Our youngest daughter LOVES anything that involves cooking, and she’s also enchanted by tiny objects. So I decided to paint the top of an old mint tin to resemble a stove, then I created some cooking objects that could be stowed away inside for a miniature kitchen set. So far, it’s been a huge amount...Continue Reading

I finally finished this wire sculpture for a restaurant here in Portland. It’s based off the logo that I designed for them. If you’re ever in Portland, it will soon be hanging in the Daily Cafe in the Pearl. (It’s an awesome cafe by the way.) And of course these days I can’t resist turning...Continue Reading

Last night I made this little mixed media bird with various scraps from my art studio – wood, feathers, wire, and fabric scraps by the awesome people at Umbrella Prints. Not sure what I’ll do with him yet. Maybe a stop-motion animation skit would be fun.Continue Reading

Our new baby girl loves looking at the Modern Paper Mobile for Babies that I made awhile back, but her favorite place to relax is in her bouncy seat. So I made this simple stand with some scrap wood and wire. It’s very lightweight and sturdy, so I can carry it around the house along...Continue Reading

My wife’s birthday was this week, and we made her some necklaces. The kids made bead necklaces, and I wanted try something with wire. It worked pretty well. I just bent sterling silver wire with pliers, and then gently pounded it flat, using a slightly rounded hammer. I took less than 15 minutes total. I...Continue Reading

Here is a project I did for Junior Magazine, and I thought it would make a fun craft or gift for Mother’s Day. They are standing paper flowers. The idea was inspired by a paper ornament from Ann Wiseman’s book, Making Things (One of my favorite kids craft books.) The paper pedal circles slide on...Continue Reading

Here is the music video for Mnemonic Sounds! I decided to go with an abstract art theme for the video. It ended up working quite well I think. The band came to my studio last week, and we had a great time shooting it. Everyone got to be involved, which made for a lovely variety of puppeteering...Continue Reading

I’ve been given the exciting honor of creating a music video for the amazing Portland band, Mnemonic Sounds. It’s going to be a ballet of puppets and toys, which I think will go perfectly with the band’s enchanting electronic pop sound. We’re going to shoot the video next week, and I can’t wait! Until then, here’s...Continue Reading

I’ve been busy with a lot of art commissions lately. If you’d like a look, here are some images of a wire sculpture I’ve been working on this week. I designed a logo for a restaurant here in Portland, and am also making them this 5 foot long metal wire sculpture to hang from their...Continue Reading

Tiffany from Simply Modern Mom asked me to join her “Wrap it Up” party. I chose to do some more magazine wrap. I love digging through old magazines and finding fun pages to use. (Here are a couple more I posted awhile back.) You’ll find some great inspiration for more gift wrapping ideas at Simply...Continue Reading

A few months ago Parents Magazine asked me to design the Thanksgiving craft for their November issue.  I just picked it up at the grocery store last night!  If you want to try making one then you can see the craft and instructions here on the Parents website. And I also have instructions for wooden...Continue Reading

Jack and Tess have always loved swings.  One of their favorite activities in my art room is swinging the climbing gorilla toy that I made over a year ago.  So now I’ve added another swing to the mix.  A very simple one using bent wire and wood scrap.  I made it so the guy comes...Continue Reading

The other day, while I had the paper clips out, I thought it would be fun to make a barrel of monkeys type game by bending them into hook shapes.  Jack had a good time figuring out how to get them all linked together, and also how to get them apart.Continue Reading

I made a little sheep this morning out of wire and scrap material.  It’s simple, but it feels good, and it seems to like standing on my Olle Eksell book.  I’ll let the kids play with it when they get up from their naps.Continue Reading

There was one corner in my art studio that didn’t have enough light, so I thought it would be interesting to try and make a lamp. I found an old socket in the garage, bent some wire, and sewed a shade from some fabric. It definitely looks homemade, which may or may not be good....Continue Reading

A few days ago I got to spend some time at the Portland Art Museum on my birthday.  I hadn’t been there in awhile and was really inspired by the Native American exhibits.  Dance wands, totem poles, jewelry. So I came home and dreamt up the idea for this toy.  A kind of interactive art...Continue Reading

I finished the dollhouse!  At least for now.  I’m sure I’ll never stop making furniture for it.  It’s too much fun.  My son especially loves organizing and arranging the furniture.  The guys in the family are playing with dollhouses and the girls are out riding bicycles.  Nice.Continue Reading

I’ve started to make some doll house furniture.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a few months now.  My kids love playing with doll houses.  I bent a little chair out of wire, and finally found a use for the awesome hand printed fabric scraps I got from Umbrella Prints.  Got out the hot...Continue Reading

I’ve been wanting to make some wire animal sculptures for awhile, and finally got around to it. I thought it would be fun to make the heads out of wood and paint them. They’re definitely Alexander Calder and Joan Miró inspired. Also below is a quick video of me making one, if you want to...Continue Reading