio Cayenne

Recent projects...

2012-01-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

A tremendously fun commission, I was asked to put together a Day of the Dead altar for a little girl who had lost her grandmother. She and her mom then came to my studio for a day of art therapy, which also included working some of the grandmother's cremains into clay. From the cremains clay, Sammy (age six) made a caterpillar-esque little guy, and we made two birds together. I was left with very strict orders of what color paint and glitter should be used on the creatures, and I got them all painted, fluffed with fabric "feathers," and shimmered up with glitter for delivery a few days later.

Altar I created, waiting for Sammy to come over and accessorize it!

Detail of altar

Altar after Sammy had decorated it with a box of goodies I put together for her to choose from, along with some paper skulls we painted together, and some pictures of her "Nana" she brought from home...

The cremains creatures, made with Sammy's grandmother's ashes...preserved forever in glittery glory...

2012-01-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

Recently had my jewelry accepted into a little gallery -- "The Striving Artist." Upon acceptance, I realized I needed to come up with my own display, so over the course of two evenings, whipped up this little guy:

Finished product (lousy picture; there's not a square inch of blank space in my apartment to serve as a decent backdrop)


Detail of top

The fake ficus before I attacked it. Seriously, what business did I have owning a fake ficus anyway? Along with my favorite perfume, the fake ficus belongs to 1987; it was an act of kindness to sacrifice it to the jewelry gods.

My new jewelry store on Etsy!

2011-11-24T01:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I've been MIA with the blog, but I've been working my little fingers to the bone getting my jewelry shop on Etsy up and running. You can now own a little piece of me!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheGildedGewgaw

In addition to my "regular" jewelry (which is anything BUT regular), I also accept commissions for memorial pieces -- both human memorials and pet memorials -- these can be jewelry, small decorative wall hangings, holiday tree ornaments, etc. I can work human or pet cremains into clay design elements -- either embedded into the clay, or left visible on top of the clay. If you have meaningful small objects that you'd also like worked into the design, I will gladly do that, as well.

In addition to cremains or cremation jewelry, aka "memorial jewelry," I also accept commissions for "memory jewelry" and/or decor not using cremains. I can fashion jewelry/decorative items out of sentimental items you send me from places in some way meaningful to you. For example, if there's a special place in the woods, or a park, or beach, where you, say...had your first date, or conceived a child, or got married...you would send me twigs and/or stones you've gathered from that location, and I would fashion these into jewelry, wall hangings, ornaments, etc. -- the possibilities are endless!

If interested in this service, you can either contact me through here ("contact me" link on the right of this page), or through the Etsy site linked above.

2011-08-13T19:42:00.000-07:00

"Cut off at the Waist" - 5" x 7" -- for postcard protest re: Artists and the Economy. I snuck in a few strands of Baby Diva fur, so there's now Baby Diva fur somewhere in the White House; or more likely, the White House dumpster.

2011-08-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

"Kilroy's Maw" - 24" x 30" sculpture/mixed media on canvas

Details

2011-07-27T23:01:00.000-07:00

"Warden of the Interlopers" 36" x 48" mixed media on canvas

Detail

2011-07-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

The Kiss -- acrylic and enamel 24" x 30"

2011-06-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

Still on my jewelry kick... Necklace, earrings, and double-strand bracelet. Necklace pendant is 8" x 4.5" (HUGE). Aside from the mandala-type perfectly symmetrical black and gold beads and the amber colored glass, I made all beads and forms out of polymer clay, then painted. Clearly, I don't have a future in jewelry photography -- the light's hideous on these.

2011-05-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

Checkmate 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas

2011-05-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

Sea glass and Sculpey. Scale: necklace pendant is 4" long. I'm clearly in an accessories phase...

2011-04-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

New jewelry set, made with polymer clay millefiori slices (millefiori - an old technique, but new-to-me), Austrian crystals, etc. The large glass piece/main pendant is from the chandelier in my childhood home, with a slice of the clay baked onto the underside. Nothing *shiny* gets wasted around here....

