Raiders of the Lost Art

Raiders of The Lost Art, the enchanting Etsy shop featuring Attic Dolls, vintage jewelry, altered books, assemblage sculpture and prints, is the creative brain-child of Susan Hoerth of McAllen, Texas.

I discovered her shop through the magic of Etsy circles and have been following her mysteriously beautiful works of art, and her amazing taste in other Etsy offerings, ever since.

I had the opportunity to interview Susan recently and came away suitably impressed by her many accomplishments.

Gold Dust Studios: Besides metal, beads, wood, and paper are there any other favorite materials you work with?
Susan Hoerth: I like to work with most any materials: plaster, clay, found objects, any thing I find.

GDS: How long have you been making art?
SH: I have been doing art since I was a child, but I started selling when I worked with ceramics and clay about 15 years ago. I took a ceramics workshop at the Kohler Art Center in Wisconsin and have not stopped creating since.

GDS: Do you have formal training or are you self-taught?
SH: I am self taught.

GDH: Are you a full-time artist or do you also have another career?
SH: I am a High School Teacher In Deep South Texas, I do inclusion services for physics and chemistry.

GDH: Does your environment impact your art?
SH: I think it has brought out the colors in my art and affects the pieces that I find, the vintage items that I presently work with. I have spent time in the Middle East, where I have picked up items as well as China, Egypt, and India.

GDS: Who are some of your creative influences?
SH: My assemblage has been influenced by Joseph Cornell, Rauschenberg, and de Meng.

GDS: Where do you create your wonderful pieces?
SH: I have a small studio in home, that I share with my Son who also does art. He has been juried a finalist in the Hunting Award 2011, which I am very proud of.

I have exhibited in several fairs in Wisconsin, and have had an exhibit at the Art House in McAllen TX. I also show at Coffee houses and restaurants locally.

Be sure to check out Raiders Of The Lost Art on Etsy – you're in for a treat!

Until next time, be well and stay curious!

A Whale of a Time

After being snowed in for the last 3 days, I've had plenty of time to contemplate the glory of nature, in between stoking the fire and wrangling canines.

So I began designing a series of Art Nouveau cards featuring animals that are indigenous to the magnificent forest in which I live. Frogs, rabbits, deer, bears, whales...

Whales? I found a fantastic antique illustration of a whale that could not be ignored. The integrity of the Woodland Creatures series has been severely compromised. Vampire bats shall be forthcoming.

Until next time, be well and stay curious!

It's a Steampunk World.

Recently, I have become enamored with all things Steampunk,  the eccentric subculture obsessed with science-fiction and fantasy set primarily in Victorian England. Never having been all that familiar with that genre of literature, I must admit that I am really in it for the incredible Steampunk art, jewelry and fashion that is a delectable combination of Victorian, Edwardian and a little punk thrown in for good measure.

So entranced with this alternate universe, have I been, that I just completed a series of Steampunk cards, featuring Victorian illustrations of bizarre gadgets and inventions. The Curious Card series is available on the Gold Dust Studios website.

Speaking of delectable, here are two of my favorite Steampunk objects of desire:

Until next time, be well and stay curious!

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

I knew it was the end of Western Civilization, as we know it, when I inadvertently read an acclaimed literary author's, (who shall go nameless, but who's initials are C.C.), twitter post, "I just got a papercut..." Puh-lease - are we so enamored of ourselves in today's self-obsessed world that we actually think a paper cut is news-worthy?

That said, here I am, blogging my little heart out and attempting to master the requisite technical skills, and I use that term loosely, to successfully reach my beloved following of 2.

Apropos of said lack of skills, I must correct the first link I posted of the fabulous work of Jason Tennant, an extraordinary artist and sculptor:


Do have a look - I promise you're in for a treat!

Until next time, be well and stay curious!

Ranch Queen Vintage address correction

www.ranchqueenvintage.etsy.com

Check it out - it is worth the trip!

Vintage Missoni Silk Scarf

Silk Shantung Sheath and Matching Jacket

 

1980s Stuart Weitzman Pumps

Everything Old is New Again

Treat yourself to a staycation into the past and you'll be drooling over the sumptuous vintage togs at Ranch Queen Vintage. Expertly curated by former costumer Marsha Perloff, who lent her talent to Driving Miss Daisy, Of Mice and Men and Drugstore Cowboy, to name a few films graced by her mad skills, this pristine collection boasts the best of both high and low in vintage fashion.

Check out her fabulous shop at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ranchqueenvintage

Until next time, be well and stay curious!

Gold Dust Studios Joins the Bloggerati!

Yes, it's true - I have succumbed and am a new proud member of the Bloggerati. Here, I will be sharing with you, new artwork, ideas, artists, thinkers and random thoughts that pass through my world and my mind.

I hope you enjoy what you find here and visit often.

Our behavior is human with a sliver of animal, our souls animal with a sliver of human.  ~Carrie Latet

Last night I discovered the amazing artist and sculptor, Jason Tennant.

Jason creates exquisite carved wooden masks and motifs of native plants and animals from domestic woods, most of which he collects himself in the remote woods of upstate New York.

His work is intricate, yet ethereal and speaks to the wildness that is innate in our humanness.

Until next time, be well and stay curious!