This weekend, for Live Oak’s kiln opening and sale, I went out to Justin Lambert’s home and studio to see how that all worked.

The photo he had on his site of the kiln looked interesting, a kind of cross between Noah and the Whale and … I’m not sure what.

Click here to see that earlier article.

I had no idea what he was talking about, soda, fire, whatever, and so, I had to go to see for myself. Here’s what I learned…

Wood-burning kiln

A peak inside the kiln.

Lambert doesn’t like glazing his pottery. So, he’s developed a clay body that vitrifies after being fired in his wood-burning kiln for 76 hours — the heat saturates through the clay, making it very strong.

The effects he produces on the surface of his pieces has to do with controlling the way the heat and ash go through the kiln, as well as the way he and his team load the kiln.

Here's what a piece made of the special clay looks like in its bisque form. That's Lambert holding it up for us to see.

Then, they take a piece of wadding (sort of looks like a hot-dog wreath, and glue it with Elmers to the bottom of a mug, for example, and they place that on top of a dish, and that creates different designs depending on the type of pieces that they are loading in, as well as the way the flame and the ash are moving across the surface, marking the work.

Lambert holds up the mug, so that we can see the wadding glued to its bottom. Later the wadding will be removed (obviously).

Lambert sets the cup on top of the plate, demonstrating how the pieces are loaded in the kiln.

Here's a piece already fired, showing how the markings are made, and how the ash colors the plate as it is blown across it.

Every time they do such a firing, they keep careful documentation of what works and what doesn’t: when they start firing the kiln, when they are stoking it and how much air is going in and out.

As I said before, it goes on for 76 hours and the team has to stoke it, throwing in bundles of wood (like you’d see at Publix sold for the fireplace) every five to eight minutes. They end up using two to three cords of wood. They rotate the four people on the firing crew and they also have a team of assistants to bring them the wood bundles, etc.

Realize, too, that it took them two days to load the kiln, so that they could get all the pieces positioned properly for the effects they were after.

“We want to block the flame from going right though the kiln and when it’s bouncing around inside, that’s how we get the different colors,” Lambert explained.

Here are some of the finished pieces, showing a variety of coloration and markings.

Very cool…

Lambert won’t be having another kiln opening until March, however, you can go to his ETSY site to see his work, pricing and to purchase. Click here.

You can also visit his Web site, to learn about his process. At his home, he does have a studio, and he does sell out of his studio. Click here.

This day, potter Fong Choo was on hand, so I had the good fortune to learn what he does, too.

Fong Choo holding two of his teapots.

He’s originally from Singapore, and lives in Louisville, Ky. He studied business in college, and fell in love with clay when he took a class in pottery. He currently has a show at the Lighthouse ArtCenter in Tequesta.

Now, he does something totally different from Lambert. Here’s what he said (and by the way, he fires his pieces in an electric kiln: “I fire my glazes at lower temperatures. And then I overfire them to a much higher temperature, causing overmelting, which creates jewel tones.

To get the effects he’s looking for he does endless hours of testing, and his forms have depressions that are designed to catch the overrun.

He loses 60-70 percent of his work.

The handles that you see in these photos are his new idea and latest endeavor. Since he’s getting ready for the Smithsonian Crafts Fair (April 2012, Washington D.C.) he’s playing with ideas.

“I make teapots for a living,” he said. “In Singapore, tea drinking is a way of life. Traditionally, potters make these little teapots — Yixing. But I’m not one of those potters, however their work inspires me.”

Choo will soon be going to teach at the Torpedo Factory.

Here’s a link to Choo’s site, where you can see his work and prices.

And here’s a link to the show he’s presently in at the Lighthouse ArtCenter.

Photos by Carol Korpi-McKinley

Ceramics at Live Oak Pottery Ceramics Studio

Justin Lambert of Live Oak Pottery Ceramics Studio is hosting his Third Annual Anagama Kiln Opening and Holiday Sale, on Sunday, Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. His studio is located at 17847 Brian Way, Jupiter.

To find out what anagama means and to see all about wood and soda firing (very interesting) go here.

Lambert makes functional pottery and likes to set them in groupings (just like how we pair off or join groups — or don’t — in life). “The interaction of my pots lead to certain scenarios alluding to the ideas of companionship and solitude,” he said. “Some pots need a companion and others need to stand alone. Some pieces that are presented in pairs lead to the idea of lifelong relationship. Without one of the pieces, the piece will not serve its intended purpose and may visually look incomplete.”

