For Ollie Jane
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
7″ x 8″ x 2″
2022
Ollie married and started her family in her later teen years. She went on to have eight children. She was a quiet, unassuming woman, rooted in a faith-based tradition that dictated strict and limited options for women. She grew up with material scarcity, as did her rural neighbors. They lived remote but rich lives, bonded to their families and the land around them. Her husband had an erratic disposition which at times made him an unreliable partner. The burden of providing sustenance and holding the family together often lay on Ollie’s shoulders. She was a brilliant gardener and could catch fish better than any other person. She knew the medicinal herbs in her surrounding woods and was a gifted healer. If asked, she would sing soft ballads in a fragile voice. Reading was her greatest indulgence. Ollie had a gentle temperament and rarely displayed anger. Her children turned to her for a feeling of safety and comfort well into their adult lives, as did her grandchildren.
For Tommasina
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
6″ x 10″ x 2″
2022
In the 1950’s, Tommasina (Tessy) entered an arranged marriage to a man she knew little of, rather than accept the status of “Old Maid.” Together, they had two sons. She performed the lion’s share of domestic duties and child-rearing while working full-time in the garment industry. Tessy took great pride in her home. Neo-classical furnishings and gilded decor were zealously protected with sheets of plastic and diligent care. In time, Tessy’s husband took a mistress. He refused to end the affair, telling his wife that a man needs both a wife and a lover. She chose not to leave the marriage, nor did she resign herself to humiliating acceptance. Rather, she banished her husband to separate quarters in the basement. Although she continued to wash his clothes and send down his meals, she refused to speak with him, communicating only through her sons. During this time, Tessy banked her earnings with a plan for her future in mind.
For Naomi
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
6″ x 10″ x 2″
2022
Naomi was a Depression-era child of the Appalachian hills. She was a free thinker with little patience for dogma and itched to know more of the larger world. A voracious reader with a philosopher’s heart, she became enamored with Transcendentalist writings. Although she was fiercely loyal to her own roots and her kin, Naomi vowed that one day, she would move to New England- the birthplace of the Transcendentalist movement. In her twenties, she married and moved to Massachusetts to raise a family. Naomi felt duty-bound to put her children and husband before all else, but found her domestic role unfulfilling. She wanted more. She found outlets in her love of nature and gardening, literature, artistic endeavors, and one very dear friend who shared her eagerness to exchange all manner of thoughts and ideas. In her mid-years, Naomi developed an interest in antique objects and their histories, which blossomed into a successful business.
For Gloria
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
8″ x 8″ x 2″
2022
Gloria was akin to an orchid blooming in the daisy patch. A genteel soul who thrived on all things lovely and elegant. Gloria grew where she was planted, a place that considered frugality the highest of virtues. Yet she made no apologies for her refined tastes. She had a kind heart and quiet, deep intelligence. She was a progressive thinker who could not abide narrow-mindedness. Ever the romantic, Gloria connected with an old flame when she was in her 80’s. Their long-distance courtship was the stuff of a Victorian love story. Poems and letters of endearment, engrossing conversations, and a handful of much-anticipated trysts. Her smitten beau called her his Princess of Maine.
For Louise
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
9″ x 9″ x 2″
2022
Louise was born at the turn of the 20th century into a time when the concept of a great woman artist was considered preposterous. It is said that as a young child, she knew that art was her calling, and that although her upbringing was chaotic, she was raised to believe in herself. An early attempt at marriage ended in divorce, leaving her a single mother to raise a child on her own. Eventually, she sent her son to live with her family in Maine so she could pursue her practice. Louise began her art practice in her middle years and it became her life. Recognition of her work took years, but through dogged will, visionary talent, and pure artistic genius, she broke through the wall of patriarchy. Louise went on to become the leading American sculptor of the 20th century. Her work was groundbreaking. Never a person to be ignored, her dramatic appearance and mode of dress, and her larger-than-life persona, commanded attention. She defied gender constraints and expectations, blazing a trail for future women.
For Colleen
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
9″ x 11″ x 2″
2022
Colleen was the eldest of seven children. She was raised in a hard-working, hard-drinking working-class family. Colleen did not share the same father as her siblings, something he made certain she never forgot. Perhaps this chronic rejection is what laid the groundwork for a lifelong struggle with feelings of dark despair, sometime leading to self-harm. Colleen’s passion was for the written word. She devoured books and had a great talent for the pen. She loved humor and good conversation. Her personality was one of extremes, and her worldview included little middle ground. When invited by Colleen to dinner, one could expect a feast. She delighted in gift-giving (and getting) and friends were saints on Earth. Falling from grace in Colleen’s eyes was easy, however, and her reaction was equally extreme.
For Helen
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
7″ x 7″ x 2″
2022
Helen was a survivor who endured more than her share of hardship and loss. She had a pragmatic nature with little tolerance for self-pity or weakness. She was fiercely independent with an entrepreneurial spirit. For high school, she chose to attend her city trade school to study dressmaking, a practice she continued her entire life. Helen could be a prickly person. Her tongue was often sharp and her opinions rigid, yet she had a loyal nature which endeared her to friends and family. Although Helen was mistrustful of sentimentality, she let that slide aaway when the Christmas season arrived. Her home was warm with light and decoration. She prepared and shared baked goods in abundance and she used her needle skills to create beautiful gifts. Her face beamed when thanked for her generosity.
For Lillian
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
8 1/2″ x 8″ x 2″
2022
Lillian had a bohemian spirit and did not subscribe to presupposition. An artist and devotee of the natural world, she had a questioning and creative mind. For a living, she hand-tinted photographs for a prestigious photography studio. For her art practice, she painted lovely illustrations of local wild plants and flowers. On the wall beside her work space, she created a sunny springtime mural, a year-round garden scene that brought light and color to her days. She loved color. Lillian and two close friends found camaraderie over card games and deep discussions, oftentimes lasting long into the night. She delighted in inviting the neighborhood children to see her prized rock collection and to tutor them in the surrounding flora and fauna. She was an inspiration for young free thinkers, including her daughter who also found her vocation as an artist.
For Grace
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
7″ x 7″ x 2″
2022
Ever-composed and practical, Grace took all things in stride. She and her husband were a childless career couple at the height of the baby boom years. They enjoyed an unencumbered and comfortable lifestyle. They had a modest but well-appointed home, dined out, played golf, and were the only two-car family in the neighborhood. Grace had an air of quiet elegance, without pretension. She was genial and well-liked, yet a private person who tended not to entangle herself in the doings of others. A late “surprise” baby added a new wrinkle to Grace’s life. According to the conventions of the day, she would have been expected to give up her job and switch to homemaker status. In due time, however, Grace returned to work where she was valued and respected. She neatly folded motherhood into the life she preferred.
For Norma
shadowbox with found garter, wedding tulle, glass dome, and mixed media embellishments
10″ x 9″ x 2″
2022
Norma embraced the practice of joy and life celebration with her whole being. Even through the most difficult times, she met each day with gratitude. She had a deeply spiritual side that was not defined by religion. She never preached positivity- she simply exuded it. She listened without feeling the need to advise, the best kind of empathy. Raised in the hills of Tennessee, Norma felt a deep connection with her natural surroundings. Even after moving to the suburbs, she retained her feelings of kinship with her wild neighbors- the bluejays that kept watch for predators, the comical squirrels, even the shy black widow living inside the meter box.