#documentation post

[annaspoolstra]

Artist Research: Studio Project 🎉👩🏼‍🎨 📸

🎨 Title: "The Colonial House"

🎨 Materials: cardstock, tagboard, canvas, leather, brass buttons, buckles, string

🎨 Dimensions: (closed) 9" long, 0.5" wide, 6.5" high; (open) 9" long, 12" wide, 4" high

➡️ Here's my studio project! I created this piece in response to Do Ho Suh's fabric architecture. Suh's work centers on the topic of home, and how the structures in which we live embody memories of the past. This theme resonated strongly with me, as I've lived in several different homes over the years.

Do Ho Suh calls his fabric architecture "suitcase houses," in reference to the portability of his pieces. His work evokes a memory of the spaces where he lived, and I wanted to create something similar for my piece. So, I got out my X-Acto knife and double sided tape and went to work! The result is a miniature pop-up model of a previous house my family lived in. I then took Suh's phrase a little further and made a suitcase-style cover for my pop-up. Now I have a mini suitcase house that I can carry with me anywhere, a physical reminder of hundreds of memories from a specific time in my life.

Crafting "The Colonial House" was a challenge, as I've never made a pop-up house before. But it was also immensely rewarding, and even a little cathartic. I'm so happy with the result, and now I'm seriously considering making more of these little suitcase houses! 😊🏠💕

[annaspoolstra]

Studio Project: Documentation Post 📸

Title: "Full of Wonder"

Materials: Tagboard, construction paper, cardstock, various collected items

Dimensions: 9.75 x 11 in.

Artist Statement:

🎨 I so enjoyed getting to know Joseph Cornell’s work this semester! This piece is entitled “Full of Wonder” and I intended for it to reflect the way Cornell looked at the world with the wondering eyes of a child. I also wanted to combine two of the main themes of his work: childhood nostalgia/games and travel. This box encapsulates my personal childhood memories of summer road trips with my family. Each of these items were carefully chosen to represent different aspects of our trips, so that the end result is like a 3D scrapbook. These items represent my love of God’s creation and our National Parks, as well as the way my imagination was able to run wild and free as the road went by. As we drove, I was often either immersed in a book or riding my train of thought as I listened to travel playlists. These trips (and the items I collected on them) fed my imagination and created treasured memories with my family. I wanted these items to act like puzzle pieces; put together, they create a window of my past, a picture of my childhood wonder and curiosity, and a reminder of the little objects that can tell our stories. 

🎨 I’ll be honest, this piece was a harder one for me. I don’t think of myself as a collector like Joseph Cornell; I’m not one to have little bits of paper, toys, and other ephemera sitting around. I’m not really a collage-er either. But as I studied Cornell’s works and started making this box, I realized how many little collected pieces of the past I have. In a way, this project reminded me of the child still within me, the little girl who found wonder in hotel key cards and mini dolls and polished rocks. And I remembered how she’s still the foundation of who I am. I might be more of a minimalist now, but I still love mini things, and I still have a creative, imaginative spirit. I’m still moved by music and stories and nature. This project provided me a window into my past, and it gave me an opportunity to communicate with Joseph Cornell––one of my new favorite artists. :)