Inspired by the amazing work of Ramalama Creatures (check out her fantastic Instagram), I bought some Fimo and started playing around with the idea of making a little sculpture of my dog Mochi. I spent way too much time on it and ended up painting it several times over but it was really fun and gave me an even greater appreciation of Raminta's talents and photography. I have a long way to go, it really lacks the fine detail I was shooting for, but I felt like it was a strong first effort. Here's how my MiniMo turned out. 

When I finished MiniMo, my best friend Eva said "Hey, that's just like the one you did of Jazzy!". I had absolutely no recollection of doing a sculpture of my previous chihuahua Jazzmin but sure enough, Eva produced the little modeling clay figure from a dusty cupboard.  

Digital art using  phone apps and Photoshop
In March of 2018 our dear friend and neighbor Alicia had a stroke and then a seizure. Out of the blue she was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease at the young age of just 56. This dreadful prion disease strikes with no warning and there is no treatment or cure. She died just three months after her first symptoms of forgetfulness. We visited with her the day before she passed away and that night I took to the computer in an attempt to process my emotions around her sudden illness. Alicia loved bright colors, purple in particular. To me she was always smiling yet she also had a wonderfully sharp wit and dry sense of humor. When I found this photo of her on Facebook it provided the perfect starting point. Later, at her memorial service, we spent time with her daughters and beautiful family, some of whom wore traditional Oaxacan dresses.  I was really honored by her daughter's kind words about the portrait of her that I had made. 

Thank you so much to everyone who joined me on Friday, November 1st, 2013 (Dia de Los Muertos) for my art show. The event featured my Happy Hallow Dia collection of new cultural relics, "Recuerdo" (13 years in the making!), a community altar to which some guests added photos and the names of their "muertos" (departed friends and relatives), Pan de Muertos (delicious Mexican sugar bread), great music (Lila Downs), fragrant marigolds, soft candles and more. It all took place at Anneville Studio - the studio of my partner San Diego Metalsmith and Jewelry Metals instructor Anne Wolf. Long-lost friends and new visitors enjoyed the Dia show and also got to view Anne's incredible mokume gane custom wedding rings and other works of wearable art. View photos.