Barbara Conte-Gaugel knows my quirky husband well. In mid-May she sent me an email to let me know that she was getting rid of a male mannequin and she was wondering if Dan wanted it for his rock shows. The answer was a sound: "Yes!"

So on May 27 Dan and I drove down to the Delavan center in Syracuse, NY to pick up this mannequin from Barbara's art studio. But, once we got there, we ended up hanging out in Barbara's beautiful studio catching up on all things art, paint, and tools, and listening to the stories behind Barbara's fascinating collection of found-objects.

Lately, Barbara has been focusing on painting oil landscapes but she is also a mixed media artist and an impressive seamstress.

Barbara writes:

I want to be an oil painter when I grow up. There, I’ve said it. This is the gold ring that I have been after while pursuing “any art medium that takes my fancy.” As a multi-media artist, I work in painting and assemblage as well as photography. While it could sound like a lack of discipline for one to go from one medium to another, that is not necessarily true. For me, one medium fuels another. My mind explodes with new ideas. I have been told that there is a common thread that can be seen running through my work. I like that.

The assemblage series is called, “Remnants”. Old, rusty and ordinary things are given a new life, one quite different from the former one, but no less important.

My oil paintings, many done in plein air, along with studio still life works are slowly filling my studio walls at the Delavan Center.

You can learn more about Barbara Conte-Gaugel by visiting her website at http://barbaraconte-gaugel.com/