House in Turkey

Board, modeling paste, toothpicks, skewers, paint, clay, faux moss, tacky glue.

12” by 10” by 10.5”

2024

In this piece, I decided to recreate an abandoned and wrecked building that I saw in the town where my grandparents live in Turkey. Many of my works relate to my Turkish heritage, and this is my favorite example. While working on this piece I got to explore the capabilities of modeling paste, the material responsible for the thick texture of the cobblestones. Using a palette knife to spread it like icing, I etched in the grooves of the stones with ease and satisfaction. I also was pleasantly surprised from the risk I took of adding clay onto watercolor paper to form the broken cornice. It appears as rough and decayed as I intended, yet blends into the paper as if it is one piece altogether.