I dreamed a world and called it love

Greetings from Aspen, Colorado!

I'm in town for Art Crush, a yearly benefit for the Aspen Art Museum that draws artists and collectors  alike to the mountain town.  I donated a custom Artfully Awear garment to their benefit collection, and all proceeds go toward funding the museum and its programs.  I can't wait to find out who ends up with one of my pieces!

The dress I'm wearing here is hand-painted using metallic paint on vegan leather, and the inspirational work is Jim Hodges' I dreamed a world and called it love #8 and #9.  I'd only seen photos of this artwork while making the dress, and it was so much more complex in real life.  It is made of glass on canvas, and each piece is cut and fit to the next piece.  It was a tough concept to recreate as something wearable!  Luckily my sparkly shoes capture the reflective nature of the glass.

Thanks to Amy Phelan for inviting me to Wine Crush, and to the Aspen Art Museum for hosting me for their benefit!

Photos by Emily Hoerdemann.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DALE CHIHULY!

"I never met a color I didn't like." 

With statements like that, of course I'm a fan of Dale Chihuly's work.  Today, on his 75th birthday, I'm revisiting my photos from last month's trip to Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle.

Chihuly is such a prolific artist and craftsman, and walking through CGG was like wandering through the mind of Chihuly himself - from things he collected (like Pendleton blankets) to hundreds of blown-glass beauties, to a magnificent greenhouse (another of his infatuations).  The experience truly made me appreciate his work in a new way.

Here's hoping that Chihuly will continue to be as prolific and will keep pushing the boundaries of what can be done with glass through his 75th year and beyond.

Happy birthday, Dale!

Photos by myself and William Sealy.