The Formica Collection
2026 is the year I made some leaps. I quit my teaching jobs and decided to really go all in with my studio practice. Over the last three years, I learned to love some art materials that I never in a million years would have thought were, well, lovable. Get ready to clutch at your art pearls but...I grew to love tempera paint. Yep, that flat, chalky, horrible smelling paint they give to kids because it supposedly washes out of clothes. (It does not, btw) No other paint looks like tempera..it's not glossy, it doesn't mix well, it makes anything you paint it on pucker, it gets flaky and peels...it's really gross. BUT, the colors and the flat, chalky surfaces are gorgeous in their own way.
When coming back to my studio after a hiatus of about 3 years, I started by cleaning everything out. My daughter forced me to touch every single thing in there, nothing was left undone. In the process I found a mountain of semi precious stones that no longer interested me.
Enter my Daughter's high school band instructor ( shout out to Mr. Morton, MHS!). More than an instructor...he's like a dad to hundreds of kids who come through his program every year. He's incredible and deserved a really special gift when my daughter graduated. He is a very smart dresser and often wears a tux, and I noticed that he also often wore pins with his tux. I decided to make him a pin depicting the high school music logo he uses on everything, but how to make part of it maroon? Formica. I ordered some samples and was off to the races. I was so excited about the process and the result but then I had to go back to teach.
Formica is fantastic to work with, it cuts easily and can be worked with a file or sandpaper. It's durable and relatively water resistant. However, the colors they make now are boring...so so so boring. I wanted bright colors and interesting patterns. I wanted salesmen's samples from the old days! What I found was incredible. From bright pink to glitter black, gold flecks and linen patterns. I'm now obsessed with finding all the samples I can so I never run out of that gorgeous flat, bright pop of color.