2011-04-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

"Fair Warning" 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas

2011-04-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

New sculpture - "Caramel Avenged" - plaster, clay, animal skull/bones 2' x 2'

2011-01-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

"Manthing" -- mixed media sculpture - clay, plaster, found objects. Button says "panic," for those who can't read subatomic writing.

2011-01-13T04:04:00.000-08:00

"Fractured: Madness and Civilization" 36" x 48" acrylic and enamel - homage to Foucault

Detail

2010-12-15T03:39:00.000-08:00

"Bovine Ephemera" 36" x 48" - mixed media

Detail

Delivered to its new home in LA and getting situated. My brush with fame during the visit was that the woman on the left is Jess Gower, most famous for being the Australian Neutrogena girl, and playing Chase in the TV series Blade...

2010-11-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

"Hypnagogia" 18" x 36" mixed media

2010-10-24T19:25:00.000-07:00

Frog sculpture - 16" x 6" - plaster, found objects

Another weekend of jewelry making...

2010-10-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

12 inches long from spiral to bottom. Girl doesn't mess around.

All beads and "flat" elements are hand-made, using a process that's tedious beyond belief. That's another upcycled ribbon spool bracelet in the center.

Upcycling for funsies

2010-09-26T16:55:00.001-07:00

Made a bracelet using a ribbon spool as a base...then lots of paint, sculpey, and other voodoo...

Gravity

2010-04-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

24 x 48 acrylic on canvas

2010-03-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

Homage to my Anza Borrego adventure -- "Anza Diablo" - diptych of (2) 22 x 28s, acrylic and copper/gold leaf on canvas. Not sure on best orientation of them...

2010-01-29T18:47:00.000-08:00

"Architect Untethered" 16" x 20" mixed media

2010-01-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

Dreaming Tree III...Vesuvius Edition - 30" x 40"

Donation piece for Artists Unite for Haiti -- 5" x 8" (I'm not being chintzy -- it was requested that we make them this size)

2009-12-27T18:49:00.000-08:00

Participating in an art donation project, and finished the piece for that... The Penny Experiment.

http://www.pennyexperiment.com/

100 artists chose or were assigned a number between 1 and 100, and had to create a piece which included both the number, and a penny. The pieces will eventually be auctioned off, and donations to food banks made with the proceeds of the sales.

I was assigned the number 63, and created the piece based around the fact that 63 AD was the year a tremendous earthquake destroyed much of Pompeii...17 years before Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed it altogether.
Little sculpey godhead I made to hold the penny

The Weekend in Pictures

2009-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

Tiny little painting -- 9" x 12" - Mixed media "This Isn't About You Anymore"

2009-10-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

"Note to Self" acrylic, gold leaf, paper on canvas - 24 x 48

Detail:

Sculpted a "Thing" for "Thing in a Jar" project. Thing getting ready to go in the oven:

2009-10-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Finished and varnished "Perforated" 48" x 48" Donating it to a cause for kitties.

Recapitulation of Self-Flagellation

2009-09-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

24" x 36" acrylic on canvas

2009-09-01T19:02:00.000-07:00

Archipelago 36" x 48"

He said "You're not an island, you know." To this I replied "you're right...I'm an archipelago."

2009-02-28T19:18:00.000-08:00

Ode to 'The Yellow Wallpaper' 36" x 48"

"This wise man sent me home with solemn advice to 'live as domestic a life as possible' to 'have but two hours intellectual life a day' and 'never to touch pen, brush or pencil again' as long as I lived. I went home and obeyed those directions and came so near the borderline of utter mental ruin that I could see over. Then, using the remnants of intelligence that remained and helped by a wise friend, I cast the noted specialist's advice to the winds and went to work again." Charlotte Perkins Gilman on writing "The Yellow Wallpaper"

2009-01-17T19:25:00.000-08:00

"Maternal Instinct" - 36" x 48"

Squid Pro Quo

2007-02-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

36 x 48 acrylic on canvas

Self Portrait

2006-09-21T19:21:00.001-07:00

24 x 30 acrylic on canvas

In Utero in Blue

2006-09-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

24 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Zipporah's Village

2006-09-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

24 x 48 acrylic on canvas

Detail

Muriel

2006-09-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

22 x 28 acrylic on canvas

Neither faith nor reason can explain what compelled me to paint this. No, that is not a piece of pony-tailed pizza atop the fish -- it's a party hat. Clearly, this fish is on her way to a birthday party.

