Funky Designs

CUTE LITTLE GIFT IDEAS!

2007-10-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

COLORFUL and CLEVER
PINS THAT BECOME NECKLACES!

View a large assortment of these handcrafted,one-of-a-kind,affordable pin-pendants! Quick! Easy!

CHECK OUT MORE AT: http://www.artonanisland.com/whats_new/

GUESSING GAME!

2007-06-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what these are?

OK.....beautiful little handcrafted one-of-a-kind
glass pendants!

BUT WITH A SECRET!

These pendants each contain some sand from the beach
you vacationed on and loved!

Yes, they're custom made from any sand, world-wide,
that you bring or send to the artist.

WHAT A ROMANTIC SOUVENIR!

CHECK IT OUT AT:
http://www.beachbabybeads.com

AND WATCH OUT FOR MORE BEAUTIFUL
GLASS ART INFO!
Brought to you from
http://www.artonanisland.com
(your eye on art, and islands,
and funky designs!)

TIN CAN NECKLACES????

2007-04-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

TIN CAN NECKLACES!
?????????????

YES, YOU READ THAT CORRECTLY!!!
HERE'S A SITE YOU HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE!
A SITE THAT WILL LEAVE YOU BREATHLESS!

FIRST OF ALL....TWO DON'TS:
1. DON'T DARE THINK OF THIS AS "JUNK" JEWELRY,
AS CHILD'S PLAY! THESE ARE MAGNIFICENT
WORKS OF CONTEMPORARY ART. and,
2. DON'T SAY I NEVER LET YOU IN ON
SOMETHING SPECIAL.

OUT IN THE BEAUTIFUL STATE OF OREGON
IS A FAMILY WHO ARE:
INCREDIBLY TALENTED DESIGNERS
and
GENUINE FRIENDS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

HERE'S WHAT THEY SAY:
Who would have thought tin can lids and old stuff could look so stunning! Maude Fry did. She came up with this wonderful idea to create beautiful pieces of art on tin can lids! These amazing mini-collage necklaces are almost entirely made of recycled, reused and re-loved bits and pieces of almost anything you can imagine.

Everyone who owns a Tin Can Necklace knows that it is one of a kind. The artwork is always an original, and there can never be another one like it. These necklaces make a perfect treat for yourself or a special gift for everyone else! Have fun looking through the designs and find that special one, or two, that speak to you! And they do CUSTOM work for you from your odd earing or treasured antiques!

GO AHEAD! MAKE YOUR DAY!

CLICK ON http://www.tincannecklaces.com

YOU'LL BE SENDING OTHERS THERE...GUARANTEED!

AND THIS TIP CAME FROM ANOTHER JEWELER....ON ANOTHER COAST! Art on an Island

CONVERSATION STARTERS!

2007-03-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a great idea from the book, "Clever Ways to Create Your Own Luck", by author Susan RoAne:

"Wear something that invites people to talk to you. Madeleine Albright, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations, often wore a large brooch because it was a conversation starter."

Hmmm!....Well....these pins (brooches)and pendants have great color, interesting designs and....
many are large enough to give the above idea a try!

They start conversations because people are curious as to what they are made of.
The clay makes them look like tiny paintings, collages, sculptures.

The abstract designs are often reminiscent of the view from the airplane window....
meandering streams, odd-shaped lakes and forested areas. Or they may evoke memories of vacations enjoying ocean waves or of rugged western landscapes.
Or the fun of seeing interesting shapes in clouds.

These are "imagination pins". Look carefully! What do you see?

And remember!....pins can be worn on purses, hats, totes, as well as on scarves and lapels!

Check out these and more at: http://artonanisland.com

IMPORTANT PERSON....GONE!

2007-02-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

"The arts are not a frill and they are not an enchantment and should not be considered as such. They are an essential part of life, part of the human spirit."

Wow!

That's the philosophy and the spirit that put New Jersey on the map where the arts....all the arts...are concerned!

This state is mourning the recent death of incredibly talented Lillian Levy, Chairwoman of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts since 1985, whose quote, above, energized more wonderful arts programs, for all ages and of more types than this column can begin to list.

Some people make a difference. Some make a huge difference. Without Lillian Levy's decades of dedication Southern New Jersey would only be beautiful seashore and rich farmlands. Now, in addition, it sparkles with life! Enduring, enriching life!

A Julliard graduate, Ms. Levy had been a professional pianist, painter and music teacher but put her own artistic aspirations aside to stimulate the interest of young people in the arts. The list includes:
Coordinator of NJ Symphony Orchestra
Coordinator for the NJ Teen Arts Festival
Chairwoman of the County Cultural & Heritage Advisory Board
Southern Jersey Regional Theatre
Atlantic City Community Concerts
VP of County Allied Arts Council
Treasurer of the Atlantic City Historical Museum
Etc., etc., etc. The list goes on!

