FREE Sneak Peak -- Letterhead

     Here's a quick snapshot of the letterhead that I created this morning for the gallery show. 

     Since there are two other artists showcasing in the space (and I'm gathering that I have a distinctly more "contemporary" style and floor/wall layout plan) I intend to handwrite truncated quotes from my artist's statement on these sheets throughout my wall space just to keep the collection in JUNE 2010 cohesive with my vision of postfeminist re-appropriation of American advertising images, the business-side of weddings, and classical [global] fairytale archetypes. I've fallen in love recently with old Victorian children's books, so those will also be a large influence -- blame it on Salinas, CA. 

     I went to the historic John Steinbeck-town last autumn for a reading, and discovered a gorgeous antique store on the main boulevard that just floored me with its immediate intimacy, history, and endless array of trucs and bric-a-brac. I bought Scrabble board pieces and vintage elementary school valentines printed on parchment paper and silk, and will never send them away. The carefully-cut sheets of tissue are still scrawled in the tight cursive penmanship of a fledgling secretary -- the deep and even grooves of graphite swirling in tiny loops and measured hooks for the letter "G" in "To Mrs. Grimshaw, much love to a wonderful teacher!"

     Last month, NPR featured a short radio segment with an author on the exploding culture of rudeness across America -- Do children even appreciate teachers, anymore? They wouldn't seem to have any sort of model to learn from, judging from how teachers are being bled right out of the educational system at the moment. But I digress . . . 

     It's an ambitious show, I know . . . come, and be surprised.

     There will be white wine sangria, and lovely tea and cookies to nibble. In  fact, opening night attendees may even get an extra surprise! (Shhhh)