Mi Familia

2006-09-07T01:00:00.004-07:00

36 x 48 acrylic, gold leaf, and cremains on canvas

Outta Here

2006-09-06T00:47:00.001-07:00

30 x 40 acrylic on canvas

Outta Here - Detail

2006-09-06T00:45:00.001-07:00

The Dreaming Tree

2006-09-05T23:51:00.000-07:00

36 x 48 acrylic on canvas

The Dreaming Tree - detail

2006-09-05T23:49:00.000-07:00

Curse of the Gemini

2006-09-05T23:26:00.002-07:00

36 x 48 acrylic on canvas

God Capsizing

2006-09-01T23:57:00.002-07:00

24 x 48 acrylic, gold leaf, collage on canvas

Little Billy's Field Trip to the Underworld

2006-09-01T23:41:00.000-07:00

9 x 12 acrylic, gold leaf, and cremains on canvas

Family Tree

2006-09-01T22:57:00.002-07:00

30 x 40 acrylic on canvas

Dinner party for Baby Diva and New BFF Camille, the little painted calico given to me by a friend

2006-09-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

Woo Hoo! My first CD cover!

2006-09-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Band: Grin's Edge
Album: Burnt Circus
Cover Art: Self Portrait, by moi
Purchase info: http://cdbaby.com/cd/grinsedge

Front

Back

Inside

Melissa's Answer

2006-09-01T21:32:00.000-07:00

36 x 48 mixed media -- acrylic and found objects.

"Negotiations" - Donation piece for "Postcards From the Edge" AIDS Benefit

2006-09-01T20:24:00.000-07:00

4" x 6" on paper board

The Weekend in Pictures - 11/9/07

2006-09-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

"Happily Ever Afters" - 24 x 36 acrylic on canvas

Details:

Memory of the Irretrievable

2006-09-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

30" x 40" assorted bones and teeth, found objects, paternal cremains, and acrylic on canvas.

Details:

The Weekend in Pictures - 3/7/08

2006-09-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

"Swamp" - 36 x 48 acrylic mixed media on canvas. Inspired by a line in Fiddler on the Roof regarding "mating with one's own kind" -- "A fish and a bird can love each other, but where will they make a home?"

Weekend in Pictures 4.12.08

2006-09-01T20:03:00.000-07:00

I will never get a decent picture of this thing, as I used 4 coats of high gloss varnish on it, and trying to capture an image of it is akin to trying to get a detailed pic of the sun. On the upside, I think I might have discovered heretofore unknown light-reflective subatomic particles.

"Dancing at The Edge of Time" 4' x 4' acrylic, paternal cremains, and gold mica chips on canvas.

The weekend in Pictures 5.23.08

2006-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

General observation: my fingers are kinda transparent. Gross.

For my final trick of the weekend, I finished the "I Hate Sushi" piece, inspired by Ms. May Lane Harvey:

The Weekend in Pictures 5.30.08

2006-09-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Token painting of the weekend - just a 9" x 12" - "Cornered"

Weekend in Pictures - 6.14.08

2006-09-01T19:54:00.000-07:00

Baby Diva was studying philosophy today. She was reading Hegel, which always makes her cranky, given his three-page-long sentences. She thinks he's an idiot, and doesn't buy into the notion of the dialectic. Where Hegel thinks all the world is dictated by thesis, antithesis, then synthesis, Baby Diva feels pretty confident that existence is all about fishie treats. She spent a bit of time reading her favorite solipsists as well, I think she's having "a moment" here whilst gazing at the plastic fishie meant for her amusement.

An awakening! She recognizes me as an "other" outside her perception of her own existence. As a dedicated solipsist, this rocks her ontological world. I might actually exist.

She ponders the authenticity of my existence. She's in the gifted program.