The richness of the arts in New Jersey gives its heartfelt thanks to this amazing and dedicated woman. My website, artonanisland.com, starts out with the "father of modern art", Picasso, saying: "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." I'm sure Lillian would have agreed.

MODERN ART? Ugh!

2007-02-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

Isn't art supposed to be beautiful?? Well, it would be lovely if it all were. But as you know, art...all forms of it...music, dancing, painting, sculpture, writing, etc., comes in all styles, shapes, sizes and evokes all sorts of emotions. Maybe that's all it's supposed to do....bring forth a response of any kind...a burst of life from the viewer/listener. The artist, after all, is only expressing what's in his mind/heart/soul at the moment, hoping it will find an understanding home somewhere out there. Quite legitimate.

Much as I love paintings and photographs of places I love, and have them on my walls, if we're talking about decoration, I have always been struck by the simple, completely abstract 20th century painting and sculpture seen almost entirely in galleries and museums only. These designs also often look quite stunning in a large and very contemporary home.

Whether it's the soft blending of shapes in these Eric Balint paintings or the stark, and famous, lines and rectangles of Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian (who died in NYC in '44 after decades of his work creating quite a stir)...my fascination is the way these shapes and colors relate to one another to form pure design. Design with no other agenda than to be.

Here's part of a window design at a beautiful church in my town of Beach Haven, NJ. Doesn't it evoke joy?

And here are some of the jewelry pieces I'm been creating to add to my Web site, Art on an Island. The polymer clay inspires wonderful textures and the shapes fit together with peace and simplicity.

See them soon on artonanisland.com.

MORE JERSEY ITEMS

2007-01-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

Comedians love to poke fun at New Jersey. Especially New Yorkers! We're right next door and easy prey. Well, we laugh at all the jokes, too, and make a few of our own.

But, here are a few more interesting facts about old NJ to add to the list I posted last week.

New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.

New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.

Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.

New Jersey is the world leader in blueberry and cranberry production (and here you thought Massachusetts ?)

Here's to New Jersey - the toast of the country! In 1642, the first brewery in America, opened in Hoboken.

New Jersey rocks! The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in Mahwah, in 1940.

New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US , located in Elizabeth . Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.

New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports (in Newark ), Liberty International.

George Washington slept here. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington.

The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture projector, were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park , NJ, laboratory.

We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.

The first seaplane was built in Keyport , NJ

The first airmail (to Chicago ) was started from Keyport, NJ.

The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.

New Jersey was home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City

The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City

And, Atlantic City has the first and longest boardwalk in the world, not to mention the creation of salt water taffy, made there.

New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.

The first Indian reservation was in New Jersey , in the Watchung Mountains.

New Jersey has the tallest water-tower in the world. ( Union , NJ!!!)

New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City

The Pulaski SkyWay, from Jersey City to Newark , was the first skyway highway.

NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson(Holland Tunnel).

.....Be back with more another day. Meanwhile, do check out my Funky Designs jewelry shop at: artonanisland.com

NEW JERSEY

2007-01-01T07:41:00.001-08:00

artonanisland.com
My online jewelry store is called ART ON AN ISLAND and that island....6 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean....is located in (surprise!) New Jersey! I've got a list of facts about this state that I'd like to share.
For starters:
Facts about NJ

If you've ever lived in Jersey ...you'll appreciate this!!!

New Jersey is a peninsula.

Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida .

New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified as metropolitan areas.

New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.

New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana , Cuba.

New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the US.

New Jersey has the highest cost of living.

New Jersey has the highest cost of auto insurance.

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation.

New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World."

New Jersey is home to the original Mystery Pork Parts Club (no, not Spam): Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.

Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.

North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major shopping malls in a 25 square mile radius.

New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.
New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most famous: Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Cape May.

Ooops! Long Beach Island and my town of Beach Haven isn't included. But there are some words about it on my site
artonanisland.com"

But more interesting facts about Jersey in general next time. Enjoy!

A HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR!

2006-12-09T08:31:00.000-08:00

Imagine! An Original, Broadway-style Holiday Spectatular Created Six Miles Out In The Atlantic Ocean!

The SURFLIGHT THEATRE of Beach Haven, New Jersey, does it again with another smash hit, this time a Christmas original!
Sparkling throughout the year, Surflight also presents a holiday special every December, previously classic Christmas stories. This year resident talent created something new. Check it out at:"http://http://www.surflight.org/">

The New Story....
In song and dance the story follows a young girl as she learns the meaning of the holiday season from the adults in her life. Hannukah and Kwanzaa are explored as she learns about traditions celebrated by her friends while she waits for Santa Claus.

The review in the newspaper tells us: "When four couples of different faiths and backgrounds get snowed in during a holiday party, they find out that what unites them is greater than what divides them." A great message!

