Andy and I deinstalled our exhibit at Ceretana on Monday night. It was a good show with four other artists but hard for people to view because there aren’t any formal gallery hours at this artist run gallery. It felt good to make art.
People ask me a lot how it works out with me and my hubby both making art. It works out wonderfully. We are so different in our practice and medium. And we give each other really honest criticism. He meticulously paints with a three-hair paintbrush and that would make me crazy. I meticulously make multiple objects and then spend hours installing them and this would make him crazy.
After we were done installing our work a month ago, Andy hadn’t said anything about my stuff so I asked him for some feedback. He told me he thought it was strong but that my process of hanging had given him so much anxiety that he had to check out. He was nervous it was going to be a disaster when I showed up with a bag full of tiny pillows, pins, a hammer and some string. I love this process of hanging the work for the space. Andy had four paintings, packed perfectly in custom crates that were ready to go on the wall. No surprises there. This is why he is better at constructing things than I am–he like measures and stuff.
About my work: The piece above is Four Generations of a Table Linen. I inherited a table linen from my mom who got it from her mom who got it from her aunt. Four generations of conversation, beverages, laughter…it was falling apart and I wanted to memorialize it. So I made these intimate little objects that you can hold in the palm of your hand. This is a partial piece as I still have to make 80 more.
The second piece is tiny, highly important pillows. they’re heavier than they look. This work is based on a recurring dream I have had since I was a child. I am holding a tiny tiny pillow that is perfectly sewn and perfectly square. It is amazing to look at–probably about 1/8″x1/8″. This pillow shouldn’t weigh anything but it really heavy and important and I have it in my hand. That’s the dream. The pillow always looks different and I am not in any context–just my hand and a tiny, essential pillow. One of my favorite parts of this piece is how much kids loved it…picking out their favorite pillow, running underneath to makes the pillows dance…it was adorable…adorable until two boys became crazed with excitement and tangled up all the strings…Andy says we better get used to this kinda stuff.
