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This is Not my Violin
MIXED MEDIA / 2009
Did your mother ever make you take music lessons as a kid? Mine did.
Her weapon of choice was the violin. On lesson day I had to carry the thing to school. I was a skinny kid with two long pigtails. The boys laughed at me and pulled my pigtails. I blamed it on that violin. I thought they were mocking me because of the violin. The old feelings of emotions came front and center to me one year when I traveled to Venice Italy and saw a young attractive violinist playing in a piazza out in front of a violin museum. She was standing there alone playing beautifully with her case opened in front of her welcoming donations. I thought to myself "see mother, this is what would have become of me if I kept taking the lessons. I would be begging in a square in Venice." ;-)
To separate the violin from myself (and save my reputation!) I told my violin teacher that my mother gave me permission to stop the lessons. But, of course, she had not. The teacher called home to verify my story, and that was it for me but she understood and switched me to piano.
While this is a relatively undramatic childhood story, it reflects the beginning of a lifelong impression of the type that can easily grow into distorted reality. These instances are common to all of us, and they mold our sense of self, our loves and dislikes. Like much of my work, I am exploring the common thread of humanity. Oftentimes psychological, sometimes humorous, and generally ambiguous, I attempt to reveal our fragile and influential state of mind.
This work cannot help but be autobiographical (there are violins!). Through mixed-media works, I toy with ideas and emotions that spring from my love of music and my still ambivalent relationship with the violin. Whether through photo-based encaustics on panels or through a large 21-violin sculptural installation, my interest in this subject takes me back — and then returns to the present with a reflective and provocative energy. Sadly, I wish I had learned how to play the violin.
"My Story", Detail center violin in a 21 violin installation, 2009, Mixed Media sold
"My Story", View of a 21 violin installation, 2009, Mixed Media sold
"The Gift", 2009, 80" X 36", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils sold
"Child with Violin", 2009, 60" X 36", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils .sold
"This is Not My Violin", 2009, 60" X 36", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils .sold
"Caged Violin", 2009, 36 " X 30", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils sold
"Observing the Violins", 2009, 36 " X 60", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils
"Waiting for the Music", 2009, 36" X 60", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils sold
"Violin First Aid", 2009, 36" X 30", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils sold
"Bottle of Violin Resin", 2009, 36" X 24", Mixed Media with encaustic and oils sold
"The Audience", 2009, Installation of 15, 8" X 8" X 6" panels, Mixed Media with resin, encaustic and oils sold
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