Every two years, the Department of Arts & History calls artists to submit visual artwork currently for sale or a proposed artwork for their collection, the Boise Visual Chronicle. I submitted a proposed painting for the 2014 BVC application, and much to my delighted surprise, the City chose my proposal for the collection.
I call this 14" x 14" oil painting the "Boise Junk Drawer." To me, living in Boise means enjoying recreation in foothills, mountains and rivers without sacrificing the culture of larger cities in visual and performing arts, music and food. We get it all. I thought about how to capture these traits in a still life painting and came up with a junk drawer concept. Everyone has one. These drawers are full of little anthropomorphic symbols of our daily activities.
Local businesses represented:
- Guru Donuts "Hipsterberry" doughnut
- Plate by Mike Sowers of Classic Lines Pottery
- Flying M Coffeehouse mug
- Coaster from the music venue and bar Neurolux
- Member sticker from Boise Contemporary Theater
Symbols of outdoor life and recreation:
- Smith Optics ski goggles (based in Sun Valley)
- Ridge to Rivers trail guide to the Boise foothills
- Camping "spork"
- Sport climbing carabiner
- Hand-tied stone fly and Mickey Finn streamer for fly fishing
- Bike chain purchased at Boise Bicycle Project
- Dog leash and Boise Parks & Rec pet waste bag
Other nods to life in Boise and Idaho:
- Built to Spill album "Keep it Like a Secret"
- Ernest Hemingway novels, "A Farewell to Arms" and "Death in the Afternoon" (Hemingway loved to fish on Silver Creek and owned a home in Ketchum where he died)
- Charcoal pencils representing our visual artists
- Sewing shears honoring the craftspeople of Capital City Public Market and indie shops
- Hardwood table with junk drawer handmade by my father and me
- Wood floors in my 1917 home in the West End, a mile from downtown Boise