mini: treasure

Lots to tell about this one!

In May 1995, I had a residency at Hambidge Arts Colony in Rabun Gap, GA. The garnets were collected from Betty's Creek, down the road from my cabin. The mica was... in the driveway? (I think).
Afterwards, I drove up to New England, hung out in Providence for a bit, then up to Barneveld, NY for a spell. Then it was back on the road for a very circuitous drive home via I-90 to Seattle. Before heading south, I stopped at Pike's Place fish market for razor clams, oysters + salmon to feast on with Lisa + Tim in Gresham, OR. Tim grilled it all to perfection. The pearl was in my oyster.

The pillbox was an OTIS 87 graduation gift from Sage.

mini: keys

random keys. I have no idea what they unlock.

mini: scottie

how did this Monopoly piece end up with my jewelry?

mini: grandfather's cartoon dog

not sure that my sketch really captures this so here's a scan of the same:

my mom's dad was known for his quirky drawings of dogs. this one was drawn on 1/8" painted wood (cut from ?) and has a wooden base saying "Mr Guy 2"

mini: paris

Patucci + Mark brought a bunch of these back from their trip to Paris. Je l'aime!

mini: airplane pin

I got this either at a store on Columbus in NYC or at The Front Porch in Providence. One of the ubiquitous tin pins distributed by Easy Aces and sold for 25¢ at gift shops in the 70/80s.

mini: angel pin

My friends Patucci + Mark sold these in their store "The Front Porch" which was located above Anthony's Drugstore at the corner of Angell + Thayer in Providence RI. Did they find them at Wolfe Myrow, the fantastic costume jewelry jobber on Atwells? Or someplace else?

mini: cheese tray

Another dollhouse item that I turned into a pin by gluing on a pinback. I used to wear this at Christmastime as an ironic gesture. It's too old and faded now and does anyone get cheese trays anymore?

alligator pumps

5.29.10
Vintage Alligator Pumps
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"Prom-ettes"
1979?
Roxy Delux
Thayer St. Prov RI
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These shoes are sexy and not slutty. Sadly, the leather dried out and cracked.
Another pair of sit + pose shoes

mini: tangerine

mini: tangerine
Originally uploaded by anne m bray

mini: tomato

mini: tomato
Originally uploaded by anne m bray

frederick's platforms

5.22.10
Frederick's of Hollywood Platforms
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July 1996
Frederick's in an Indianapolis mall
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A souvenir of my midlife crisis. These were bought for me. When I lived in Indianapolis for six weeks. What was I thinking?

trashy lingerie leopard

5.22.10
Trashy Lingerie Leopard Print Barbie Shoes
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1998
Trashy Lingerie
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I will pose in these but please don't ask me to walk around in them

mini: 3 buttons

these buttons came from a 70s sweater -- a body-hugging wide rib knit style with lots and lots of mini buttons. only vaguely remember the garment, but I loved (and saved) the buttons.

mini: necklace

Barbie necklace of glass beads

moleskines

moleskines
Originally uploaded by anne m bray
A lot of my fellow Everyday Matters sketchers rhapsodize about their Moleskine sketchbooks. I never really "got" the attraction until I started sketching in them. This came about because Moleskines are what ArtHouse sends for their "Sketchbook Projects"

Now I think I might be hooked...

Above are my current "family" of: 8 x 5" (originally for "Sketchbook 2010" never completed, turned into a mostly private book about health issues), a 5.5 x 3.5" (shoes), and 4 x 2.5" (mini)

aldo strappy sandals

5.19.10
Aldo Strappy Sandals
with mylar pailettes
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early 2000s
on Santa Monica 3rd St Promenade
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Very girly + pretty + hard to stand around in! Have a very cool geometric "hour glass" heel

"buffalo" sandals

5.19.10
Indian "Buffalo" Sandals with hand painting by Patucci
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when did I get these? I have no idea. Sometime in the 80s [or 90s?], I would think. Did Patucci send them to me? Not sure.
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Too delicate to wear on concrete.
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I think I ordered my first pair of these in 1970 / from an ad in the New Yorker.

mini: wooden clogs

From 1989 - 1994 I worked at Mattel, designing Barbie Dolls. As part of the team to bring CAD into Mattel's design process, I went to Michigan with Anita + Lynn to train on U4ia software (now owned by Lectra and renamed) at CDI in Grand Rapids.

