Audrey, Life in the Universe
51. Audrey: Life in the Universe 2000 48x48” oil and cubic zirconia on panel $30,000
In 1997, while watching my baby daughter sleep in my makeshift studio in Philadelphia, I was struck by the wonder of how this tiny human being could be alive in this huge city and world, and I allowed my perspective to grow out, from my little studio on 22nd street, to above Philadelphia, to over the East Coast, to the western hemisphere, to the earth… out into the universe. As I daydreamed and drew, I imagined her, actually all of us humans, floating alive through space, with a quilt of history and humanity surrounding us and keeping us warm. I was reminded of Escher and the bending of boundaries and rules… I began to doodle in the edges and think about all I could put into this painting. Now I had a very special model, a perfect little life, to put in my painting. It took three years to accomplish what I’d sketched while she slept in the studio that day. (See Doodle of Audrey Sleeping, number 46.)
