I found this lovely, rustic wooden box with an oval opening at a barn sale last year. It seemed perfect for an altar, or a day of the dead piece or one of my usual pieces using a porcelain doll's head.
After many months, none of those ideas came together at the studio. A week or so ago, I started working on a piece that involved this box and a wooden rabbit, who seemed to fit perfectly in the box.
Last week, I got a chance to spend a few days in San Francisco visiting galleries and museums, looking for inspiration. At the Martin Lawrence Gallery on Fisherman's Wharf, I saw the work of artist Robert Deyber, whose paintings are humorous and delightful. He is probably best known for his literal visual portrayals of cliches, euphemisms and idioms from the English language. I invite you to take a few minutes and check out his work, I think it will make you smile!
Although I absolutely enjoyed viewing his artwork, I was more inspired by the titles of his pieces, the "cliches", "euphemisms" and "idioms" he uses to inspire his own work.
All that to say, is that when I got back to the studio on Monday, this piece sort of made itself. The wooden zebra head fit perfectly (well sort of) inside the wooden box with the oval opening. The crystal stars, and background zebra paper finish the piece . . . it all came together without effort - and this is the result. . . my own "Stars and Stripes", just in time for 4th of July!
What do you think?