New Work: From the Weeds
The classic scenario of the artist-waiting-tables is laid bare in this on-going portrait series. In From the Weeds, the artist documents her compatriots nurturing their often hidden creative lives in a great range of activities.
Italo in Ithaca: Rhenia
Mary Thomas and Jillian Piccirilli publish the second installation of
Italo in Ithaca: Rhenia.
Italo in Ithaca is...a series of excursions intended to document an overlooked present and a past not told, "...but [contained] like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps..."
Italo in Ithaca: Deterra
Mary Thomas and Jillian Piccirilli launch the blog Italo in Ithaca.
A series of excursions intended to document an overlooked present and a past not told, "...but [contained] like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps...", this project is an exploration of the narratives embedded beneath the surface of Ithaca, New York. Inspired by Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities.
New Work: The Carlsons of Cadillac
A series of portraits, executed in oil and inspired by a dialogue with the artist's material grandmother and her own amateur photography documenting her generation.
Learning How to Cook Everything
NEW WORK!
A reference to New York Times writer Mark Bittman's seminal cook book, Learning How to Cook Everything is composed of 10 8” x 10” color photographs, which use traditional and non-traditional negatives and incorporate collage. A collaboration with my husband, the series is an intimate documentation of his foray into cooking as developing a life skill, a creative endeavor, and an avenue to continue a family tradition.
The Paws Family Through Exhibition
Tjaden Hall, Cornell University
May 12th - 23rd, 2008
This exhibition tells the story of The Paws Family, as it was discovered by two sisters and then relayed to their daughter/niece. A well-to-do family that made its wealth in textiles at the turn of the century, the Paws are compelling in their intriguing family history and diverse value systems & aesthetic sensibilities. They are a living and growing, sprawling rabbit clan served by a respectable staff and housed in numerous locations across this country, though they are primarily based in New England. Their story can be a bit unwieldy, full of drama and intrigue; but then, of course, most families' stories are.
This exhibition of their living artifacts, historical documents, family pictures, and texts aims to allow viewers to immerse themselves in the Paws and their history. Their private lives, as told through the accompanying private correspondence between two sisters, has been thrown open and laid bare for the viewer. Our hope is that by sharing their reality, the viewer's own reality is enriched.