Also, he believes, groupings of bottles or cups invite the viewer to slow down and take notice of the subtle diversities in form and the infinite variety of surface texture and color attainable through the wood and soda firing he employs.

He is particularly interested in high alumina clay bodies in both wood and soda firing. “I reduction cool these kilns to achieve deeper colors and palettes relatively unexplored by our ceramics community. Frosty, dry, movement-rich, glazed surfaces provide information for future work, and my careful analysis of surface-to-form integration provide insight to new formulas and firing schedules.”

Lambert is influenced by all functional pottery, but is very interested in pottery from Southeast Asia, Oceania and Africa. “Their honesty, simplicity, necessity and beauty are qualities I strive for in my own work,” he said.

For more information, call him at 561-676-5453.

The Lighthouse ArtCenter’s 2^nd annual Landscape Exhibition Show awarded Debbie Lee Mostel’s SouthWest By Sky as Best in Show. The piece is an abstract mixed media expression from her collection “Technology Deconstructed/Nature Reconstructed,” and features integrated circuits, a vintage globe and Tiffany Glass, all layered over a dramatic Southwest landscape.

Mostel with "SouthWest by Sky," Mixed Media on Wood, 48 by 24 by 12 inches, $3,200

Mostel has two other pieces in the show, which runs through December 31. JoAnne Berkow, gallery owner of Rosetta Stone Fine Art Gallery in Jupiter,  judged the show, which is comprised of 130 paintings, photographs and mixed media pieces.

As an avid nature lover and environmental activist, Mostel asks, “From the oceans to the deserts, are we going to take care of these gifts? Technology makes our lives more exciting and interesting but we still need to use this legacy wisely. Stepping back can be as important as stepping forward.”

Mostel, trained as a goldsmith and glassblower with a BFA from California College of the Arts, is an avid collector of the unusual. Combined into her works, the viewer will find tin wind-up toys, mummified amphibians, vintage hood ornaments and optically perfect Pyrex glass. To see her collection, go to Mostel’s Web site.

The Lighthouse ArtCenter is at 373 Tequesta Drive, Tequesta. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For information, call (561) 746-3101.

Send in the clowns. Colorful collectors clowning around outside Scope Miami

This past week (Dec 1-4), art lovers of the world descended on Miami for Art Basel and its host of satellite fairs, public venues and private spaces.

Once one actually gets into the thick of things, and starts to comprehend just how much is going on, it’s easy to see how it can take four days to see it all (and why platform high-heel shoes may be artsy and fashionable, but not a terribly wise choice of footwear).

On Saturday, we managed to get through a few of the fairs, at high speed, and just scratching the surface.

So little time. So much art. And a whole world with its own language, sights and sounds. An international art fair like this one is like visiting a foreign place, where one’s mind becomes a sponge soaking it all up, while saving the processing for later…

Dead Flies

But getting back to shoes: At right, these comfortable sneakers — 26 pairs –were seen at Art Basel.

“Dead Flies” the installation was called. Handcrafted, using cast polyurethane resin, stitched canvas, shoe laces, cable, enamel and acrylic paint. For fun, I asked, “what size do they come in?” And received a serious answer. “Dimensions vary.”

And these (as are others we’ve seen in real life) appeared to be thrown with abandon. Over those cables. Just so.

Richard Hughes (lives and works in London) is the artist and “Dead Flies” was exhibited by Anton Kern Gallery, New York. Shown at Art Basel.

Rich Little Girls

And since we’re on the subject of clothing, here’s a wallfull of Victorian children’s dresses made of Dutch wax printed cotton and set against a striking blue background.

The artist is Yinka Shonibare. “Little Little Girls” was exhibited by Stephen Friedman Gallery at Art Basil.

Shonibare, 49, is a British-Nigerian artist, who lives in the UK.

“People have come to associate the fabric with Africa, but actually it is Indonesian-influenced fabric produced by the Dutch for sales to the African market,” he wrote. “It was made in Hyde…and I buy it in Brixton market. I like the fact that something seen as being African is actually the product of quite complex cultural relationships.”