Rationalists Art Party 2008 - 6.21.08

2006-09-01T19:53:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'll just leave it all set up and start a restaurant. Ya know, without food.

Cayenne Cafe

Busy, busy, busy...

Danielle, entranced in/by creative greatness

Trish's glitter clay floral sculpture (pardon the lousy washed-out pic)
Jim Rockoff's water color leaves and models
Ian went a little Pollock on us (without the drunken womanizing piece)
Kyla's dysfunctional cloud
Prolific, Kyla creates a second piece and declares "it's about child abuse. Nobody can say your art is bad if you say it's about child abuse." Brilliant strategy that I will begin to employ immediately.
Lisa's trippy dippy Amoeba Man
Mr. Rockoff demonstrates the proper use of a chaise lounge, stricken by a faux case of the vapors
"Family Tree" -- a serendipitous sale to the woman in plaid. It does gaze adoringly at her...

Weekend in Pictures 7/4/08

2006-09-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Katie Hoffman of Denver contributed to my "Monkey Eating A Clown" collection today (lower right). Receiving it unexpectedly was grounds for this being the best Monday (7/7/08) of my entire existence. Upper left is from Mark Phillips of Chicago, from whom I unexpectedly received this preciousness on a Thursday. And in the "we're just messing around but will not be dismissed" digital category, we have James DeKorse of San Diego on the upper right, with Tom Brown of Baltimore directly below it. Monkeys eating clowns. It's all about love.

Weekend in Pictures 8.2.08

2006-09-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

"Living Will" 30 x 40, mixed media --

Details

The Weekend in Pictures 8.29.08

2006-09-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Erasing the History of an Error - 30 x 40 acrylic on canvas

The Weekend in Pictures 9.6.08

2006-09-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

"Numb" - 36" x 48" Donated to an auction for Laterthanever, a theatre group focused on socially relevant issues, sold to someone who lives in San Fran.

The Weekend in Pictures - 9.20.08

2006-09-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

So this is a b-day prezzy for my ineffably precious friend Rachel. She refuses to go into natural bodies of water because she claims they're 75% fish poop and dead people. What with all the bodies the mob disposes of, people scattering ashes of their dead peeps, ship wrecks, suicides, accidental drownings, shark attacks etc since the beginning of time, Rachel claims swimming in the ocean is like taking a Death Bath. She has a point. "When all of the dead people in the ocean decided to throw a birthday party for Rachel, she was hesitant to attend. Upon reflection, however, she decided it would be rude to decline the kind offer."

The Weekend in Pictures - 10-11-08

2006-09-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Are YOU my mother?

Iz time to come clean. Iz I adawpted?

I put out their evening meal of kibble and rotting fruit. I had prepared dinner for three when lo and behold, a fourth little guy joined the party!

He felt a little awkward at first, so he relied on his extensive knowledge of botany to engage the clan in a meal-time story about the kingdom of merrily bejeweled and diaphanously skirted aphids that danced the Can-Can upon the crest of a leaf...

Soon enough he felt welcome enough to talk and chew at the same time while the others raptly listened to his salty stories about his adventurous life under the Taco Bell dumpster...

I gots troubles - 10.23.08

2006-09-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Remember the stray guy who broke bread with the baby possums?
Wellllllllll, "he" is a "she," with four little muffins in tow.

The weekend in Pictures - 10.24.08

2006-09-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

Artist's reception/show at Cafe Libertalia in Hillcrest on Friday night. Great space, great premise for a business.

Why am I such a lousy photographer?

Witnesses of/to my stuff. The middle piece sold. Yay!

The Weekend in Pictures - 10.31.08

2006-09-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Kittens and possums, and cupcakes - oh my!
"Psssst. This stuff is crap. When mom goes to bed, what say we hit the streets and I'll show you how to hunt snails?"

HEY! Cuppy-cakies! Forget this kibble crap!

Weekend in Pictures 11.14.08

2006-09-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I was aiming for Pompeii Barbie, but she kind of turned out more like Mud Bath Barbie

The Weekend In Pictures - 11.21.08

2006-09-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

A wedding gift for a former roommate, this piece highlights the good times we had while living together. And by "good times" I mean "we managed not to kill each other."

