Studio Closeup #23 is part of The Museum Series and centers around the old Racine Unified School District’s reading curriculum I was a part of in the 1970s. I’ve included some photos of the original reading material that I’ve been able to hunt down and procure thanks to the internet. I keep (hoard) some of the copies that I’ve been able to hunt down for reference copies only, but some have to be sacrificed to the art gods to make dioramas. I could make copies of the things I perform surgery on, but it would lack the authentic feel I obsess over.

There will be four dioramas total and one still from an old 1970’s filmstrip inside this piece. The filmstrip still is not from the book series proper; it’s from a National Geographic Filmstrip series from the late 1970’s. I mention this because there apparently WAS a filmstrip series that went with these books that I saw pictured in one of the teacher’s manuals that I’d give anything to hunt down and see in person. I check all my haunts every morning for this unicorn but so far no luck. I’ll keep trying though because you never know (I’m sure I’ve mentioned this quest before.) Instead, I’ve included a photo of the photo of what that filmstrip collection looked like in all its color coded glory.

The top and bottom borders of this piece I’ve made green instead of my typical linen white to emulate the bright green cover of the reading book that always stayed in my mind. That shade of green for the borders of the piece was also the color of my bedroom growing up. I had dark green carpet to go with that spring green color which was always a nice perk when playing with my Breyer model horses because I just saw my floor as one big green pasture for all of them.

Please enjoy and thank you for stopping by!

Title: The Museum Series - Jill and Lad (Pocketful of Sunshine)
Year: 2020
Media: Acrylic Paint, Paper Diorama, Filmstrip, Wood Panel
Total Dimension: 11” x 14”