Quirky Girl
I have friends who often say they hate shopping – they couldn’t imagine spending time hunting through a thrift store. I get it – it can take time and can be fruitless. That said, there are many reasons I appreciate the process. Take, for example, my outing yesterday. I have been constructing a doll house for my granddaughters over the last few months, and needed, as one does, finials for 3 curtain rod. I stopped at a craft store to look at beads and there were a number of strikes against those I found: they were dang ugly; they were sold in bags of 100; and the cheapest bag was $6. In addition, they all were made in China and I have an allergy to disposable, cheaply made things from China. It dawned on me I should just go to the thrift store so off I went.
Not all thrift stores carry jewelry, though my local one has a ridiculous amount of it. Over the years I have found remarkable pieces, some used as gifts, some to be resold and a few I’ve kept. One I could not part with: a stunning Georg Jensen “Fusion” necklace designed by Nina Koppel and handmade in Denmark in 18k white gold with 0.5 carats black diamonds. In fact, my granddaughter has commented on liking the necklace…and she is three!
Shopping at the thrift store meant I was able to pick from numerous options for my finials, I only spent $1.50, an item was repurposed instead of just thrown away, and a charity benefited from my purchase. Those all seem like wins to me – and the beaded bracelet let me decorate 3 dollhouse curtains with charming finials . (I can hear you grumbling, wanting a photo of said dollhouse, but you will have to wait with bated breath for another blog post.) Not one to waste a thrift store outing, I did a quick walk through as I never know what I might find.
This quirky woman called out to me from the crowded shelves, making me smile. I sensed she was unique, but did a quick image search with my phone to make sure she wasn’t massed produced junk - the things filling the shelves at HomeGoods etc. Sure, I could buy her even if she was, but personally I don’t see the point as noted above: allergy to China junk. Turns out my instinct was correct – she is by Judie Bomberger, a California artist active back in the 1990s. Interestingly, when I did the search I realized I have a number of Christmas ornaments by the same artist, some gifted to hubby and me years ago and some picked up thrifting. The ornaments are all circus themed and thus fit our Calder family room vibe. This piece, however, required a bit more research.
It was remarkably difficult to discover much about Judie Bomberger on the internet. All the art sites and Wikipedia pages said the same terse, useless sentences: “Judie Bomberger is an American Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in the 20th Century. Judie Bomberger’s work has been offered at auction multiple times, with realized prices ranging from 15 USD to 140 USD, depending on the size and medium of the artwork” (AI at its finest no doubt). It took some digging to track down more information (https://thegiggleguide.com/brand/judie-bomberger-inc), though even that is limited.
Judie Bomberger started making sculptures in the 1990s, collecting metal from scrap yards in California, using a blow torch to form designs, and painting them. Her works all have names, and the “resonating theme is strong, joyful, whimsical and just for the fun of it.” She was licensed to create a “collectible” series reflecting the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine movie, and also “worked for nine years in collaboration with Cirque Du Soleil creating steel sculptures and ornaments depicting their performers”. I suspect she is still alive, living in California, but could not find out much more about her.
My found treasure depicts “Babette” and was created in 1996. While the base steel shape was laser cut, creating multiples of each shape, Judie hand painted each piece. There are other Babettes – some facing the other way, and some painted in different colors. I would love to know if Babette was an actual performer with the Circus back in the 1990s, but I could not figure that out. Typically Judie signs her work on the back, though this my Babette is unsigned. Her art has such whimsy and joy, and Babette speaks to me of Springtime, was well as the joy of found treasures. When my husband saw her, he said she definitely “was me” with her fly away hair and wild pink outfit, adding I couldn’t sell her as she is quirky – just like me.