This is an ongoing project which I began while living in Mexico. I was unable to bring my power tools with me, so I began working in a smaller scale and became very attracted to the unique character and shape of the used brick-layers’ trowels found at the local flea markets. I am tranferring my drawings backed in gold leaf onto the face of the trowels. The work is site-specific and can employ as many as 50 trowels. The obvious metaphor suggests the labors involved in building a life.
This piece evolved from a vintage refrigerator door and a collection of empty sardine cans. Each sardine can has a magnet on the back, so the miniature “shrines” are not stationary on the door. The various myths and legends signified by each shrine are embellished with a variety of found objects ranging from toys to computer parts.
This piece was created for an exhibition I curated for the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan, entitled “Death Matters”. The show challenged artists to deal with their own mortality, and this sculpture is intended to be a reliquary for my ashes. Within the box are stamp-sized photographs of my life and family, along with a braid that was mine at the age of five. I carved the wooden head and feet, and incorporated a variety of found objects and mixed media.
This sculpture uses game pieces from the board game called “Sorry” as a metaphor for the potential consequences of ascension up the corporate ladder toward greed. An actual ladder was used in its construction, along with holograms from expired credit cards and miniature money.
This sculpture is about transcending those thoughts and experiences in our lives that tend to weigh us down. In the Egyptian culture, scarab beetles symbolized the struggle from darkness into the light, and I have incorporated scarab images into this mixed media piece.
The initial inspiration for this work came from the discovery of the antique yoke. A pregnant woman is carved on one side of the sculpture, and a warrior figure is carved on the reverse side….symbols of creativity and destruction. A book of quotations hangs down from the piece, and the names of ancient goddesses and warriors are inscribed along each side.
This piece is about body, mind, and spirit. It is carved from old cutting boards found in my basement. The leather figure within the body is beaded and represents the divine feminine in the front, and the divine masculine in the back. The two doors are hinged to open, and the masks represent the many voices in our head.
The carved wooden figure spins around the obelisk blind-folded while trying to juggle.
Mixed media
The hanging book contains some of my favorite quotations.
Birds emerge from the top of the clay head….creative thoughts taking flight. This piece incorporates century-old wood found in the attic of my childhood home, along with an Asian vessel, a tiny birdcage, a wooden bowl, and various other mixed media and found objects.
gretchen deems 