The Women's Caucus for the Arts, Denver Chapter, hosted a reception for their show "Kitchen Goddess".  The gallery portion had an installation of a kitchen with kitchen related activities all covered in fiber.  The stove was covered in fiber with the heating coil made from yarn, etc.  It looked like a Playskool artistic version of a kitchen.  There were some individual artist pieces in the room to add to the ambiance. 

The mezzanine had the bulk of the show.  It's a juried show and I was wondering who juried the show.  I would have liked to see a juror's statement to understand why some pieces were included.  I know the organization is having some difficulties and I was wondering if some of the pieces were in the show because they were active members?  Or did the jury really feel they belonged there?

For me the pieces to see were Sally Mankus' "Crown" and "Pyramid Handles".  They are pot lids that have been altered with some type of transfer of faces.  It is a very inventive use of kitchen materials and really emphasized the theme of the show.  Catherine Schemmerling's "Double Ewe" utilized acrylics and vintage wallpaper.  I felt the vintage wallpaper added an authenticity to the piece that really couldn't have been achieved any other way...kudos to Catherine.  Cathryn Ridlen's mix media sculptures were fun, whimsical and gave voice to the kitchen goddess in a unique way.  It reminded me of the saints and there being a saint for everything.  Cathryn's sculptures gave a presence to all the kitchen goddess' ; the three in the show are "Fruitful Goddess", "Java Goddess" and "Mixing it Up Goddess".  I found Kay Tuttle's three panel screen of oil on canvas to be a true testament to the wonders of the Kitchen Goddess.  Her piece "The Diet Del Monte Crunch/As the World Turns brought to life the dualities in the life of each and every kitchen goddess.  It had a real presence in the show and I would love to see more of Kay's work.

The show was interesting but not the hit I'd hoped for.  What I found to be the most artistic point of the evening were the members of the Women's Caucus for the Arts.  The women dressed in vintage attire as they played meet and greet with the attendees.  The costumes were a cross between "Pleasantville" and "The Wizard of Oz".  They were the greatest kitchen goddess' of all.  Too bad we couldn't keep these women on display for the length of the show.

Getting hungry...
Greg