Growing up an only child, my friends were the wooden toys and games that had accompanied my mother, her parents and grandparents through thick and thin times. These objects with their chipped paint and worn edges were treasured as family relics and playing with them was a sacred sensory experience. As a child it seemed these objects had power. When my mother and I played with them alongside each other, the worries and fears of my childhood evaporated. We became children together in a world filled with creative possibilities.
For my assemblages to come “alive” each object refers to what it once was, yet through union with others transforms into something new and surprising.
Melon Baller is one of my series of “racket” works. I think of them as playful children, perhaps the playful child I once was. She’s out of school for the summer, hopping, skipping, jumping with her halo following along with her every step of the way. Melon Baller is reminiscent of long, hot summer days and the red sweet drippy juice of watermelon. I hope the viewer will be reminded of carefree summer days.
