Cait’s Bedroom 2016, ^2 earthenware, underglaze, glaze, colored pencil, 2023
Can you remember the feeling of crawling into a blanket fort? When a bed sheet draped over a couch could transport you? Sounds outside soften, light sneaks through cracks between pillows. And the blanket above - now a roof - shields all those inside your invented fortress. I can recall building many such forts with my brother, John, who passed away in 2015.
Knowing that, I imagine these sculptures might read a bit like nostalgic miniatures, but they are more sanctuary than replica. Every decision to place a chair there, stack a pillow here, scribble color as a child might, is a decision made to transform the everyday with levity and construct an opening. The forts are an opportunity for play within the space of grief — a way to introduce choice making and creation in a situation that weighs heavy with finality.
John’s Basement 1990, ^2 earthenware, underglaze, glaze, colored pencil, 2022
Primary Forts, ^2 earthenware, fired oil pastel, house paint, 2024
Charlie’s Living Room 1987, ^2 earthenware, underglaze, glaze, colored pencil, 2022
Poppy’s Dining Room 2002, ^2 earthenware, underglaze, glaze, colored pencil, 2022