A work by Umberto Ciceri using a lenticular lens

Ballerina

The work above, by Umberto Ciceri, is actually the result of a series of video still frames taken of a section of one of his ballerina works (at right).

Every frame is manipulated, pixel-by-pixel, to blur the images and obtain different color variations. Then they are shredded into many threads and intertwined together to create a silk-like pattern that is printed and placed behind a lenticular lens.

Since the artwork has been purposely blurred, it is impossible for the viewer to put the image into focus, and he or she must reinterpret the image in such a way that the figurative becomes abstract and vice-versa.

Ciceri works in Bologna. These pieces were exhibited by White Room Contemporary Art Gallery Positano and shown at Red Dot Art Fair.

"The Winding Way of Life" by Nahila Campos

Nahila Campos

Nahila Campos of Miami (and originally from Venezuela) is an architect-turned-artist.

Although she does not see life as easy, she keeps a positive attitude. For example…

Mixed into her road (the white ribbon-like strip that works its way through the canvas, you can see bits of rock if you look close, she points out. But her rocks are really tiny crystals, with all the magic that crystals have. It’s all about viewpoint, she believes.

“I want to represent our city spaces as a new visual model,” she said. “Viewers are confronted by hectic and rambling locations where they can journey and stray. Aerial spaces are populated by surprises and dreamlike visions, where humble and unnoticed city components are spotlighted.”

Sojiro Takarmura

The work at the right is by Sojiro Takarmura and was shown by Gallery Edel in Red Dot.

Interesting kind of body art, a tattoo that reminds me of a popular much loved Japanese china pattern that I’ve seen just about everywhere, including my parents’ dining-room table.

Jane Seymour

Below  is Jane Seymour at Red Dot with one of her Open Heart sculptures.

“I am always painting and designing,” she said. “Art is what I do for me.”

"Homage to Magritte"

Palm Beach Gallery Biba artist Robert St. Crox, whose “Homage to Magritte” is pictured above, said he gets his best ideas in the middle of the night. Which is when the image of the house in the background came to him. The figure of the man emerged later. He cut out that figure from the front of the house, hung an orange tree upside down, inside, and, outside, repeated the figure of the man, with a single orange as his face. Shown at Art Scope.

"Boyscouts"

Ursula Sprecher and Andi Cortellini, collaborative photographers from Basel, Switzerland, won the grand-prize of the Art Takes Miami competition with their “Friends in Leisure” series.

Each piece, a kind of “family” photograph, captures the inherent idiosyncrasies of a club or society of every variety. The group portraits are staged, with club members posed in an environment that plays off of each group’s hobby. We are defined by the company we keep, believe these two artists. Shown at Art Scope.

Room Divider

I’m always on the lookout for interesting “furnishings.” This room divider, above, dices, slices, shreds. It’s by Mona Hatoum and was exhibited by Galerie Max Hetzler. At Art Basel.

"Female Head Madonna #21"

The madonna, above, by Gugger Petter, was shown at Andrea Schwartz Gallery of San Francisco at Red Dot. Petter uses newspaper as her medium, weaving the neutrality of the black and white print with minimal amounts of color from the Sunday comics section or advertisements. The writer in me is glad to see that newspapers are still appreciated…

"Big White Pussy"

“Big White Pussy,” by Marion Peck, was exhibited by Sloan Fine Art, New York. Alix Sloan said that this pussy was in much demand and sold quickly, with other buyers lining up. Quite a character, this cat. At Art Scope.

Found Art

Presented by the Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Greek artist Eftihis Patsourakis arranges found amateur paintings by lining up the horizons to form a new landscape. At Art Basel.

Podrome #6

This is a section of a painting by Akio Aoki shown at Vermilho Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Here’s how this was done, according to the gallery representative. “The artist starts off with white canvas and white glue. He puts the canvas down (onto the floor) to get the remains of the floor. He stores it, aging the memory, and he makes them into empty bookshelves, which are full of memories.” These are all from different floors at different places and at different times. The places where the lines don’t line up are called headaches (podrome). This particular work is called “Podrome #6.”

