OZspirations

WHAT: New Art Inspired by the Wizard of Oz
WHEN: November 15 - December 22, 2007
WHERE: New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University

RECEPTION: Friday, November 16, 2007
TIME: 6-8pm

I was informed earlier this week that I will be a part of a select group exhibition, entitled Ozspirations. I created three pieces that revolved around the theme of the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, not the film with Judy Garland. One of the main differences that I noticed between the book and the film were the colors that were used with the "ruby" slippers, which were silver in the book. Plus, books decidedly have more details than any film ever does, which leaves more room for the imagination to wander. After reading the book, I began wondering how my life relates to the story of L. Frank Baum, and I realized that there truly is no place like home. I photographed my feet and clicked my heels together [three times], and decided to create a couple of paintings, which related to the story and my life.

sketchbook entry: Having grown up in Kansas, I really empathized with Dorothy. No matter where a person resides, there seems to be a longing for what is normal as we once knew life to be like at a particular place and time. I think Dorothy longed for the smell of her home, the fresh Kansas air. Regardless of the dust that blew and the smell of the cattle in the lot just outside the city [where I grew up], we wanted to see familiar faces and have a family's warm touch near us. Dorothy's new friends, the scarecrow, the tin man, nad the cowardly lion didn't meet the companionship she longed for. No matter how much a person hates home when they're there, once you've departed, home is always the place of comfort. There is comfort in a familiar voice, someone special's fresh baked cookies, and your personal space.

No place truly is like home, not unless we allow it to become home. Then, I'm not even sure these new spaces are home. Home with grey skies is always a better place than the most luscious of lands... one with green trees, wildflowers flourishing, and streams flowing. There always has been and always will be something beautiful about home. There is truly no place like home!