My friend Madonna Dersch in Petersburg, Virginia is making a house every day for a year in The Happy Homemaker...
Why did you decide to do this project? I am interested in the concept of home and what that means. Home may be a location, an idea, a feeling, or people. Home differs by gender, age, and culture. The houses that I am making give me an icon through which I may explore concepts, ideas, and expectations of home, domesticity, family, hearth, and social expectations. There are many different responses that are triggered by or associated with the living space created to house ourselves and our possessions. It is a complex and layered topic that I wanted to explore. I also chose to do this project right now because I really needed to just create more, since I tend to get stuck in hyperfocus. Actually, a certain friend of mine had told me several times in the past year that I needed to make more stuff. In fact, that's how he signed my book. It has been a great impetus for me.
How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have taken on huge projects that have spanned years before, but never a one-thing-finished-every-day project. I tend to take a long time to create work that usually includes a lot of repetitious detail. My work to finished product ratio is heavy on the side of labor. This project encourages me to work quickly without over-analyzing. I have freedom from re-evaluation and doubt and have started creating in a way that is almost a habit. It is really liberating. Another effect is the amount of space that my work is starting to take up, even though most of the pieces are quite small. I am working out how to deal with the accumulation. I am contemplating new cabinet options.
See all of Madonna's real estate on her site HERE.
Why did you decide to do this project? I am interested in the concept of home and what that means. Home may be a location, an idea, a feeling, or people. Home differs by gender, age, and culture. The houses that I am making give me an icon through which I may explore concepts, ideas, and expectations of home, domesticity, family, hearth, and social expectations. There are many different responses that are triggered by or associated with the living space created to house ourselves and our possessions. It is a complex and layered topic that I wanted to explore. I also chose to do this project right now because I really needed to just create more, since I tend to get stuck in hyperfocus. Actually, a certain friend of mine had told me several times in the past year that I needed to make more stuff. In fact, that's how he signed my book. It has been a great impetus for me.
How has doing a yearlong/daily project affected your life? I have taken on huge projects that have spanned years before, but never a one-thing-finished-every-day project. I tend to take a long time to create work that usually includes a lot of repetitious detail. My work to finished product ratio is heavy on the side of labor. This project encourages me to work quickly without over-analyzing. I have freedom from re-evaluation and doubt and have started creating in a way that is almost a habit. It is really liberating. Another effect is the amount of space that my work is starting to take up, even though most of the pieces are quite small. I am working out how to deal with the accumulation. I am contemplating new cabinet options.
See all of Madonna's real estate on her site HERE.
2 comments:
It is such a pleasure to watch your project unfold, Madonna!
Thanks for the feature, Noah, and the kind words, Misha.
Post a Comment