Saint Mary was made from one of those little car statues that can be found in New Orleans shops, a fragment of molding, a small cigar box, a lid to an oval powder case, and a metal serving platter.

Altar: Mother Mary was made from a a plaster Saint, a sewing machine drawer, a fragment of molding, and a rusted planter box which I salvaged from what was left of a craft supply store in Waveland. Two candles fit on either side of the figure. 11" x 17" x6". Wall piece or freestanding.

Fate of the Coast is a new favorite. The backdrop for this piece is a very large silver platter which was recently given me by my friendNancy, who lost her home in Pass Christian. She held on to her salvaged silver for 17 months, and finally decided to give it to me. This kind of thing has happened many times, and it never fails to touch my heart. The fact that people can give up things which meant so much to them so that they can be reincarnated into something beautiful again is, to me, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. The platter is mounted into a fragment of furniture-a base of some kind. Standing in front of the silver is a gorgeous old scale which comes from post-Katrina New Orleans. More fine silver in the form of goblets and a cylinder complete the piece. 22" x24" x 8" freestanding.

Orient was created from a beautiful piece of Asian furniture, two pieces of molding, a picture frame and another fragment of furniture. 52" x 18" SOLD

Caribbean is an involved piece whose color scheme was inspired by a chance meeting about 4 years ago. A woman came in to the gallery with a purse in these colors, and they have stayed on my mind. Underneath all that acrylic paint is a cupboard door, two halves of a furniture leg, three brass knobs, a displaced carved wooden head, a metal bowl, and two more wooden furniture fragments. 20" x 38"

Chinese Panel  SOLD

Summers at the Beach House is something many people remember about the Bay. This piece was made from a fragment of a painted wood welcome sign, a picture frame, and a cupboard door. SOLD

Carousel II. I had intended for this to hang horizontally but for some reason blogger likes it this way! This piece was created from a wood and metal window guard, a piece of scrap plywood and a wonderful old carousel horse. SOLD

The Teacher 18" x 30" SOLD

Offering was created from an elegantly shaped brass piece from India, a piece of moulding, a fragment of a mirror, a drawer and an acrylic charger. 13" x 18" x 5"

Liberty is created around a replica of the Statue of Liberty, which I saw for the first time a couple of months ago. It is mounted inside a shadowbox with a gilt frame added on top. Behind Liberty is a curved piece of glass with a metal grid, and a fragment of one of my paintings. 12" x 15" x 7" deep. Free Standing.

Love Angel is a small piece which consists of an oval piece of wood, a plaster butterfly and an acrylic angel. 11" x 7"

House of Katrina is very much about the serendipitous joining of unrelated objects to form a piece that has a strong visual impact. Its elements include a lopsided disc of plywood; handmade paper; acrylic paint; parts of a wooden chair; hand painted paper and fabric; an old knife and fossilized ammonite. On another level it points to the special difficulties faced by the Asian communities in the aftermath of the storm. As difficult as it was for us to cope with the scarcity of information immediately after the storm, it must have been much worse for people who did not speak English. 21" x 22"

Dreadlocked Angel is made from a wooden carving of a human body and another, mismatched wooden head. The pieces are layered on a cabinet door, which is mounted on a boogie board. Plaster wings and some wonderfully textured yarn finish the piece. 20" x 35"

Mexican Copper incorporates a copper pan which I purchased in Mexico many years ago. Katrina flattened it for me, and left it in my backyard for me to find. It is paired with a ceramic lid to a lost pot, a shredded piece of plywood, a placemat, and a boogie board. 19" x 37"

Treasures is made from a beautiful, chubby porcelain doll leg given to me by my friend Kevin Fitzpatrick. The leg is mounted on a framed mirror and accompanied by a ceramic wing. The round element is a piece of woven plant material, and the support for the piece is a cabinet door.

Abstracted Angel is constructed from a board, a violin bow, a chain, a rusted metal piece, a fragment of an air conditioner unit and another piece of copper and tubing on board, and a furniture fragment. 21" x 70"

Lost in the Woods is about the human tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. We have all been broken and traumatized by the storm, and the lives which we once knew, symbolized by the flowers, gloves and beads, have been changed forever. The piece is comprised of a porcelain doll, silk flowers, mardi gras beads, beaded glove, fan blade and a recovered painting. 20" x 24"

The pieces following this post have been sold.

