About the Artist

Christy Krames received her Bachelor of Art degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s Degree in Medical Illustration from UT Southwestern Medical School. After a long and successful career as a Medical Illustrator she discovered the joy of the “hobby”, a concept that was utterly foreign to her as a deadline-driven illustrator. Despite having no natural affinity for beach life, preferring mountains and rocks, she nevertheless stumbled on the craft of oyster shell decoupage quite by happenstance. The results are decoupaged oyster shells with imagery provided by vintage botanical, zoological and human anatomy prints.

Each hand-made dish begins with rare, extra large oyster shells. The artist works in Photoshop to ensure the image fits the contour of the shell. After drying, each piece is finished with gold paint and clear sealant. For designs using more than one shell, permanent adhesives are used to fuse the shells together. Each original creation is hand-signed by the artist.They exist as beautiful art objects just by themselves, or may be used as trinket dishes to hold jewelry, small items like keys or ear pods, etc. Text elements may be added to any image for customized gifts, such as for birthdays, weddings, “get-well” wishes, holidays, etc. All items may be made “food-safe” when requested.

Please visit my website often, as new creations are added upon completion and may be available for immediate purchase.  If you see something you like but it is not available, custom orders are taken and will be completed in about two weeks. Prices range from $45 for most single-shell dishes up to $85, depending on the number of shells used and the overall size.