Camper Life Continued…

First Camper (2022)

CAMPER LIFE. 2023
7 x 7 x 12 in
Ceramics, stained glass

The process of creating these mobile dwellings has been ongoing in the studio since the summer of 2022.

Beginning with a more two dimensional form this evolved into a three dimensional work that was finished in early 2023. I then began working on these two additional forms in August of 2023 and these projects have really beckoned me to consider my idea of the home. Home for me is about place to feel at ease, home is sanctuary, it is refuge, it is comfort and safety.

The building of these structure has invited me to look at what home might be for others and has provided me a place to rebuild and recover my own connection to home. I began this body of work about a year after ending a toxic relationship that really uprooted my sense of home. Home for me is not just a dwelling it is also about community and connection so adding the mailbox was a natural progression thinking about keeping in touch with our loved ones wherever we roam. these mail boxes have become just as important as the campers and I am looking forward to continuing the investigation of these forms as well.

These first two pieces were inspired by photographs of Jeff Brauws, from his book “Readymades: American roadside artifacts”. It features photos of houses, barns, trucks, campers, as well as signs and abandoned businesses. These photos presented a number or lifeless, abandoned campers,

As I began the three dimensional sculpture I wanted it to feel a little more hopeful. Giving it a fresh blue exterior set on this speckled manganese it has a matte finish that looks pitted and worn but the manganese glitters as you change your angle of viewing. Adding silver leaf and stained glass with the hope to brighten and bring a sense of place and homeliness to the structure. 

The next camper project is modeled after the Argosy that currently sits at the Enchanted Circle Campground in Angel Fire, New Mexico. My older sister Kendra moved out and has found a home here and this was a way for me to connect to her life there while being so far away.

With this camper I made two forms and while working on the Argosy I began looking at other trailers and was drawn to the 1937 Roy Hunt Housecar. I was really interested in the idea of exploring more leafing and new ways of setting windows in these works so these two where a nice exploration of that as well as finding lighting that worked in these little forms.

In this time of the camper, schoolie, mobile home life juxtaposed with the housing crisis I hope these piece holds a place for conversations on living and dwellings as well as forging real connections and community.

Roads we wonder. 2024
7in W x 7in H x 12in L 
Ceramic, silver leaf, acrylic

End of the line (Argosy trailer with barn mailbox). 2024
7in W x 7in H x 13in L 
Ceramic, silver leaf, acrylic