Ridgeland, Mississippi
Getting to know Elaine
1. Where is the coolest place you traveled?
Croatia
2. What is your strangest irrational fear?
Spiders, rodents, bugs, and snakes are no problem. Leaches, however are A BIG FREAKING DEAL! No No No No No!
3. What is the dumbest way you injured yourself?
My Mom was cooking something in a big cast iron skillet that caught on fire. She pulled it off the stove and was about to hand it to me, and, in the panic, I took it with my bare open hand like a platter.
4. What do you dislike that everyone else seems to like?
The word “veggies”
5. If you could travel to the past and change one event, would you? Which one? Why?
Oooo! Time travel paradox! Ponder this: If changing just one event, even slightly, in the past can have huge consequences on the present, then what effect do our choices and actions today have on the future? All of your decisions, even small ones, matter.
6. What do you think is the meaning of life?
42
7. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?
The weather is sunny and crisp, and I’m somewhere in Western Europe, traveling solo.
Blue Jay Chair
2022 - 38x18x20" - Acrylic on Canvas-Upholstered Chair - NFS
"The same grandmother who gave me the chair to paint in the 1980s had a concrete wooden bench in her backyard where she would place peanuts in the shell each day for the pair of blue jays that would come and fetch them. She tended to both pets and the wildlife around her. When she started showing signs of dementia near the end of her life, she got confused about which cat(s) belonged in the house, and which ones were strays. Small piles of loose cat food were left all over the house, including on the backs of all the upholstered furniture, so the cat wouldn’t go hungry. The image of that cat food crumbling in the seams on the backs of the armchairs and the davenport struck me with such sadness. It was the signal that a shift had happened from which we couldn’t escape. Of everyone in the family I am most like her and she was most like me. I also put out peanuts for my bluejays, bury compost for the worms, rescue the spiders, and let the birds eat from my fig tree. No one goes hungry at our house."
"1985ish. Mom and Dad had tried to get me piano lessons when I was much younger than this, but I'm told I cried the whole time. It didn't scar me against music, but it did change my path with it. There's a stereo just behind me in this photo where I would play records like "Switched-On Bach" and dance for hours when I had the house to myself."
Mom
2020 - 4"x7" - Acrylic on Pheasant Feather, Thread, Board, Frame - NFS
"As I was considering works for this show, I realized I have very few of the almost 3000 feathers I’ve painted over the past 11 years in my own possession (and I have none in hand that deeply represent me, all of which have found other homes). I’ve sold or gifted almost every piece of art I’ve ever made. I called my mom and asked if I could borrow this one back for the show (I painted it for her as a Mother’s Day gift in 2020). It doesn’t necessarily represent my own personal spirit, but it does reflect my love for her, and her love for me and my brother. That fact is, itself, reflective of me. I’ve made so much of my art for others rather than for myself."
"I grew up in Archbold, Ohio, which was home to Sauder Village, a historical village and farm with working craftsmen, including a blacksmith, glassblower, potter, etc. As a kid, I loved nothing more than to spend all day feeding the horses, bunnies, lambs, ducks, and all creatures domestic and wild. The bakery made their day-old donuts available for the raccoons. I was fascinated by their hands as they would take the sugary treats from me. I think some health department somewhere eventually put a stop to the raccoon feeding, which is a shame. They were my buddies."
Trapper Keeper Chair
1988 - 35x14x16" - Latex and Acrylic on Wood Chair, Time - NFS
"I painted this when I was around 12 years old. It's weathered because it got left in the shed for the last several years at my mom's house. I found it there this past summer and brought it home with me. Grandma Gooding gave me the plain black chair to paint, knowing that sort of thing was right up my alley."
"A more recent photo from spring 2022! These are my bassoon buds in the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Bassoonists are always very crafty, and we made our own masks, of course. Principal bassoonist Jon Wenberg (on the left) and I share a February 25th birthday and we always get together to make cake for the orchestra and announce that we are both 37 again. That giant piece of plumbing I'm holding is my contrabassoon, which I bought from a USDA researcher in Leland, Mississippi who collects unusual instruments. This particular beast used to belong to the NYC Ballet."
Butterfly Box
2017/2020 - 13x8x8" - Acrylic, Goldleaf, Deer Skull, Box, 1963 Polish Dolls - NFS
"The small deer skull from Brandon, MS. It was painted hunter orange when I acquired it. I’m in the process of illustrating a book of my brother’s poems about murdering butterflies (it’s taking longer than anticipated), and this piece was born out of that project. This hangs above our piano, and the dolls became part of it during the pandemic. My mother brought them back from Poland in 1963 when she traveled there as a representative of the Red Cross, with which she was deeply involved in high school."
Credits:
All images are provided by the artist.