I approach the vessel as a three dimensional canvas on which I paint narrative based imagery.  My hope with regard to the forms I’m painting on is that they play an equally important role to the conveying of meaning as the imagery that accompanies them.  Hopefully creating a symbiosis between the form and the image.  After several thematic changes with regard to subject matter, I’ve come to focus on children’s stories and fairy tales as a natural vehicle to explore my ideas.  I find their nostalgic nature and often complex themes to be especially appropriate and the visual references to be fantastic and richly expressive.  It is my hope that the stories initially trigger childhood memories and associations, then, steering the viewer’s imagination toward a more personal interpretation.

The universal appeal and familiarity of these stories to the viewing audience seems like the natural solution to transport personal meaning through relevant and accessible subject matter.  I really appreciate the imbued morality that these stories were meant to convey to children through their fantastic, very entertaining and often extremely dark nature.  It seems to me the story’s value wasn’t to be limited to the imaginations of younger audiences and is often extremely relevant to viewers of all ages and maybe even more appropriate for adults in many cases.

Our relationship to these stories and their meaning evolves just as we do and it is my wish to celebrate that.  Right now I’ve decided to focus on some of the more recognizable stories such as Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, Humpty Dumpty, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood.  As I move forward with this work I will begin to explore other stories, perhaps some that are a little more obscure.

[Posted by Justin on behalf of the artist.]