“Tingle” detail, by Jean Mandeberg

I had the pleasure of starting the new year at the delightful home of Olympia, Washington artist Jean Mandeberg. A number of her sculptures were shown in the living room. Much of her current work combines coins, dice, and discarded wire cages from Champagne bottles, as in the piece shown above. Mandeberg, who teaches at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, says that her art “questions the obsolescence and decay of functional objects.” It’s wry, mesmerizing, and strangely thrilling.