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MORE ABOUT Dioramas of My Dreams

Dreaming
For me, the creative process is like dreaming. In that space, ideas take on a life of their own, and rarely end up where I had imagined at the start. The Dioramas of My Dreams, like most dreams, contain elements of the past and project desires for the future, and like most dreams contain messages to be deciphered for their wisdom.

Unpacking the past
I loved objects before I loved people. Objects were easier to love. It was the rediscovery of treasures I have created and acquired over a lifetime as an artist and collector that launched this work. Until my recent move, they lay dormant in my attic, closets and drawers. They were organized by category: jewelry with jewelry, candlesticks with candlesticks, books with books and figurines with figurines. It was in preparing to let that home go that this order was disrupted, and a new context for these objects became available.

Making new stories out of old ones
While the provenance of each object in these dioramas is a story in itself, in these “re-mixes” of autobiographical artifacts, sentimentality has given way to new stories. Even I was surprised how easily a beloved scarf become a river washing up on the shore; a diamond chain became rain in a desert and an octopus on postcard of an ancient vase turned lascivious placed opposite a busty woman sketched by my grandmother.

The alchemy of collaboration
While an artist myself, I rejoice in finding self-expression in the work of others. These dioramas are also stories about collaboration with other creators (both dead and alive) by incorporating elements of their work in my own. Adding the additional element of light to the assembled objects and images helped to transmute our many voices into one story… now open to your interpretation.