Be It Ever So Humble
I’m so pleased that Be It Ever So Humble was chosen to be part of the annual art auction at Verge Center for the Arts.
This mixed-media work combines a silver gelatin photograph with color pencil, acrylic, wax pastel, and found objects on a small wooden box. At just twelve inches tall, it invites an intimate, up-close experience, a quiet moment of discovery for those who take the time to look closely.
My husband and I were both born and raised in California but left in our twenties when he joined the Army. We couldn’t wait to see the world, and we loved living in so many different places. His first posting was in Alabama, lush, green, and forested. Yet even as I admired its beauty, I found myself longing for California’s golden hills dotted with oak trees. My father-in-law, knowing how homesick I was, sent photos of those dry brown hills. I cherished every one.
From Alabama to Germany to Colorado, each place had its own kind of beauty. But in the end, we felt a little like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, ready to click our heels and find our way home.
This piece continues my ongoing exploration of home, a recurring theme in my work where house-shaped forms merge with landscapes that feel familiar and deeply rooted. In Be It Ever So Humble, the landscape shows the palm trees surrounding Hearst Castle, one of my favorite places along California’s central coast.
A small dog sitting in a chair inside the structure adds another layer of meaning. For more than forty years, dogs have been a part of our household. During the rare times we didn’t have one, their absence was palpable. For me, home simply isn’t complete without a canine companion.
The polished stones in this assemblage were collected by my great-grandfather, a rock collector who turned the treasures he found throughout California into buttons, clocks, and other creations. Including his stones here feels like bringing a piece of family history—and California’s landscape—into the work. The tiny ceramic element echoes the shape of the Hearst Castle tower visible in the photograph, tying the piece together visually and symbolically.
Above the “room” of the house rests a small bird. Birds have long been a symbol for me of God’s care and compassion. There’s a verse in the Bible that says even when a small bird falls, God knows and cares, and how much more He cares for each of us. Including these little birds in my work is a quiet reminder to myself that no matter what’s happening, God is still watching over me, working for my good.
In the end, Be It Ever So Humble is more than a reflection on place; it’s a meditation on belonging. Wherever life takes us, home is built from the people, memories, and small signs of care that remind us we are never forgotten.