It's always amazing that so much talent and great theater can be gathered and presented on this skinny little island (only a few blocks wide!!), six miles off the coast. But in spite of the proximity of theater in New York City, Philadelphia, and dazzling Atlantic City, Surflight Theatre only gets more and more popular! Check out theater and other arts on this surprising island at: http://http://www.artonanisland.com/other-artists/">

OCEAN WAVES

2006-11-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!

LET'S JUMP THE WAVES!

The seashore resort you visit may have a calm flat ocean. The beautiful tropics have that kind of water. Smooth, calm, warm and very turquoise.

Here in New Jersey (a great vacation spot) our ocean is more challenging. More greenish, cooler, and the waves....two to three feet....are a thrill ride! You dive under them, you jump over them, you body surf them in! Wow! You play and you enjoy!

Why not plan to do a little wave-jumping now in your imagination, using this jewelry as inspiration. This jewelry was made a stone's throw from the Atlantic Ocean in New Jersey (the "seashore state" with 127 miles of gorgeous, inviting beaches). Look and you'll see the beautiful waves in the designs of the clay pieces. Those waves are not painted on but are the colors of the polymer clay itself, blended, then fired to make it firm and permanent.

View, jump, surf, enjoy!

And visit Art on an Island for more!

Hey! Theater lovers!

2006-11-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

Recognize these faces? If you love theater you do. And besides, I wrote about them last week (scroll down).
Sure! You’re looking at none other than Comedy and Tragedy....those classic theater masks from way back.
Ancient times done up contemporary and almost abstract. There’s a reason for the modernization. Those original guys were so goofy-looking you wouldn’t want to wear them on your lapel no matter how much you loved theater. And I’m a jewelry-maker so I want you to look good!
HOWEVER!.....if you’d like the full and interesting story of ancient theater and its masks, etc., take just a moment to check out this great site:
http://http:www.crystalinks.com/greektheater.html
and, at this site you can see more versions of the shapes: http://www.shakespearesden.com/cotrma.html

Now here’s the story about those guys up above in the photo!

The top two...pendant on the left and pin on the right...are sterling silver pins made for me by my talented husband, following drawings I had made on paper.
We both loved theater dearly, seeing many Broadway shows on the real Broadway as well as all the shows presented by the inimitable Surflight summer theater in Beach Haven, NJ. and I thought it would be cool to show that love by wearing a better-looking, contemporary version of those time honored symbols of theater.

Well....I'm a designer...so I designed.

Now, working in polymer clay, a great medium for jewelry, I've made the stylized masks again in several different versions. They're available as a pin or as a pendant from my Website: artonanisland.com.

Also on that site, check out the info about live theater here, on this island, a place you may be tempted to vacation!

A Starving Artist

2006-11-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

His name was Rob and he was about 19, 20, thin, quiet, shy, and looking totally different from the rest of us professionals in the design/fashion field. But he was one of the most totally creative, original persons I have ever known.

In an era of short hair, clean shaven faces and immaculate clothing Rob had long straggly hair, wore sandals even in the cold of winter, and clothes that barely warmed him, cut out of maybe old blankets and worn like ponchos. But he was one of the most totally creative, original persons I have ever known.

Our lives only touched for a few months in a large department store in Baltimore where I designed the windows and Rob was hired for a short time in the interior display department...I guess because he looked "arty". Store personnel were shook up by this oddity but a few of us soon learned that he continually created art....sculptures, jewelry....from scraps, depris, yes, junk, that he found in the street, gutters, trash cans....wherever. Bits of metal, plastic, wood, glass, bone. Anything that had promise. Promise that most of us can't possible see. But Rob had the eyes of an artist, and they are different eyes.

He wore the necklaces that he created....wild and wonderful....because they were his children. But soon the super-smart, elegant, high-fashioned buyers in the store were buying his work. And he hadn't even been selling. The buyers of coats, of sportswear, of dresses, etc., smart, savvy, high-fashioned people who were tired of the same old, same old, were buying Rob's funky art work. Wow!

What a lesson. Last week I wrote about a shocking event in my life, my childhood..."A sad story". Scroll down and read. How, in the French classic story a young woman wasted her life because she needed to show off by having "fine things"....expensive jewelry and the like. We live in an age of materialism, where people want to show off with expensive things. How is that working?

Rob taught us....some of us....that art is what the dictionary says it is: "An esthetically pleasing and meaningful arrangement of elements, as words, sounds, colors, shapes, etc.". Funk and Wagnalls College Dictionary. Check out your own dictionary. Then go to http://www.artonanisland.com/ and see if it fits!

Art on an Island

2006-11-18T05:33:00.000-08:00

That's it...ART on an ISLAND!! http://www.artonanisland.com/.

That's the address where you'll get all the info about THIS art and THIS island.

