By taking the time to do those little etsy drawings in my sketchbook, I uncovered a new favorite artist! When I started drawing Amy Wilson's tiny felt houses, I kept thinking about "how they're all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same."
Amy Wilson, who teaches (a class on kitsch among other things) at the School of Visual Arts in NYC, wrote a great post about the success of her little houses project. The project seems simple. Wilson writes: "they’re little houses made out of felt and cotton; each one fits easily in the palm of your hand. The roofs come off and they can be used to store little things like paperclips or safetypins."
It turns out that Wilson's "real" work, documented on
her website and through flickr , includes everything from watercolor sketches out of Second Life to these beautiful, critical, hand-embroidered works that I want to wrap myself in--to touch and discuss and read and revisit. Wilson makes places; from little felt or paper houses to virtual worlds these places are intimate and rich. She has been compared to Henry Darger or Grandma Moses, but part of the work that most appeals to me is the self-conscious "insider" critique found in elements of the text.
Can you read what that says? "There was, I think, a question of sincerity, education, or maybe commitment on the part of the artist -- a sense that there are some objects that remain suspect."
Take some time to get to know this work.
Here are some places to start.
