Working at Two Scales

The Making of a Shrine for a Sippy Cup” in Two Sizes

I’ve been working small, as in miniature, since before the founding of the micro gallery, the Angelica Kauffman Gallery, in 2021.  I did the 100 Day Project in 2020 or 2021 and did 100 Days of Still Lives with Miniatures.

Recently, I’ve been working on making a miniature quilt and a full size quilt, on the same subject, at the same time.

While this is the first time I’ve done that – working on both at the same time – it’s not the first time I’ve made a mini of one of my full size works.

Here’s “Shrine for a Sippy Cup,” from 2017, in two scales. The larger one is from 2017; the mini version is from 2021.  (There’s also a medium sized  version in my studio that I don’t seem to have photos of.)

“Shrine for a Sippy Cup” at two scales by Elaine Luther, 2017, 2021

I made the larger one to mark the letting go of my youngest child moving into the next phase of childhood. The plant inside the sippy cup is artificial bittersweet. (Real bittersweet is apparently a terrible, invasive plant, and also, not available dried.)  It’s not my own child’s sippy cup, it one I asked for on a local give-away network. You know, standard post, “artist seeks sippy cups.”

The exterior of the house forms of both artworks are collaged with quotes about motherhood, collected from friends on social media, and used with permission.

Another view of the miniature “Shrine for a Sippy Cup,” with quilt block and platform.

Work in progress images from the making of Shrine for a Sippy Cup by Elaine Luther, 2017.

In 2021, the outdoor version of the Angelica Kauffman Gallery was in the Terrain Biennial for the first time. Terrain is an international exhibition of art in front yards (and other alternative spaces) started by artist Sabina Ott in Oak Park, Illinois.

Terrain runs for 6 weeks, but I made things harder for myself by changing out the show 2 or 3 times. (And did that again for Terrain in 2023.) Below are images from the Domestic Labor show in AKG @ Terrain in 2023. You can see my mini Shrine for a Sippy Cup in this show.

Shrine for a Sippy Cup by Elaine Luther on the right. Along the back wall: Marilyn McCord, Vanessa Marr, Kim Thornton.

Installation view of the Angelica Kauffman Gallery in the Terrain Biennial in 2021.

Quilting at Two Scales

Back to that Quilt I mentioned. Last week, I delivered a solo show to Jill Narhstedt, who runs the micro gallery, Far Northside Gallery in Chicago. The show opens soon, maybe today! She’ll install the show as she envisions it, and I was picturing the mini quilt on the back wall of her gallery. This quilt is large, by my usual miniature art standards; it’s not quite 6″ x 6″.

It’s always fun to deliver a micro show, these are shipped across the country and the world in surprisingly small boxes and envelopes. This tea box was just the right size.

Delivering a micro solo show to Far Northside Gallery in Chicago. Art by Elaine Luther, 2024.

Here are some images of the making of this mini quilt.

The Making of Mini Bread & Roses by Elaine Luther, 2024.

The name of the quilt is Bread & Roses. The center is a vintage waterslide decal over painted fabric. When I started to write this post, I was going to show you the work in progress on the full size quilt, then I remembered that I don’t show work in progress shots of work that’s not finished yet, and also, I’m not happy with it and am going to start over. So stay tuned for that one.

To see the rest of the art in the Far Northside Gallery, follow it on Instagram.