Find the perfect handmade holiday gift — unique bowls, ceramic sculptures, platters, pitchers, cups, mugs and teapots made by 15 professional and student artists at the 8th Annual Ceramic Art Show and Sale, Palm Beach State College, the Art Gallery at Eissey Campus. Mark your calendar for Friday, Dec 2, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday Dec 3, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ellen Bates

Ellen Bates of Palm Springs is currently exploring the effects of atmospheric firing in both soda and wood kilns. With porcelain as her clay body, she is developing a sense for using various clay slips in combination with thoughtful positioning in the kiln to enhance the decorative effects of flame, soda and wood ash as they mark and glaze the work during firing. “Throughout my career, I have been attracted to a juxtaposition of rustic, earthy, textured or matte glazes with strongly colored clear, silky glazes,” she said.

Soda Fired Sandwich Plate by Ellen Bates, $40.

“I think of this as “precious color,” like a still, turquoise pool in a field of gray volcanic rock, or a surviving red maple leaf after a forest fire. I am experimenting with techniques to add elements of vivid color to the natural, earth tones produced by these firing methods.”

Soda Fired Cheese Plate by Ellen Bates, $40.

Joshua Meives

Joshua Meives of North Palm Beach has always been fascinated by the world around him. Little did he know that his strong tactile nature and love for texture and color as a child would pave the way for the future artist he would become. His first experience on the potter’s wheel at the age of 16 was not as frustrating as it can be for most. As he interacted with the clay, it was then that he became aware of his natural talent and skill.

Joshua Meives' "Trancendance Tile," $250.

“I understood that the clay was an extension of my mind as a medium for expression and creativity and with this new understanding, I formed a passion for the act of creating. From then on I’v been captivated by the clay and learned how to throw production quality pieces with artist David Bradley, raku fire with instructor Sue Raymond and I was able to study high-fire wood techniques with Don Bendel in Flagstaff, Arizona.”

Large Bowl by Joshua Meives, $100.

Hoping to perfect his techniques with a strong historical and philosophical foundation Meives graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History with an emphasis in art theory and philosophy from Northern Arizona University. Currently, he continues to cultivate his artistic gifts through different mediums such as music, painting, writing and of course ceramics, all of which can be viewed and are available for purchase on his website www.meivesmedia.com.

The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus is located in the BB building, 3160 PGA Blvd. For more information, contact Karla Walter, art gallery specialist, at 561-207-5015.

Caren Hackman is hosting a show and sale of her work in Palm Beach Gardens by appointment through December 31. “A large grouping of pieces out on exhibit with an organization in Gainesville this year. So, this exhibit is an opportunity to open my studio to visitors so that they can stroll through and see a collection of my work.”

House in Giverny, 24 by 18 inches, oil on canvas, $450

She enjoys working in all three of the media that she uses: watercolor, acrylic and oil.

"Yaffo," 36" x 24" acrylic on canvas, $950

Hackman

“I choose the medium I will use for a painting after deciding how I feel about the subject matter,” she said. “The choice of media is an emotional one. If I am after a great deal of freedom and want to feel movement and flow I might choose watercolor. If I want to move more slowly with my work and am after a deeper more mellow, rich feeling I might gravitate towards working on the piece in oils. The acrylics offer a middle ground for me. I work primarily with Golden Fluid Acrylics which offers me options to simulate the action of watercolors as well as the richness gained from working with oils.”

"Ginger," acrylic on canvas, 36 by 24 inches, $950.

Hackman also is interested in a variety of subject matter, either studying one for several years or going back and forth between two. “I like to work with close up images of plants. The value patterns are intriguing to me and hold my attention. That’s what you see in Ginger.”

She also has a great love for architecture and texture, she said. “I enjoy working with contrasts such as the contrast between aged wood or craggy stone work and lush plant life in House in Giverney . In Yaffo Contrast I’ve also included the bright red motor scooter which forms a stark contrast to thousands-of-year-old stone work and lush green vines. My third interest which is the moving human figure Slide image.. Most of these are executed in watercolor. I find working with moving images is challenging and exhilarating.”

"Slide," 22 by 30 inches, $950.

Hackman sketches and photographs her subject matter on location, and most often, she completes her work in her studio. Every year or so she likes to travel to a destination with all her gear and paint on location. She has won two artist-in-residence positions with National Parks (Herbert Hoover national Historic Site and Necedah National Wildlife Refuge) where she was able to draw and paint on location.

To see her studio exhibit, call Hackman at (561) 622-4884.

"April Showers," by Feliciano is porcelain and wire 5 feet X 21 inches.

