Last year I started making weird little house sculptures. They are not literal representations of my home or studio but are inspired by them and the surreal period in my life these past few years as I’ve adjusted to all of the changes and challenges after my husband’s death. They are made from recycled materials. They are wonky and weird. My progress on them has been slow. Some days I love them. Some days I think they are ridiculous. They are an odd cross between doll houses and spooky dioramas. I keep thinking about Frances Glessner Lee crime scene models. There is no forensic evidence or crime scene reenactment going on in my little houses. There is nothing precise about my construction. I’ve moved forward into the narrative to include ghosts and plants and wildlife taking over neglected structures. This work is about memory and failed expectations but also about the way the heart and mind and planet heal themselves after trauma. These houses are inspired by my little Ghost House, of course, but also other derelict houses. I’ve always found it interesting/poetic when nature starts to reclaim spaces where humans once lived. I’ve been fascinated by the houses in Pripyat, the abandoned city in Ukraine near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant for years. As the powers that should not be continue to do damage in this country, I am compelled to make these weird works. We shall see how this project progresses. It’s kind of funny that I’m building a representation of something haunted and broken and falling apart. I know it sounds gloomy but I’m finding the work gratifying and even a little amusing.