Eureka! How it all started... I found the photograph.

This is a photo taken in Venice, Italy. It's not a great photo, but read on...

As you may have read previously, I studied mosaics in Italy and Turkey.
The last day in Venice...strolling around... I came upon 2 things that caught my attention. They both had a profound impact on me.

One was a chandelier - multiple branches - with glass pendants. The fixture itself was simple, it was the glass that made me come close to drooling... why? Fruit. Apples, pears, grapes...so many colors...flowers, leaves, beads.
I asked the price - it wasn't too much, but the shipping was hundreds of dollars. About to board a train through Slovenia on the way to Hungary - schlepping a chandelier was not going to work. I took a mental picture... which is easy since I'm eidetic.

What might seem totally off the mark at this stage of the story is a beautiful story book I had as a child. The Arabian nights. In it, Aladdin makes his way into a cave, finds a tree dripping with fruit made of gems [looked like glass to me]. Translucent, colorful, startling...beautiful. Aladdin presents a bowl of these jewel fruits to a Princess to win her hand. The images from that book have never left me [once again, eidetic... I can pull it up on the screen in the air anytime]. I still have that book. So that chandelier really made an impression!

Anyway - as I am known to say - "I can make that," my search through Venice's tourist stores was a hunt for glass fruit, beads, flowers. I found nothing. I went back to the lighting store and asked if I could just buy the fruit? "No." Can you tell me where I can find them? "No." Back to the stores.

Through the door, I saw the stained glass mosaic you see above. I walked into the store and stared at it. Looks like a Mucha. Little squares of glass in many colors. On Glass. Grouted. In a metal framework. This time, the price was too high, forget about the shipping. Took a photo and moved on.

I never forgot the chandelier or the mosaic.

It took me 18 months of searching, bidding on ebay, visiting antiques and lamp repair stores, web sites, etc. to accumulate enough glass and crystal fruit to create my own chandelier. Hard to see, but there are apples, pears, grapes, flowers, pendants, etc.
Of course, within a week of assembling this, a store here in Phoenix is carrying the chandeliers from Venice.

The portrait also stayed on my mind. "I can make that," my mantra... became a reality, of sorts. I found small squares of glass. I glued them to glass, grouted it... not bad. Made a geometric, a flower, a woman. Problems I ran into:

1. I couldn't find the colors I wanted.
2. I couldn't find little squares
3. I don't like to cut glass
4. I didn't want to use stained glass pieces - too thick, too opaque.
5. I couldn't afford to go back to Venice to find out more.

I tried finding more info about that piece online to no avail. Not done, though. What else could I use? At that moment, my parents arrived with a box of greeting cards and a paper cutter.
Aha... maybe I'll use paper, instead of glass!
I pulled a self-portrait off the wall - willing to sacrifice it to experimentation. Cut "tiles" out of cards. Glued them on the painting.
Eureka!


Okay, now that I found the photo [after many years]... I can see that what I do now has evolved from the initial inspiration to something completely different... but that image never left my mind. I credit that moment in a store in Venice with what has become my medium of expression.

I guess when I say "I can make that," I usually do.

Inspiration is a jumping off point... all of us artists - in every medium - start with a grain of an idea and create...everything beautiful.

Thanks for reading!

Urban Geo-Scape

What's an Urban Geo-Scape?
This.....----->>>>>

Not a very good photo, but you get the idea.
Abstract
Stylized City Scape
Geometric Shapes
Urban color scheme...

Urban Geo-Scape

This one is 24x36" junk mail - on masonite
White, Black, Shades of Grey
Acid Green, Orange and Red.

Framed.

Not just another pretty face...

Not just another pretty face?

I realize a lot of people really appreciate my work, but they just aren't into faces. I get it.
So, in a flash of inspiration, I took to my library of books - tile, art nouveau decor, elements of design, stained glass, architectural elements, turn-of-the-century architecture... to find a couple of images that would spark my imagination.