The art is working in polymer clay to form pieces interesting enough to use to create jewelry. Funky designs. Designs that show the waves and swirls of the ocean and the curves of the sand dunes. Because you can do that beautiful nature stuff with clay. You can't do that with strung beads or setting gemstones. Clay almost has a life of its own and it can take on the grace and movement of nature....the nature it finds in its own environment. View and enjoy those designs at http://www.artonanisland.com/.

And the environment in this case is an island 18 miles long but only a few blocks wide six miles off the coast of New Jersey. Yes! New Jersey of all places! But not the Jersey you've been hearing about! If you've never been here you can't picture it. No problem! For a yummy description and some great pictures go to http://www.artonanisland.com/this-island/ and do some clicking. Be surprised!

How's this for atmosphere: I live in on old (over 100 years) Victorian cottage here and when I look east I see the dune grasses swaying in the ocean breeze. And when I look west there may be sails gliding by on a bay that is six miles wide. And beyond that? Over the shimmering bay? Wetlands, pinelands....a dotting of small towns. Not what you thought you'd see a two-hour drive south of New York City or a one-hour drive north of glittering Atlantic City. Right? For me, the sun comes up over the Atlantic Ocean, golden on the waves. And it sets, sparkling into the bay. And the ocean plays its lullabye in the stillness of the night.

IF THERE'S A CHANCE YOU MIGHT BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO VACATION HERE SOMEDAY..Check out the addresses above! Do the clicking and enjoy! And you talented people who do arts and crafts, check out The Clay Store at http://resources.theclaystore.com/polymer-clay-jewelry. They make your creative juices flow!

A Sad Story (or, an enlightening one!)

2006-11-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

My own particular taste in jewelry may have started when I was in 4th or 5th grade and a classic story was read to our class. I think it knocked my socks off!

The Necklace" is a short story by Guy de Maupassant first published in 1884 in a French newspaper. The story has become one of Maupassant's most popular works and is well known for its twist ending.

"The Necklace" tells the story of a middle class couple, Monsieur and Madame Loisel, who are invited to a distinguished party. Madame Loisel, however, is hesitant to attend, complaining that "there's nothing so humiliating as looking poor in the middle of a lot of rich women." In addition to acquiring a new dress, at her husband's suggestion she borrows a necklace from her friend, Madame Forestier, who had become rich since they were schoolgirls together. She chooses an impressive diamond necklace and attends the party. Distressingly, Madame Loisel somehow loses the necklace during the evening.

Monsieur and Madame Loisel decide they must buy an identical diamond necklace from the jeweler as a replacement for Madame Forestier. Unable to bear the shame of this, they do not inform Madame Forestier of the change and spend the next ten years of their lives paying off the debts from the new necklace, which costs them thirty-six thousand francs. Both Monsieur and Madame Loisel are forced to take on extra jobs and live in abject poverty. At the end of the ten years, looking old and shabby, Madame Loisel is finally able to tell her old friend of the change. Madame Forestier is shocked and informs Madame Loisel that her original necklace was, in fact,a mere imitation and not real diamonds, "...worth at the very most five hundred francs!... ".

My heart ached for the plight poor Madam Loisel put herself in and I think I remember Madam Forestier's words as being: "But my dear....it was only paste!" Those words put me in a state of shock for some time! I've always felt sorry for people who "needed" expensive and impressive things and wonder if that story did a number on the rest of my class also.

"Paste" was a synthetic material from which jewelry could be made at the time and it must have looked like the real thing. Only the loss was the tragedy, not the paste. Just think! Until it was lost humble material did what was needed and presented beauty and brought happiness! Interesting.

theatre

2006-11-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

Recognize the faces on this pendant? They are the classic theatre masks, comedy and trajedy, done in a contemporary style. Want to know how important theatre is on a small island 6 miles off the coast of New Jersey? Then click on: http://www.artonanisland.com/ and then on Other Artists in the menu bar. Amazing!!!

2006-11-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

I have two great interests....art of all kinds and the Jersey Shore! My own art is funky jewelry but there's loads of other types of art here on this island just of the coast of New Jersey!

I'll be passing on loads of info....and pictures!... on these subjects but just now, for starters check out this gallery where my jewelry in on display along with some really terrific artwork! It's the Solstice Gallery at: http://web.mac.com/solsticegallery/iWeb/site/Home.html.

Enjoy! More later!

Art on an Island

2006-10-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

My two great interests are art and the seashore. All kinds of art, but what I'm doing at the moment is making jewelry of polymer clay, primarily, and I live on an island just off the coast of New Jersey. That's art on an island.

Our beaches are beautiful here on Long Beach Island. That's the beach on the left with some of my jewelry lying on it. No boardwalks, or amusements, or anything honky-tonk spoils the dunes along our beautiful coastline.

Notice on my jewelry how the colored clay imitates the swirling ocean waves and tidepools. More pictures another time! Gini