The Beginning II, from the Reliquary series, also began with the rescued collage of fossil and handmade paper from a gallery near the beach. 16" x 15" x 2". SOLD

The Beginning I 22" x24" x2" This piece, part of the Reliquary series, features a small collage made from a fossil, cloth, and handmade paper. This collage rode out Katrina in a gallery half a block from the beach in Bay St. Louis; I recovered it several weeks after the storm. In this incarnation, I have paired it with several pieces of plywood, enhanced with a stucco-lo=ike finish, and acrylic paint. SOLD

Jenny's Piece 3. SOLD

Jenny's Piece 2 SOLD

Jenny's Piece 1. SOLD

Jenny's Candle Holder. SOLD

Koi Pond features a panel from an antique Chinese wedding bed. It is mounted on a piece of rusty tin, a furniture fragment, and a painted metal platter. SOLD

Mumford Award for Peace. Recently, I was contacted by a representative of the national group Architects, Designers and Planners for Social Responsibility to create for them this year's Mumford Awards, which honors people and organizations that exemplify ADPSR’s goals of peace, preservation of the natural and built environment, and socially responsible development. I was thrilled to be able to accomodate them. SOLD

This first one was an especially enjoyable one for me to create, because of a story I will relate a few sentences down. I began the piece with the curved wood element which was once part of a rocking chair. It was given to me only recently by a friend who is still sorting through her debris. I mounted it upon a piece of elaborate moulding and suspended three pieces of metal from the wood. On the smallest disc is painted a symbol for peace, the Pax Cultura. There is a great story about this piece, too- about two weeks before I was first contacted by the group, my husband came to me with a small lump of rust in which was embedded the piece of turquoise from the shell on the environment award. I was really happy, because this piece of turquoise was the first thing we had found from the treehouse-I kept all my jewelry supplies up there, including a treasure of semi precious stones, amber and coral. I turned the lump of rust over to see the back side, and discovered that it had formed upon a small political pin which I had in my collection of campaign pins. It had the letters "ABR" in black on a white background, and it had been given to me, in the 1980s, by Dr. Helen Caldicott, a past winner of one of their peace awards! When I googled ADPSR and saw that she had been a recipient, I had to find a way to incorporate it in to the award. 10" x 13"

Wise Man is a piece done later in the series, when I was no longer focusing so intently on the storm. The owner of a local antique and gift store generously gave me permission to rummage through the rubble of her shop, and I emerged with several damaged figures. Wise Man is one of these, and is about finding pieces which fit well with another. It is composed of the plaster figure, a crushed basket, a decorative tin, and a piece of board. 21" x 21" SOLD

Mumford Award for Socially Responsible Development. It is composed from actual elements of a structure, as well as elements which remind us of graceful living in our homes. I formed the base of the piece from a fragment of a round, carved wooden bowl which rests upon two pieces of wood flooring. Three rusted doorplates form the vertical element of the piece, and resting on top of the plates is an architectural fragment. In front and center is a carved and painted wood finial which rests upon a napkin ring. Creating this piece, I reflected upon the challenges we face here on the coast as we struggle to rebuild after the storm. Our wetlands are beig threatened by overdevelopment, and our towns are in serious danger of losing the genuineness and charm which made us unique. The arched element at the top and the door plates represent our need for security in our homes, while the finial and napkin ring are symbolic of our spiritul need for beauty in our lives. 14" x 12" SOLD

Carved Cross features a lovely purchased cross mounted upon a painted wood bowl which came from a debris pile here in the Bay. SOLD

Third World starts with a doll that has been laying around since right after the storm.I paired it with another of those metal and parchment things, and adhered it to a fan blade and a battered metal vent cover. Two circular pieces of metal and a block of wood for the base complete the piece. SOLD

Kachina started with the leather and metal "head"which is actually a small drum. I paired it with an antique chopstick holder, the "arms" are fragments of small boxes, and the back pieces consist of a wood plate and the rusty front to a fan. SOLD

Sun God centers around the brass head with small chains. I placed it atop another metal fragment, and a copper fan, added the rusty door plate and the brass shoe and used a fragment of furniture for the support. SOLD

Cross on Metal starts with a purchased ceramic and metal cross.I layered it on a piece of painted metal, a beautifully patinaed piece of sheet copper and a battered paint tray holder. SOLD

A Cross for Susan. This piece was commissioned by Susan, a good friend of mine. She wanted it as a gift for her church in Grand Junction, Colorado. I was so happy to be able to make it for her, as Susan was a volunteer down here with the Red Cross after the storm. I have been lucky enough to get to know her on her subsequent trips back here, and was able to visit her in her home and meet her husband Brian and their two beautiful daughters. The piece was made from a damaged metal cross, a circular piece of wood from some piece of furniture (I think!) , a salvaged ceramic tile and a wooden board which I painted and distressed to match the tile. 8" x 11". SOLD

Celtic Cross starts with a purchased metal cross. I layered it with the lid to a small barrel, and two fragments of furniture. SOLD

