Floor Plans Series
From 2008 to 2010, I embroidered floor plans of homes I imagined and designed — various “dream homes.” Growing in complexity, each piece took months to create.
From 2010 to 2015, I transitioned from embroidered to drawn floor plans. The works allowed me to move more quickly through the work while developing a drawing style informed by the repetitious and cumulative nature of embroidery. I worked with colored pencil on a semi-translucent polymer paper, Mylar, which limited the range of marks, removed mark memory, and increased pigment vibrancy compared to paper.
Images are arranged chronologically.
Dream Home Sweet Home (2 bedrooms, 2 baths, with 2 spacious studios). Hand embroidery on cloth. 10 x 8 inches. 2008. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home (3 bedrooms, 2 baths with open living area). Hand embroidery on cloth. 8 x 10 inches. 2008. NFS
Dream Home Sweet Home (Country cottage with concealed wrap-around porch, 2 bedrooms and open living area). Hand embroidery on cloth. 14 x 11 inches. 2008. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home (3 bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half baths, 2 car garage, and studio with wrap-around porches, patio and mature trees). Hand embroidery on linen. 22 x 28 inches. 2009. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home (Modernized New England cottage, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths). Hand embroidery on cloth. 12 x 16 inches. 2008. Private collection
Installation view of Dream Home Sweet Home series. 2009
Dream Home Sweet Home (Renovated warehouse with 2 artist studios and loft). Hand embroidery on cloth. 18 x 24 inches. 2009.
Dream Home Sweet Home (Mature Landscape). Hand embroidery on cloth. 26 x 20 inches. 2010. NFS
Dream Home Sweet Home (#3141001). Colored pencil on Mylar. 8.5 x 11 inches. 2010. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home (#3281002). Colored pencil on mylar on Canson paper. 8.5 x 11 inches. 2010. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home (#5231003). Colored pencil on mylar on Canson paper. 18 x 24 inches. 2010. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home (#1301101). Colored pencil on Mylar on Canson paper. 18 x 24 inches. 2011
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 1. Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 1.5. Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 12 Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 2.5. Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 3. Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 3.5. Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Dream Home Sweet Home (#11101102) Floor 4. Colored pencil on Mylar. 14 x 20 inches. 2011. (This work is comprised of seven drawings, listed by floor; each drawing is one level of the home.)
Rare Form Brewery. Colored pencil on Mylar over colored paper. 11 x 8.5 inches. 2014. Private collection
Interior Spaces (New England). Colored pencil on Mylar. 11 x 8.5 inches. 2015
Interior Spaces (Bungalow). Colored pencil on Mylar. 11 x 8.5 inches. 2015
Interior Spaces (Living). Colored pencil on Mylar. 11 x 8.5 inches. 2015. Private collection
Dream Home Sweet Home Series Artist Statement, 2012
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.