Art has been a life long passion for Oscar Donahue, but when the company that provided the metallic resin needed to mold his wearable pieces of art Donahue had a choice, learn to make the material, or go out of business. Donahue’s pieces of art are bright metallic designs like Voodoo Dolls, Angels, and Mardi Gras mask have caught the eye of Market Place shoppers with their bold colors and sparkle since 1989. Building a business for 27 years was certainly a labor of love and Donahue knew he had to do whatever it took to make the material for his jewelry himself.
“It was my final option. I was like a mad scientist, up at three, four in the morning trying to figure out how to make the resin.” Donahue said
Donahue’s pins and earrings are made of a resin melded with metallic paper making for bright, unique jewelry that has become a staple cart in the French Market. Donahue would teach himself to boil a piece of resin for about 3 hours to soften it. He would then roll the resin out with a roller flat and melding the bright metallic paper that his art work is famous for. It took Donahue three months to learn to make the material himself but he got it.
” I am still here, everyday making my jewelry by hand during the day with the materials I taught myself to make at night.”