Collaboration
Feminine Mystique
(aka The Barbie Cake)
Feminine Mystique began as a piece for the Humor Show at The Gallery Project in Ann Arbor, MI. "The Barbie Cake," as she became known, draws inspiration from Barbie cakes, hollow sugar easter eggs with little sugary scenes inside, and little girl dreams. It is also a reflection on feminine outer "beauty" vs. inner beauty, strength, wonder, sexuality, and imagination.
Feminine Mystique has been in 4 shows in Ann Arbor and Detroit.
Grace
In February 2011, Mike and Julie participated in a group show at Siena Heights University titled Reclaim, Revere, Regard. Curated by artist Christine Reising, the show brought together five artists who, in different ways, create "shrines." Mike and Julie's installation, titled Grace, was created in reverence to the feminine influences in our lives, primarily our mothers. Sparked by a Buddhist home shrine at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the idea developed into a series of tables (Mike) on black and white tiles that evoke an old fashioned kitchen. On each table sits a shrine (Julie) honoring our mothers, both of whom worked with needle and thread. The quilt motif is referenced on the wall which contains 40 squares with images of the women in our lives. The piece reflects each of our obsessive work, from the detailed painting on the tables to the glitter, beads and found objects on the shrines.