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Journal
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May 27, 2020
“Marisa” (The Twins) Altar bottle Pierrot Bara 1990’s Port-au-Prince, Haiti Glass, plastic, string, beads, foil When I visited the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2018, I happened upon this small wonder. It inspired many bottles going forward. If you are ever in Santa Fe, go to see the Folk Art Museum! It is a remarkable trove and history of under-appreciated and unknown artists. |
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July 1, 2021
My Personal Earthquake Came in to studio this afternoon and discovered that newly installed shelf (w/ 23 carefully curated bottles) had fallen off wall and hit many bottles on ground. Like an earthquake Much destruction lots of work to re assemble, re-create. Just pondering my loss, feeling very alone about this. which is sad. Probable cause: poor carpentry and very high heat over the past 5 days (99+) |
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July 5, 2021
Jean repaired shelf, gave it a leg. Also strengthened the perimeter (boundary) shelf up high |
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December 2022
My mother's enthusiasm for Pablo Picasso in the 1960's and 70's resonated with me. When others were scratching their heads at the fifty-foot Corten steel sculpture installed in front of the Chicago Civic Center in 1967, my mother was thrilled. She was pleased Picasso had bestowed such a magnificent gift on her city and wondered if it represented a woman's or a horse's head or something abstract. Picasso's children's toys made an impression on me. Here is a short passage from an interview with Picasso's daughter, Maya, before her death this month: Interviewer: "Picasso made small toys for you (Maya Ruiz-Picasso) during the (second world) war. How did he make them?" Maya: "I had only a few toys at the time. He made paintings for dollhouses out of matchboxes. He made me paper theaters, characters, and animals, and told me stories while he made the animals move with little tabs. He also had fabricated for me a family of small characters in fabric with heads made of chickpeas." My apple head series from the installation was born from memories of puppets I made as a child. This group was fabricated during the pandemic, and I worked with materials commonly found at home because we were stuck inside for many months. Apples, vinegar, coat hangers, fabric scraps, buttons, spaghetti, etc. were source materials. I cured and dried the apple heads on the windowsill of our apartment, facing east. Beads were eyeballs. Like the pandemic, there was a frugality and resourcefulness born of the wartime: Picasso worked with found objects, stuff lying around his studio, utilitarian materials and tools. |