Family Familiarities
2016, 2023
Born out of thrifted, found or donated books and a bit of paint, the Family Familiarities series is a collection of familial frustrations, feuds and flopped fantasies. The series follows the story of “Melondy’s” younger years growing up in a soon-to-be broken home.
Family Familiarities is an introspective body of work that captures the intricate, often private, complexities of creating and growing a family through the medium of acrylic paint on book covers. Born out of thrifted, found, or donated books, each piece of this series unveils a captivating tale of familial frustrations, feuds, and flopped fantasies.
At the heart of this collection lies the story of the whimsical black and white character Melondy (who first appears in the book art series “Melondy: Issues of Adolescence”), her parents and her formative years within the confines of a home destined for dissolution. Each book cover, carefully chosen for its title, has been arranged with its counterparts to create a thought-provoking background narrative or “found poem.”
Drawing inspiration from childhood nursery rhymes and playground saying, the titles of each artwork cleverly interact with the imagery. With each piece, I seek to illuminate the multidimensional nature of family dynamics, exploring the interplay between love and conflict, connection and dissonance. Through Family Familiarities, I invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences and contemplate the universal complexities of human relationships.
Pain Pain, Go Away, Numb I Am Another Day
Book Titles:
TOGETHER ALONE
COLD HAND IN MINE
SLOWING DOWN TO THE SPEED OF LIFE
Anniversary
WHEN MY LOVE RETURNS FROM THE LADIES ROOM, WILL I BE TOO OLD TO CARE?
HIS NEEDS, HER NEEDS
Everyone Is Entitled to My Opinion
Holding On to the Air
WILL YOU LOVE ME IN SEPTEMBER
Say You Love Me
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN and MEAN WHAT YOU SAY!
HAVE I EVER LIED TO YOU?
Lord Vanity
MY TURN TO SPEAK
SEZ WHO? SEZ ME
LOVE AND WAR
CLEARING THE AIR
WINNERS AND LOSERS
And They Lived Happily Ever After?
Book Titles:
THERE WAS ONCE A TIME
A More Innocent Time
Searching for Courtship
GREAT FRIENDS
Finding the Love of Your Life
A Wedding in December
Before You Plan Your Wedding . . . Plan Your Marriage
HAPPY LIVING
MOTHER OF THE BRIDE
Speak to Me of Love
God’s Book
We Danced All Night
MARRIED LOVERS
Picturing Us
GROWING A HEALTHY MARRIAGE
Quiet Times for Couples
MY HUSBAND, MY FRIEND
CREATING A Beautiful HOME
Star Light Star Bright, I Wish For My Baby Tonight
Book Titles:
MEN ARE FROM MARS WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS
Mars AND Venus IN THE Bedroom
CHILDREN ARE FROM HEAVEN
FATHER-TO-BE
THE Children of the Dream
RESTORING THE American Dream
( misconceptions )
THE SECOND OPINION
DR. SUSAN LOVE’S HORMONE BOOK
OUT OF ORDER
Birthright
EVERYDAY PROBLEMS IN BIOLOGY
KILLING ME SOFTLY
STRANGE STORIES, AMAZING FACTS
LIFE ON THE EDGE
Breaking Through God’s Silence
ONE CHILD
The Beginning of the End
Book Titles:
IN THE BEGINNING
THE EARLY AMERICAN NOVEL
FLASHPOINT
Stop the Insanity!
LAUGHING OUT LOUD
SHUT UP, HE EXPLAINED
Just Tell Me What You Want
NO ONE TO HEAR YOU SCREAM
LOUDER THAN WORDS
LOSING IT
OUT OF CONTROL
FAMILY BLESSINGS?
When All the Laughter Died in Sorrow
THE SHAPING OF NORTH AMERICA
COLLECTING NOSTALGIA
THE BROKEN WINDOW
GROWING UP
The Best Advice I Ever Got
Prophetic warnings to modern America
Thirty Days Hath September, We Have A Budget... Remember?
Book Titles:
WORLDLY GOODS
The Good Life
NUMBER SYSTEMS AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION TO CALCULUS AND ANALYSIS
DEBT-FREE LIVING?
Shopaholic & Baby
Principles of Mathematical Analysis
basic technical mathematics with calculus
Nickel and Dimed
FROM THREE CENTS A WEEK . . .
ALMOST THE TRUTH
BAD BEHAVIOR
I WAS JUST THINKING
Financial Peace Revisited
Money & Your Marriage
oops! or, LIFE’S AWFUL MOMENTS
Don’t Look Now
CREDIT-CARD CAROLE
A RELIABLE WIFE
FAMILY BUSINESS
How could you do that?!
THE LEVELING WIND
MARITAL COUNSELING
THE Gathering Storm
All The Counselors' Discourses & All The Therapists' Zen Couldn't Put Mommy & Daddy Back Together Again
Book Titles:
(Left Third)
THE FIGHT FOR UNION - HAPPY ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
SO LONG AS YOU BOTH SHALL LIVE - An Introduction to The Theatre
THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE - INTELLIGENCE REFRAMED
MAKING YOUR CASE - THE DIVORCE HANDBOOK
HALVING IT ALL How Equally Shared Parenting Works - The JURY MASTER
(Center Third)
THE SEVEN LEVELS OF INTIMACY - CHEMISTRY: A Modern Course
Fighting for Common Ground - THE PSYCHOLOGY OF COUNSELING
OH, HOW THEY PLAYED THE GAME - DEADLOCK
Family Ties - BREAKING THE RING
STANDOFF - Up Jumps the Devil
PLAN OF ATTACK - The Runaway Jury
THE SURVIVORS CLUB - OUR STOLEN FUTURE
I’M TOO YOUNG TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK
(Right Third)
PARTNERS IN POWER - THE American Mind
STATE OF A UNION - WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?
DIVIDED WE FALL - What Should I Tell the Kids?
CUSTODY - How to Survive the Loss of a Love
FAMILY SCRAPBOOKS - MY LIFE SO FAR