Results? Three new pieces.
Each 24x24" on canvas - Floral [Art Nouveau], Fleur de Lis [Tile] and Stained Glass.

Still made entirely of junk mail.

I thought these would be easier to make than a portrait...and I WAS WRONG. Just as hard.

I hope these new images will appeal to a broader base than just faces... but they're still pretty!

See more at Schimmel Art

Doing it the hard way...call me Make-ee Do-ee.

I am all about having my hands in and on everything I do.

I was working in the studio last night and the piece I am working on now is taking me WAY too long! I thought I was doing something simple, but I just don't know how to [or won't] take shortcuts.

I paint everything by hand. Sometimes over and over until I think it's right. Then I cover the whole thing up!

I cut everything by hand. I was thinking about maybe getting some kind of die to cut pieces... nah, I do it by hand.

I have to touch everything. I have to place everything. I have to think about every single little piece I place and the direction it's in, which piece it's next to...

I MUST BE CRAZY!

I suppose there are lots of shortcuts I could take, corners I could cut, but it just wouldn't be my art. A friend calls me "make-ee-do-ee" and that is just the perfect nick-name. I make it, I do it... there's a lot of heart and soul and a million touches in every piece I create.

Cherry Blossom

I was thumbing through W magazine [one of my favorites] and found a series of fashion photos featuring a model with a sweet face and a bob haircut. It reminded me of the 20's.
I drew her, painted her and started the mosaic on her face.
For some reason, I decided to give it Japanese twist - creating radiating stripes - gold and red behind her. I liked it! I was reading something or other about artist Takashi Murakami and something inspired me to add these big pink blossoms to the compostion. I liked it! Then, I added smaller blue flowers.
Just so you know I have a sense of humor... when people see my work, they often ask if I use Scrabble pieces. Come on! Scrabble?
I found some letters in the same shade as Cherry Blossom's face and added them. It adds a lot of interest to her face and a little bit of my humor.
Cherry Blossom is an example of how I use not only junk mail, but wrapping paper, Christmas cards [gold], photographs and scrap scrap-booking paper in my work. Somewhere in her hair are old photos of...ME [yikes!].
This is one of my favorites, I just love her expression!
Cherry Blossom is currently hanging - and available for purchase - at Translations Gallery in Denver. For more information, please contact Kate@translationsgallery.com.

Waverly

I saw a photo in a magazine, and loved the face. Long elegant nose, blue eyes, full lips. I knew I wanted to to draw something from this inspiration, something about her spoke to me in pastels.

I knew the title needed to start with a W... and when speaking to my friend Lynne, I asked her to come up with every W name... she rattled them off and when she got to Waverly - I knew that was it!

I drew and painted... and although this is a small piece, it took FOREVER to sort through all my colors to find these colors - in prints. Not a lot of type and text on Waverly - too small, too pretty. At the end, I decided to leave black as paint.

Waverly is 9x12" and available for $400.00 No prints or reproductions. Enjoy! Want to see more? visit http://www.schimmelart.com

Smoulder

Smoulder. Definition? Slow Burn. With those eyes and pursed lips, arched brow... this girl's on FIRE!
Usually, when I draw and paint faces, I'm very very tight and controlled - a perfectionist. This time, I wanted to be a little loosey-goosey. I drew and painted with fluid motions. I let go of the need to control every detail.
And, I usually paint pretty pictures. This one is perhaps a little deeper.
I painted her face in shades of blue - and then - geez! had to match the odd shades going through a gigantic box of blue paper, junk mail, advertising, cards, etc. Look closely, you'll see icebergs and Hanukah candles and clouds.
I painted her lips red. They just popped. But the hair...hmmm. what to do. I stood back, asked my husband - he said RED! Once the paint hit the canvas, I knew he was right. Look closely to see perfume bottles, Macy's ads, catalog covers and more in the hair.
The original is available from the artist for $4150.00 no prints, no cards, no reproductions. One of a kind! Contact artist@schimmelart.com