Detail

Weekend in Pictures - 11.26.08

2006-09-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

This is how it starts, isn't it? The whole crazy cat lady thing? I had to build an engineering marvel to keep the strays warm and dry while it rained this week. My pal Maylane called it "Kitty City", but it's more like a Gato Ghetto.

It took a community effort, but once the rain started, the kittens managed to get Barbie into their little grotto.

The Weekend in Pictures - 12.5.08

2006-09-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

So, finding that no shelters will take the kittens because they're considered feral by all of the no-kill facilities, I decided to put them on Craig's List, perilously gambling with their fate. I was out of options.
A divine woman named Jane, an ecologist, has offered to take in the whole family, socialize them, and then re-home some or all of them after they're socialized (hence, more adoptable). Make no mistake -- the logistics of catching four feral kittens and their mother is slightly more complex than brokering world peace.
D-Day is Sunday.

Some pics from Friday night:

Tabby Tummy

Fluffy makes a monumentally bad choice in toys to chase...

Saturday night, the eve of executing our diabolical Master Plan of "Kitteh Catch"...like this whole thing isn't precarious enough, we get another visitor.

I now have all the outside lights turned on and classical music blaring from a portable radio. I figure classical annoys skunks. They're probably hot jazz types. If it doesn't scare him away, maybe it'll at least lull him to sleep.

After four hours filled with adrenaline and defeat, New Mom Jane and I managed to round up all five cats.

Off to their new home with their new mommy... now I have empty nest syndrome. Gary suggested I adopt a herd of wild horses. Yay! HORSIES!

The Weekend in Pictures - 2.21.09

2006-09-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

These are underpaintings...

That led to this final piece, done as a baby shower gift. J says he'd never hang it in a nursery, and that it only belongs hanging in "Night Gallery." I loved that show, so refuse to be insulted.

Weekend in Pictures 5.2.09

2006-09-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Me with a death grip on a purple egg. I must've thought there were rhinestones in there.

The weekend in Pictures - 5.15.09

2006-09-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

A little visitation from my new possum family... I'm pretty sure it's Sparkly and her new brood. Cuz that's what I want to believe.

Has to be made into an lol "cat"...

The Weekend in Pictures - 5.30.09

2006-09-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

"Transition" --24 x 36 mixed media on canvas

The Weekend in Pictures 10/30/09

2006-09-01T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sculpey jewelry...newly formed and raw
Fresh from the toaster oven
Painted, buffed and fluffed. The pendant is 8" x 5", so more toward a breastplate than a necklace...

Weekend in Pictures -- 11/21/09

2006-09-01T18:52:00.000-07:00

Drag Queen Aliens. I really only needed one for the Postcards From the Edge donation, but figured I should make a full batch while I had all the crap out. It's serious torment.

Aliens au natural

With makeup and mani/pedi's

Ready to sing torch, after hours of torment on my end

One of these will be the donation for Postcards From the Edge..can't decide which...
"Hidden from view for thousands of years...there is much to tell (all she is...is here)"
Update: I ended up donating this one (below) to Postcards from the Edge/Visual AIDS, and it sold to a buyer in NYC.

Weekend in Pics 2.14.10

2006-09-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

Made a little special Valentine's dinner for neighbor's doggie and BD...

I ended up having to make a kitty bag for BD's meal, as it seems she was not feeling up to coming to the table...

I was later fixed with the "why do you keep tormenting me by trying to make me be friends with that dog" gaze...

WIP... I have no clue where it's going...

Meh

2004-09-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

24 x 36 multi media: nails, twigs, acrylic on canvas

Two Wrongs

2004-09-21T18:53:00.000-07:00

Base canvas: 15 x 30 acrylic on canvas - donated to the SDSU Women's Outreach Association art auction, and apparently sold pre-show :]

Between Worlds

2004-09-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

24 x 48 acrylic on canvas

Nasa vs. Cayenne

1990-07-27T11:45:00.000-07:00