With connections and in-conversations

Dear K,

Nice work on the last blog posts. The propaganda show looks interesting.. but before I comment about that, I want to address your questions about paper and architecture. It's funny, sometimes I think I should have been an architect, but then I think of the drafting involved and re-think. With you living in a city known for it's architecture wonders, and me living in a place with the juxtaposition of beautiful, beachy, Mediterranean blues and corals and suburban nightmare boxes - there is lots to talk about. I'm still marveling the design of the new Art Institute Modern Wing. I couldn't get over it's glassed goodness and birch floors. So sleek, yet completely welcoming. To me, this is the equation for a successful design. I am always drawn to modern architecture, but conversely crave the home-grown, home-spun plants and "textiles on every wall" feeling. How do we find a balance?

Another connection stems from blueprints . . and the space in which they create the ability to visualize. That possibility of greatness is so symbolic. For instance, I've always loved Claes Oldenburg's drawings of his sculptures a little more than the sculpture itself. Always a sucker for mystery - blueprints, plans, sketches - give room for something so necessary in making . .. POSSIBILITY. It's like seeing a movie after you have already read the book. It's always better in my head for I can create the visuals, pick the wall color, construct the space.

The simplicity of paper allows this to be possible. The tabula rasa.

Paper - and all of it's simplicity - gets amplified with wallpaper. The act of covering the architecture of your walls with images negates the design of the space at the same time as it draws attention to it. I think this is what I love about wallpaper - its seams seem fluid, but the divide is fascinating. Before I go on and on again about wallpaper. Below are some installation shots of my show at the Florida Craftsman Gallery and a review here.

I have another post waiting-in-the-wings regarding small things, trinkets, fabric and twining, mending, etc. Look for it this weekend.

Question for you: What are you mending, tending to, trinket-collecting, wrapping, etc., lately? Why do we continue on this path? Does it have anything to do with the lack of tactility that modernization brings?

Love,

K.