Hard Knock Life

Hard Knock Life
12” x 12”
Mixed Media on Canvas (Framed)
(Limited Edition Knowles China Plate from the Private Collection of Gillian
Apfel)
May 2022

This limited-edition Knowles plate commemorates the 1980s movie version of Annie. Usually, I stick to gold lead for my classic Kintsugi pieces. But this piece was different. Instead of using gold to join, I chose red. Here you see the traditional red Japanese lacquer, accentuated with a vein of red metallic leaf.

This piece is a little Rorschach test. Some saw the little orphan Annie joyfully holding a balloon, others saw orphanages full of children if Roe was being undone, some saw women’s bodies being torn asunder, others saw the heartbreak of a child being separated from unconditional love.

I love that about this piece. I love that we all see different things when we look at it. It’s a hard knock life for all of us.