i went to grandma's house

so here it is. my show - the overview of it at least....



because little bird gallery has great storefront windows, i thought i should use them. i painted doilies on the windows and the walls behind the glass so that you'd really get a 2/D 3/D effect upon viewing.

somehow i never tire of the difference between what is hand done, what is replicated, what is real, what is dimensional, what is flat.... i think i am always toying with these ideas in what i make. and the longer i tinker the more i realize i don't know anything and there is always room to find out more.






so the premise for this show you ask? i actually have an answer to this.

i decided to think about the idea of the "natural world" represented by the doily. how we are constantly bringing the "outside" in and the "inside" out in our lives. how do we force these two places to intersect? and how do our instincts to nest/make the domestic come into play with these longings? the doily, while human made, beckons and calls to imagery in nature [snowflakes, floral patterns, etc] and so it seemed to me that we could indeed go over the river and through the woods.... and end up at a version of grandma's house. but i am hoping that i am updating our relationship to the tradition of craft. in someway giving tribute to the small- and decorative- and made with love items that often go unnoticed or under appreciated.




trying to be a bit literal i thought i'd have the doilies start brown near the floor [earth], get green in the middle [land/grass/trees], and blue near the ceiling [sky]

and thus i hope the relationship of the title [and your finishing of the nursery song] makes more sense?

here are some small moments:



this one is about 3-4 inches - you might miss him if you didn't look down.





so then i made a bunch of drawings as well [also all tied to the natural world somehow]





and then there was the "real" sculptural element. the ghost doily trees

inspired by paper architectural trees [which when flat looked like doilies to me] i loved the idea of a natural object made from domestic ones.

and of course there are the shadows. my ultimate silent partner in making. if only i could give you your proper due.....





i want to make a thousand. i want to do these again and again in different ways. i just wonder how. and if i can. and if i can enlist help. and who would? and why? and how could i repay them? [i'm not ann hamilton who can recruit a bevy of volunteers to assist in the magic making. but i can dream, yes? oh i can dream of thousands of trees]

i am so lucky to have a studio mate who made me the most perfect floating shelves. and allowed me to use his drill press to get the holes into the shelves....

and i am so lucky to have had the help and support that i did from friends and family and art lookers....

i'll show close ups of the drawings through the week.

over the river and through the woods is up at little bird gallery in los angeles through november 8th.