Opie O’Brien distinguished himself at an early age when his Bumble Bees were voted best in third grade and hung on the bulletin board outside the Principals office at PS 33 for a month.
Linda O’Brien doesn’t remember third grade.
Encouraged by his early success, Opie took music lessons, studied art for three years at SVA in N.Y.C. and honed his craft. He joined the Raspberries after their 3rd album, played Carnegie Hall at age 24 and Madison Square Garden at 29. He’s played with major bands and music legends. Discipline was his middle name.
Linda, being adopted, never knew her middle name, assumed Peter Pan was her biological father and became a free-spirited self taught artist, author and workshop instructor.
When their paths crossed (collided) in ‘84, they discovered they were opposite sides of the same coin… Soul mates! While their individual styles complimented each other, as a team they truly excelled and Burnt Offerings Studio is the result of their combined efforts.
Their eclectic body of work includes an ongoing love of both traditional and metal collage; dada dolls; jewelry; encaustic and cold wax, handmade and altered books; assemblage; original music; painting, photography; and digi-tography… a phrase they coined when combining their photography, iPhone & iPad-ography, with digital sketching and painting. Most recently they studied non-toxic printmaking in Florence, Italy with an emphasis on Monoprint, Drypoint and Chine Colle.
Originally from N.Y.C., they are full time multi-media artists creating in their live/work loft in a converted Mill in the Berkshires with their wonder cat Coco. They’ve taught workshops nationally and internationally since 1998 and are the authors of two books: Who’s Your Dada: Redefining the Doll through Mixed Media and Metal Craft Discovery Workshop. Currently they are working in their studios and focusing on new works. They appreciate the unusual and collect everything from space toys to burial dolls. These themes influence their work which has been featured in more than 30 books, several magazines, galleries, exhibitions, solo shows, museum gift shops and private collections.
Their Artist Statement: “We are caretakers of the mundane and the ordinary. We work with organic, recycled and found materials, because they seem to have a voice that must be heard… a story that must be told… and a life that would otherwise be too soon forgotten”.
Contact Information
Mailing Address
- 243 Union St. #LL1 North Adams, MA 01247
Phone Number
- 440-391-2307