“Raid the Toy Box”, 2019
Moving between various media and formats is a way to stay excited in the studio. I typically work on multiple projects at once to maintain enthusiasm and a fresh eye. Vintage toys, worn books and auction catalogues are piled up around me. Cardboard packing materials have a warm brown color that harmonizes with the bright toys. These are like the leftover ingredients a seasoned cook can use to create a delicious new dish.
Making doll figures is a kind of creative vacation, a chance to invent a physical presence. Clay heads and stitched bodies are dressed with cloth scraps from collected quilt squares, mementoes, souvenirs and assorted fetishistic oddments fused to compose a personality: Clown Acrobat, Witch, Bazaar Man, Black Bird and Pinky. They are an outgrowth of stuffed animals I made clothes for as a child.
My delight in vintage toys and games started in the 1950’s when we pored through the giant Montgomery Ward Catalogue placing dibs on our favorite items. Catalogue images offer the endless temptations of another life.
Moving between various media and formats is a way to stay excited in the studio. I typically work on multiple projects at once to maintain enthusiasm and a fresh eye. Vintage toys, worn books and auction catalogues are piled up around me. Cardboard packing materials have a warm brown color that harmonizes with the bright toys. These are like the leftover ingredients a seasoned cook can use to create a delicious new dish.
Making doll figures is a kind of creative vacation, a chance to invent a physical presence. Clay heads and stitched bodies are dressed with cloth scraps from collected quilt squares, mementoes, souvenirs and assorted fetishistic oddments fused to compose a personality: Clown Acrobat, Witch, Bazaar Man, Black Bird and Pinky. They are an outgrowth of stuffed animals I made clothes for as a child.
My delight in vintage toys and games started in the 1950’s when we pored through the giant Montgomery Ward Catalogue placing dibs on our favorite items. Catalogue images offer the endless temptations of another life.
