Nicole Northway: Black Light, Black Magic, Black Tail

So....It has been an insanely long time since I have posted and I am very sorry! The image above only slightly explains the madness really.

It all started here:

I was trying to figure out how to make some money out of something handmade, so I didn't have to wait tables again. I started making jewelry!

One day I was making a feather earring and got a little carried away with the beadwork. It them got turned into a hair clip.

Presto: one month later I am a small business owner. So...needless to say I have been working 12-15 hours a day to fill jewelry orders, hunt down rare rooster saddle feathers, and try to stay on top of teaching and painting....

It is all AMAZING. You should check out the shop. It's to your left of this post.

I never dreamed to know so much about fly tiers or rooster bodies:

So these guys are genetically bred to have long, beautiful tail feathers. There are only so many roosters out there. Before jerks like me, fly fishermen who tied flies as a hobby had prime pick of the Whiting Euro rooster saddle hackle, a glorious explosion of long as hell soft tail feathers. They used to be around 40-90$ a pack (100 feathers).

Now they are all gone. The guys that run the fly shops have an incredible amount of personality and sense of humor. They probably find it quite strange that we want to put them in our hair like this:

or this:

I have become obsessed. These things are gorgeous and I want to hand dye them and offer them to my customers. I e-mail fly shops all over the country. Gone....

I was told by one man that his birds left early this year...saying something about L.A. hairstyles. At least he has a sense of humor about it all. Needless to say the saddles are going for 300-500$ on E-bay. I found 2 smaller ones that I have in my possession and I'm using in designs.

Ahhh that is all for the birds....

Let's talk salt crystals. These are some studies (successful?) for a sculpture I can't wait to build for Clutch gallery.

When I'm not plucking rooster rear ends or growing things in dark, damp places, I zone out under the black light. I am doing research for a show at the Hyde Park Art Center. David Shirgley is going to be in it too! I'm so pumped up.