It's Been a While

Please forgive my seven year hiatus.

To begin, all is well in the Grumet-Groppe household.  We still live in Kew Gardens, Queens, and our daughters Megan and Devon just started their junior and freshman years of high school.  Bob is still fishing, cooking, and Terry Pratchetting, and has accepted our daughters' ages with aplomb.  We  have added two pets to our household: Zilla, our tortoise, and Toby, our hare:

And I work full time for the City in a job that I like.

So why resurrect my blog now?  I am excited to report that I am participating in a joint project between the Edward Gorey House and the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.  So excited, in fact, that I've decided to start writing again.

In addition to his art, Edward Gorey was an avid collector of many things, including cheese graters, salt and pepper shakers, Red Rose Tea miniature figurines, and stray tassels which he salvaged and later drew.  The Gorey House showcased some of his collections in its 2017 exhibit Edward Gorey's Cabinet of Curiosities.  We drove up for the exhibit and loved it.

Now Goreyosity Shop invites artists to repurpose some of the items that Gorey collected into new pieces of art.  Materials include fabric, architectural debris, scrap iron, tools, baubles, toys, bad art, and more.  Artwork will be displayed and auctioned at the Cultural Center in June 2019.

I feel honored and lucky to be included as one of the twenty-four artists.  I will chronicle the progress of my work with excruciating detail.  But before I start, I would like to provide context for why this project is so perfect for me.

Edward Gorey is my favorite artist.  Gorey was actually the letter G of my ABCs of Art poster. I also made a miniature version of Edward Gorey's house with my daughters in 2017.  (The Gorey House was kind enough to display our house as part of their 2017 exhibit, which was truly wonderful.)

I love antiques.  I collect war bond posters and antique toys, and it is possible that I am overly attached to objects with history. It is also possible that photos of our apartment would demonstrate this.

So for these reasons, the chance to create my own art from objects that Edward Gorey personally collected is extraordinary.

Thank you, and more to come!