Various “dream homes” are planned and rendered again and again in different incarnations, vestiges of hope and wanting, each better than the last but possibly never reaching their idolized status that has so captivated American sensibilities. Using dynamic color and pattern relationships the rigidity of an architectural floor plan is transformed with a delicate and detailed hand to envision visual interactions reflective of a domestic environment.
Through repetition and exploration, these works at once draw to mind both positive and negative associations: home design and planning, nostalgic embroidered objects, home-making and women’s arts... but also the housing crisis, the emotional complexity of domestic environments, the external appearance of perfection and the imperfection hidden within the home, and the dream versus the reality of home ownership.
The plans are infused with the language of embroidery, referencing the analog versions of both home and landscape design and embroidery templates. Coupling embroidery with architecture, the work connects the masculine and feminine, modern and historical, technological and handmade. This dialogue between the slowness of the handmade and the immediacy of modern technology in domestic architecture creates a new context for embroidery in today’s ready-made society. These fused elements address the constant struggle to attain the “American dream” while simultaneously seeking a fulfilled, meaningful existence apart from and along with one’s material possessions.