If you’ve ever felt even the slightest ounce of guilt or shame around the things you’ve been holding onto and/or collecting for a little too long, fret not.
The Collectionists, Heidi Dauphin (@heididauphin) and Laura Spaulding Best (@bestsofphoenix), will welcome you to a wonderfully odd world filled with whozits and whatisits galore.
Located inside Vision Gallery in Downtown Chandler, The Collectionists displays some of their most treasured objects, ranging from a labyrinth of shoes that Heidi’s daughter wore from infancy to adulthood, to bowling pins that Laura transformed with oil paint into endless horizons of iconic yet ordinary Phoenix imagery.
That seems to be one of the threads connecting both artists’ work: an ode to the beauty of the mundane. It’s not just about marveling at the mundane, however, but about devoting attention to the everyday moments and objects we live with. By pulling them out of their ordinary context, they’re allowed to become vessels for memory, reflection, and contemplation.
Have you ever looked at the bottom of your shoe and analyzed the grid-like patterns it leaves in the dust?
Have you found yourself mesmerized by the strangely familiar silhouette of a telephone pole against the fading sky?
Did you remember to take your birth control today?
You’re not alone. Our lives are made up mostly of ordinary moments like these: driving home from work, writing a grocery list, taking medication, and participating in a seemingly never-ending cycle of accumulating and discarding objects.
Why not give these everyday moments and objects the attention they deserve? Why not hang onto that collection of old hats in the closet a little while longer? You never know what they could turn into.
Downtown Chandler is a bit of a drive for some of you in the Valley, but trust us, you don’t want to miss this. Prepare yourself by bringing a special trinket you’d like to trade for a piece painted by Laura Spaulding Best, and don’t forget to contribute to Heidi Dauphin’s penny wall of memories.
You can visit @visiongalleryaz Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.