We did NOT spend all of our time in training! Holland was one of our stops and I collected a bunch of Barbie sized Dutch items.

A plain pair of wooden clogs purchased then were used on the prototype for Dolls of the World Dutch Barbie and they were sent over to China to copy for the production moulds.
The hat was also copied from a Holland-bought sample.







These sketched here I found in the same box with the mini Hormel can.

mini: tape dispenser

I think the package had 12 of these (and not sure if I still have it with the rest of the unused ones). It looked great - rows of little dispensers lined up like 9s in transparent neon colors. Purchased in a 99¢ Only Store knockoff in Culver City. Not sure if still there - they had the STRANGEST assortment of merch.

mini: safety pin

this bent safety pin is still around because I'm low on safety pins.

mini: tabasco

1/8 fl oz of Tabasco from The Boiling Pot in Austin, TX.

Sev and I LOVE the Boiling Pot. We eat there EVERY time we visit Austin. We've amassed a collection of their mini signature Tabascos -- great for Road Trip food emergencies.

mini: Hormel corned beef

I found this in a box full of little stuff in the garage while looking for something else. It's dollhouse food from an accessory line circa 1978. Dubbed "Reality in a Box" by my pal Wendy, it was comprised of pins made up of little dioramas glued into 2x2" plastic boxes. Aline had seen some cool pins at Reminiscence that were basically pin backs glued onto train set accessories (like people on a park bench). We loved this and decided to make some. It was difficult getting the pin backs to adhere to the items. Some film cannisters were laying around and I thought of the mini diorama concept. (I was big on making dioramas for book reports in grade school). Eventually, I used clear plastic boxes found on Canal St. I'll try to find some samples...

Gee, it's really easy to sketch small sketches of small things. I've already done 3 before breakfast!

mini: 1 red point

This little item caught my eye walking in the alley from the library to the post office. I came very close to passing it by, but the red color intrigued me. Had no idea what the stiff pressed paper thing was -- from a board game? I posted it to the "Found It" FaceBook group and discovered that it was a OPA rationing token from 1944-45 (more here).

How did this get discarded in the alley? I'm sure that's a whole other story.

mini: Barbie flipflop

It's the start of another ArtHouse Sketchbook Project. The theme for May/June is "mini". (I signed up for their "Sketchbook of the Month" series, so every month I'm getting a new blank Moleskine sketchbook with a theme assigned for the month.)

The envelope from ArtHouse was teeny tiny and inside was a 4-1/8 x 2-1/2" black Moleskine Volant Notebook, Xsmall (amz aff)



So cute! I love small items! I decided to start with a sketch of the Barbie flipflop that Juan sent me as my "prize" for winning week 13 in the "Found It: Urban Artifacts" FaceBook group. I'm going to draw my prize winning find next.
I've chosen ink and prisma pencil as the media for this book.







It makes me chuckle that I'm starting this book with a shoe drawing while still working (sort of -- fallen WAY out of the habit) on the "shoes" book.

crocs mary jane

5.12.10
Crocs Mary Janes
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2009
Same discount shoe place in S.M.
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Argh! My poor feet can't breathe in these. Wore for my last opening. Torture. Going to Good Will.

hush puppies sandals

5.12.10
Hush Puppies Sandal
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2009
Some discount shoe place in Santa Monica
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An attempt at "nice" sandals (vs cheap plastic) for work. Not very comfortable. Oh well.

yangtze sandals #2

Yangtze Plastic Sandals
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2004
Cat St.
Hong Kong China
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I stocked up on more of these on my 2nd trip to HK.
Black, green, red, purple.
Black are wearing out
Need another trip to HK!

cadmium red medium

wow. I just did 5 sketches this morning.

naples yellow

cadmium orange

I squeeze out every last bit that I can.

cerulean blue

sap green

time to get back to the paint tubes!