Reliquaries
I work one hour a week making art with residents in a local, long-term nursing care facility. One resident, (Vinny, not his real name,) is a prolific artist. He struggles at times with behavioral issues often making group work difficult. But, over one week Vinny will produce between ten and twenty artworks on paper, menus, Styrofoam plates, and other available surfaces. Recently, he showed me several new pieces including a painted glass plate with painted rocks and painted baseball caps. He offered to give me one of his painted hats, but I insisted on a trade. I created Reliquary for Three Rocks to trade. Three pebbles from my garden are situated in a painted pond, with radiating ripples. The stones are a nod to Vinny’s painted rocks and his influence on my artistic process. One lone cloud floats over this interior scene, while the exterior skyscape is activated by the texture of paper doilies and the words, ‘FROM ONE ARTIST TO ANOTHER.’