Middle School Teacher Paints 'Other People's Objects'

Just in time for the start of the new school year, Greenfield Middle School teacher Deborah Brooks' exhibit titled Other People's Objects, a Series of Paintings, will be coming soon to the Greenfield Public Library.

Brooks, of Wauwatosa, asked 38 different people to chose one singular household item for her to paint, which inspired her for the series of paintings that will be on display at the library from Aug. 17 to Sept. 27.

“The most surprising part of the project is how the object impacted my painting decisions," Brooks said. "There were many challenges to working from other people’s objects – some things were just plain odd: a goat’s udder, and some things were more detailed or flat - a coin - than objects I usually choose.

"The compelling part to me was how each object seemed to require something different in terms of paint application, color scheme, texture and placement.  I made visual, visceral decisions based on my relationships with the objects’ owners.

"Some seemed to require slippery, fast application of paint, others sticky layers. Decisions with color choices and placement were made as I thought about the owners and why they may have chosen their objects.”

Brooks' paintings will be on display in the second floor mezzanine area of the library.

Visit www.greenfieldlibrary.org for days and hours of operation, or call (414) 321-9595.

The Greenfield Library is located at 5310 W. Layton Ave..