The intersection of nature, creation and human influence on both is explored by three Palm Beach State College artists in “Natural Interactions,” an exhibit that runs from Oct. 18 through Nov. 23, with the artist’s reception on Tuesday, Oct. 18 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus.

Nazare Feliciano

Professor Nazaré Feliciano, an 11-year-instructor at Palm Beach State who lives in Palm Beach Gardens, teaches ceramics and art appreciation at the Eissey Campus.

Her ceramic pieces represent atmospheric interactions in nature. “Clouds and the formation of clouds, water, heat, and air and the interactions between these elements are present in my art work,” she said.

“Clay is porous at the fired stage, enabling trapped smoke to penetrate its body. The porcelain clouds with cascading rain are filled with flowers; this my way of celebrating the bounty of spring.”

Karla Walter

Art Gallery Specialist Karla Walter’s mixed media ceramics of crows explores the similarities between the social interactions among crows and that of humans.

“As an artist, it is important to recognize a message and seize that moment. Crows are messengers, omens for change. Several personal encounters with crows have compelled me to express my personal creativity through this messenger.”

"Communion," by North Palm Beach resident Karla Walter is Ceramic and mixed media, priced at $1,000

Christina Major

Christina Major, adjunct drawing instructor, creates oil paintings on canvas and wood.

She catalogues her memories and thoughts along with the thoughts of the subject by painting under, into and over the subject in her own handwriting.

“I am interested in creating art which allows the viewer the ability to connect to it from their own grounding, to participate with it rather than to merely observe it,” says Major.

"Components of Self," by Christina Major is an oil on canvas, 48 by 60 inches priced at $6,000.

There will be approximately 20 pieces on display, and all work is available for sale, with prices ranging from $250 to $6,000.

The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus is located in the BB building, 3160 PGA Blvd. Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact Karla Walter at 561-207-5015 or visit  <a href=”http://www.palmbeachstate.edu/x10295.xml”>www.palmbeachstate.edu/x10295.xml</a>.

Nature is the underlying theme for “Passages,” an exhibition by two Palm Beach State College art faculty, Justin Lambert and Dennis Tishkowsky at The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus, Sept. 13 through Oct. 13. An artists’ reception on Tuesday, Sept. 13 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Each artist will have approximately 30 pieces on display, and all work is available for sale, with prices ranging from $25 to $300.

Justin Lambert

Justin Lambert of Jupiter teaches ceramics. He creates pottery influenced by Asian and African cultures.

The firing process he chooses provides a direct interaction between the clay and the user. His work is not covered with any glaze, rather the firing itself glazes the work, enriches the surface and brings out intrinsic color from the clay.

“It is the interaction of my pots that lead to certain scenarios alluding to the ideas of companionship and solitude,” Lambert said. “Groupings of bottles or cups are about inviting myself, and the viewer to slow down and take notice of the subtle diversities in form and the infinite variety of surface texture and color attainable through wood and soda firing. The scale of my work brings the viewer in close to examine the subtleties of form and surface, and creates a more intimate experience through its utilitarian qualities.”

Three Piece Place Setting by Justin Lambert is priced at $125.

Dennis Tishkowsky

Dennis Tishkowsky of West Palm Beach teaches photography.

“I still see myself as a painter, but my brush is my camera,” he said. “Composition is not accidental and patience is a key factor in my work.” Using a digital 35mm camera, Tishkowsky photographs landscapes and still life images in the American Southwest, Florida and Michigan, often returning to a location many times to get the lighting he desires.

The Art Gallery at Eissey Campus is located in the BB building, 3160 PGA Blvd. Gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact Karla Walter, art gallery specialist, at 561-207-5015 or visit www.palmbeachstate.edu/x10295.xml.

The" Scarf," by Dennis Tishkowsky. $150 each framed piece. $75.00 for 12x18 prints, $25.00 11.5 x14 prints.

The Riddler

at the Norton

The Norton Museum’s current special exhibit of “Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television,” on display through September 4, presents a delightful collection of outfits worn during the original productions of Sci-Fi films and TV episodes.

The “Star Wars” films and the “Star Trek” series – in all its versions – take up much of the exhibition, but there are plenty of other colorful outfits to see: the Riddler’s snazzy green suit and swirly jacket dazzle the eyes; Eldon Tyrell’s robe from “Blade Runner” is royally impressive; Batman’s sidekick Robin’s red, green, and yellow felt clothes look very much like a Halloween costume.

