Childhood Pieces

Here are some in progress shots of some new pieces I've been working on. These are a big jump for me...much more playful and fun than a lot of my other work, which tends to read as a lot more serious. These are about the games of childhood, the little things we do, the games we play that shape us into who we become. It is during our childhood that we learn to dream...learn to create. I'm still working on these, but I think its a fun new direction for my work to take. I like that the pieces are becoming a lot more narrative...not so static. I am going to add back plates to these, shadows of some sort, but Im not sure what material I want to use yet, or what I want them to be. I have toyed with lazer engraved wood backgrounds, different fabrics, and etched metal, but at this point I have no idea how to finish them. The platter on top has come a bit farther now than it appears here, it is a scene of two children playing cowboys and indians.The photograph that inspired this piece is a picture of my dad with a toy gun, in 1958.

This one is called, "Little Brother's Superhero Dreams."

The photo that inspired this piece, my little brother at age 4 or 5...playing dressup. Its amazing the things we could do with that red scrap of fabric on our backs.

Hopefully I will finish these pieces soon...right now I am sort of stumped...if you have any brilliant ideas, please feel free to share!

Dad's Old Gloves

There is something to be said for deadlines. As much as I have been cursing them lately (I have had SO many SO close together) I am actually pretty grateful for them. This semester I have just been so slammed and have been working too many 16 hour days at the studio. But because of that, I have been pretty productive lately...which will be good when I have my review in less than a month (eek!). I finished this piece at 4am on Thursday night (or Friday morning if we are being technical). I had critique on Friday morning. The motivation for this piece actually came from a paper I had to write in my "History of the Decorative Arts in Interiors" class this semester. We had to design a container to hold something of significance.

Something of significance to me is the gloves that my dad used to wear when he worked in our yard. My dad taught me from a young age how to work with my hands. We raised livestock and had pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs, and rabbits. I was a member of the 4-H club and raised these animals to show at the county fair (my favorite week out of the whole year as a kid was that week I got to spend out at the fair with my dad!). Each morning before school , and every night before I went to bed I had a lot of work to do to take care of these animals. My dad was always there helping me, showing me what to do and assisting me with what I couldn't do alone. I feel like I really learned a lot during these times spent working with my dad. This is where I learned what good work ethic is, and it has translated into all other aspects of my life. When I think of these times spent with my dad, I remember the smell of his leather work gloves. These gloves had the smell of leather, sweat and dirt. They were worn, tattered, and stained. Each mark on the gloves tells a story, they are the history of these times we spent together. When I think of my dad, I think of a man who worked hard. He was a good teacher and taught me what is important. When I smell the scent of the old, worn and weathered gloves, it reminds me of the days spent out in the sun working with my dad. I remember how much we sweat to get our chores done. I remember the smell of the lanolin in the wool when we sheared our sheep. I remember the smell of WD40 that we used to oil the shears so they would run smoothly. I remember the smell of the sunscreen we rubbed on our pigs so that they wouldn’t get sun burnt. I remember the smell of dirt as we planted new trees that are now full grown. I remember the smell of alfalfa hay that we fed the animals. I am reminded of all these things when I smell those old leather gloves. I love my dad a lot and am grateful for all the good memories I have of spending time with him. This piece is about those memories.

I couldn't find a good picture of me and my dad with our animals, but I guess this works (I was in high school when these pictures were taken, no laughing!). Yes, my hair is big, but not as big as this pig:)

The piece is made of copper, an altered silver plated platter, embroidery, glass pearls, glass lens, and leather from old work gloves. The leather is set under the glass lens in the center of the piece. The back plate measures about 12" across by 7" wide and about 1.5" tall (I'm guessing on all the measurements) In this piece I was also experimenting with the addition of other elements with the found platter, and using the shadow (back plate) as a frame for the piece. I am still having a really hard time photographing these wall pieces, but I think you can at least get the idea of the piece. I am pretty happy with how this one turned out and am looking forward to making more along these lines.

1950something...

I've been scanning in old family photos to possibly use in my platter pieces. These are of my dad and his brothers in the late 1950's and early 1960's. My favorite is the one in the car. I will probably start a piece with this photo this week.