"Ich bin eine stolze Hausfrau" is the only German expression that I remember from when I lived in Stuttgart Germany for 3 years. It was part of the conversation lesson in German class about yourself. It means "I am a proud housewife!" That expression has been ringing in my ears lately after I had one of my paintings, "The Blushing Bride," debuted in a local art show. "Blushing Bride" was part of my senior show in 2003 as a self-portrait about my upcoming nuptials. I started thinking more about my "Blushing Bride" and I felt compelled to continue the story nearly 20 years later. It is similar to my bride painting in the fact that I have the same type of layering approach with the dress patterns, the lace and drips from the top of the painting. The layering in "Hausfrau" painting though is a lot more intense. As I was laying it down, cutting and pasting methodically I was thinking about time, and how much my life has changed since I was a young bride. The images I used were all derived from "Housewife" magazines, and old text
books.
The dress patterns act as a great ground for the painting with the graphic lines, muted beige tones, and transparency of the tissue paper.
My objective for this painting is to entice the viewer to consider American housewife's expectations against the social reality of our time. The use of the 1950’s poster housewife image and the unrefined drips, reinforce the modern woman’s quest for the ideal image against the reality of imperfections. It is a deliberate act of moving away from craft/
hobby art in favor of a fine art aesthetic by the use of decoupage and dress patterns.
This is the beginning of my narrative about being a proud artist, mother, and military spouse.
