Living with a manic-colored chair in brilliant color splashes of hot pink, yellow and blue is not everyone`s idea of relaxing, but ”this to me,” observes artist Nancy Drew, ”is soothing.”
”Soothing” may not be the first word to jump to most minds upon seeing Drew`s 40 pieces of furniture, home accessories, clothing, paintings and birdhouses at the Joy Horwich Gallery, 226 E. Ontario St. ”Cheery, fun, whimsical” are some of the words that probably will.
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Drew, 41, who has three children, learned early in motherhood and her career to work quickly. Today she is a prolific artist who works to the background music of a sound system in her Niles, Mich., studio. In the beginning she concentrated on painting and drawing, then began adding whimsical touches to clothing and more recently has been painting up a storm on furniture and birdhouses. She also produces a cartoon that runs weekly in the Tribune`s TempoWoman section.
”I`m doing more and more furniture,” she says. ”It`s so much fun. It`s like giving a three-dimensional portrait. And, of course, it`s functional, too.” Her favorite pieces are simple wooden kitchen chairs-”they are so Lucille Ball and Donna Reed”-from the 1940s and `50s.
Few things are off-limits to Drew`s playful paintbrush. ”My sofa, my Hoover, my phone are all painted,” she says. Just why such startling art for the home appeals to so many, including such seemingly unlikely consumers as corporate workers clad in pin stripes and floppy bow-ties, is no mystery to Drew.
”It teases the little part deep inside them that says they should not follow a formula,” she declares.
Nancy Drew`s art is at Joy Horwich Gallery until Jan. 3. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.