Toolbox Mermaid is a fun piece which starts with a smashed drawer from a metal toolbox, a painted piece of metal and a Mexican tin mermaid from post-Katrina New Orleans. SOLD

Good Dog/Bad Dog V is the smallest of the Good Dog series. This piece is composed from the alvaged metal sculpture, a painted wooden tray with three compartments, and a piece of plywood which I painted. 15" x 9" SOLD
G

Parlor Lamp features a smashed copper lamp in pieces, a fragment of a tapestry I found on the beach in Clermont Harbor, and a wooden serving tray. 17" x 25" SOLD

Bust is created from a plastic doll head and torso, a piece of scrap wood, a drawer knob, a wooden box, a metal strainer and a wire fan. 13" x 21" SOLD

Good Dog Bad Dog VII starts with the metal frontpiece, and is layered on an old Mississippi license plate, a piece of wood flooring and a painted platter. SOLD

House of the Dragon is a small piece which features an old Chinese coin and a Victorial door lock-probaby a reproduction-and a purchased brass dragon. They are mounted upon a fragment of fine furniture which came from a house in Pass Christian. SOLD

Mumford Award for Preservation of the Natural and Built Environment. This piece is composed from debris which includes a wooden furniture leg, two pieces of wood flooring, a brass platter with birds attached to the surface, a shell, a piece of turquoise, and a metal horned toad which came from post-Katrina New Orleans. The shell and the flowing lines of the furniture leg symbolize the waters of the earth, while the small piece of turquoise indicates our wealth of natural resources. The roundness of the platter echoes the shape of our planet, and the birds and the horned toad remind us of the earth's fauna. 11" x 11" SOLD

My Heart is on the Coast is about the people who have not been able to return home. I know many of them, and I can only imagine the homesickness they endure. The piece is made from two scrap pieces of plywood, a piece of sheet copper, some rusty nails, a rusty chain and padlock that I found in the woods behind m hme, and a small metal box with a fragment of a necklace I had in my studo. SOLD

Stella's Teacup is a piece I made for my friends Paul and Stella LaViolet. They gave me the cup, which was the only piece of the set that they were able to recover, and the fragment of flooring which serves as the support for the piece. They had a lovely home on the beach in Waveland; only a slab remains. While the teacup and plank call to mind the beauty of their home, I added the flowers as a reminder of the property itself, which was equally as beautiful. The cup and flowers are framed by a sewing machine drawer. 8"x 20" SOLD

A Cross for Sidney was a commissioned piece. It was created from a metal cross, one of those spikey metal things used in fastening trusses together, the cover from an old pocket sized bible, a piece of wood which I painted and stamped with Asian characters, and a piece of scrap wood for the support. SOLD

Angel with a Rusty Heart is composed from a broiler pan, a Mexican tin case with a glass door, and a wooden angel. The angel is one of several which I purchased recently, and she is like us-our hearts are a bit rusty and battered, but they are still beating strongly! 13" x 15" SOLD

The Mississippi Development Authority recently asked me to create a unique cover for their presentation to the Travel Industry Association's National Council of State Tourism Directors Mercury Awards for excellence and creative accomplishment in state tourism marketing and promotion. They were going to focus their presentation on the achievements of the European Journalist project, so I decided to make the cover very similar to the pieces I created as gifts from the state to the journalists. I incorporated two of my storm photographs, several different kinds of handmade paper, some mirror tiles from that smashed disco ball, and some pennies with the "Katrina Patina" evident. 12" x 16" SOLD

How to Feng Shui a Life is an intriguing piece on a couple of levels. The gold frame that serves as the support for the piece was salvaged from the 8 foot tall debris piles outside of Chessy's Antiques, which was on the beach in Bay St. Louis. Layered on top of the frame is a fragment of a piece of furniture painted with an oriental design which came from Pass Christian, and on top of that is glued an oval mirror which has lost most of it's coating. The final element is a feng shui compass I picked up recently in Richmond, Virginia. It is actually a gorgeous magenta color, which does not come through in this image. 22" x 14" SOLD

Circle of Life has at its center another one of the dozens of dolls I recovered from debris piles in Bay St. Louis and Waveland. The Native American appearing doll is embraced by a wooden hoop, and rests upon a beautiful piece of embroidered cloth embellished with mirrors and cowrie shells, which I discovered in an antique shop in Texas. The cloth rests inside a shallow box, which in return is mounted upon a rusted metal serving platter. 20" diameter. SOLD

Ave Maria started with the beautiful framed reproduction of an old painting. I layered it with some salvaged silver and the ornately painted piece of wood. 12"x 14" SOLD