The wall captions inform about costume designers choosing shapes, colors, and fabrics to create impressions appropriate to the characters’ outstanding qualities, Batman being an interesting, somewhat ambiguous example. While audiences usually put him on the positive side, his costume, so the caption reads, represents “vigilante lawlessness” and an “uneasy truce between good and evil.” The costume designers’ real art is nicely illustrated by the display of such favorite characters as Darth Vader, whose attire was creatively assembled from many departments, ranging from the military / WW II section through the motorcycle and the ecclesiastical divisions.

This exhibition appears to draw a wide range of audiences. Four-and-a-half-year-old Kieran, who plays Star Wars Lego games, said he liked Obi-Wan Kenobi best; his parents are both avid Star Wars fans who saw the original trilogy when it first came out, and they enjoyed their visit to the exhibit very much.

Finally, it seems more could have been made of the use of medieval and other pre-modern materials in these Sci-Fi classics (for example, the plot of the 1956 film “The Forbidden Planet” has been read as based on Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”).

And some questions kept coming up throughout the walk through the displays: why do the guys’ costumes look relatively comfortable (to totally cool) and most of the women’s outfits seem un-wearable? Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine of Star Trek “Voyager”) said her extremely tight metallic catsuit was “brutal to wear.” But those questions probably go beyond the realm of this exhibit. If you want to get out of the house, this is a real option!

The Norton Museum of Art is at 1415 S. Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach. Hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Hours Friday are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This was written by Beate Rodewald, Associate Professor of English at PBA; her research includes utopian studies and science fiction and fantasy.

Karen McGovern

Since artist Karen McGovern grew up in the Florida wilderness, it shaped every aspect of her life.

“When I moved to a remote town in Florida at the age of ten, my whole world changed and I became enthralled with wildlife and wild art. With alligators in my back yard and wood storks in the trees, I embraced the natural world around me,” she said.

In Loxahatchee, she lives with endangered parrots, primates and African antelope on her 30-plus-acre wildlife preserve.

Her career in conservation biology was almost pre-destined. Because of her work, she travels to the Caribbean islands, African savannas and Mexican jungles.

Her art and jewelry design also directly reflect her deep respect for nature, and her passion to preserve creatures living wild in the world.

Her latest series, “Sacred Salvage,” includes “Story Book” and “Poetry Piece” mixed-media necklaces, lockets and shields. The designs are created around her original short stories and poems, which are included with each piece. Printed on parchment paper, her stories offer a peek into her vivid imagination and are an obvious reflection of her passion for art, nature, mythology, and folklore.

Each design is singular and incorporates intricate handmade polymer clay pendants and beads, handmade brass and copper lockets, vintage photographs, antiquities, sterling silver, and found objects.

"Varacasite" (or Earth Stone) is a piece of 20-by-17-mm hand-cut varacasite set in sterling silver on sterling silver (band size 9). $85.

"Fertile Imaination - Bad Idea" was inspired by the overwhelming overpopulation of humans on the planet. It is a 2-inch-tall antique-porcelain German doll body with a cast-bronze baby and bronze fibers. It has a miniature functional abacus and miniature functional hourglass. It also has a sterling silver wire and gold over pewter gear accents and is on an 18-inch sterling-silver chain. $125.

"Innocent" is 2.5-by- 3-inch pendant constructed from hammered brass with antique optic lens (circa 1890) and antique photograph (unknown), text transparency, antique skeleton key, sterling silver and copper gears, copper wire accents, sterling silver discs. It is cold connected using steel micro screws and is on an 18-inch copper hoop chain. $85.

A unique example of wearable art, many of her creations are offered with a wood-and-glass shadow box for display when not being worn.

Karen donates most of her proceeds to support wildlife conservation programs through the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation, www.rarespecies.org.

“Art and nature are one and the same to me. You cannot have one without the other. My goal is to create art that represents this link and raises awareness and funds for wildlife conservation.”

McGovern’s work is on exhibit at the Clay Glass Metal Stone Gallery, 605 Lake Ave, Lake Worth. The gallery’s art events are every first and third Friday of the month, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m..  Her work can also be seen on her site www.beadkeepers.com.