bamboo forest

bamboo forests are slowly disappearing from our earth -- this piece depicts the sad decline that we are experiencing -- fashioned from dried bamboo, agate, reed, seed pods, dried gecko with glass bead eye -- is this what we will be left with?

witch hazel

this piece was inspired by an old metal pharmacutical lid for "witch hazel" --
using eye hooks, found metal pieces, metal bead, handmade paper, reed and horse hair, i fashioned this piece to make a play on the name "witch hazel" as well as the connection to magical fetishes used to protect us from the unknown --(witch hazel is an old household remedy to keep inflammation at bay)

garden of eden

while at a flea market last week looking for interesting found objects, i discovered this wonderful object- i immediately envisioned this piece in my mind-- a depiction of the garden of eden with the snake coiling out from the tree of knowledge-- i fashioned the snake from jute wrapped with carpet warp and porcupine quills and finished the head of the snake with handmade paper --later a friend identified the object as a mezuzah. after researching it , i find that it is made from stainless steel, handpainted metalic and acrylic paints, swarvoski crystals, glass, and wood -

quilt detail 1 and 2

i'm adding these detail pics for those of you who wish a closer view-- what do you think?

quilt

this is a piece that i have created for an upcoming exhibit - consisting of hardware cloth that is cut and knotted together to form 3-deminsional squares -- hanging within these squares is another square made of handmade paper -- from the edges of the knotted hardware cloth are lengths of hemp cord, tipped with pieces of handmade paper -- these pieces are then knotted onto carpet backing- the size is 29 inches by 29 inches

feedback

hi everybody -- i love the comments that some of you leave -- if it is easier for some of you, you can email me directly with comments at osilva@grandecom.net -
i find that your imput allows me to see my pieces from a different viewpoint and in doing so also allows me to improve my work -- thank you all so much for your interest- hope to hear from you soon -- oscar

spawn

i had fun with this one - bamboo, carpet warp, porcupine quills, dried seed pod(love the curling effect) and raffia

confessor

created from bamboo, horsehair, clay beads, wood, handmade paper, acorn top, and stone lingham

eclipse

handmade paper, metal, glass bead, and turquoise

nova

a burst of colour - carved soapstone, carpet warp, bamboo, metal and glass bead

predator

handmade paper , bone ,horn ,and metal embellishment

nuture

this piece was created using carpet warp, hardware cloth, bone, bamboo, and glass bead

chupacabra

new piece - made of bone, handmade paper, metal, horse hair, glass beads and turquoise - emblematic of the mythological creature of texas

save the date

here are some shows that i will be involved in that are upcoming --so save the date and come and enjoy --
first -- the peoples gallery at austin city hall -- the opening reception is friday, february 18th, from 6.00 -9.00-- the exhibit features over 100 artists and the exhibit will be up for a year- i am happy to have my piece "cuero" in the exhibit--
second - the 11th annual wildflower art show in salado, texas-- it is held march 26th and 27th from 9.00 - 5.00 on saturday and 9.00 - 4.00 on sunday
third -- the 2011 artwalk in fayetteville, texas -- the artwalk is held on april 30th and may 1st - this is always a wonderful show full of great art and a fantastic get away for the weekend -- hope to see you there