PASTICHE Coasters

Talk about a surface saver! These 3.75 x 3.75 IN. coasters are perfect for when the heat is on or your glass has the cold sweats. The tempered masonite tops are cushioned by a cork bottom and easy to keep clean with a quick brushoff using a damp cloth. Each set features a print of an original painting from the collection of Jennifer S. Levine. What better way is there to add a pop of color to your table?

ABOUT THE PAINTING:

PASTICHE: Acrylic on canvas, 10 x 10 IN.

Pastiche means an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc. usually taken from different sources. The composition of this painting fits this definition, snugly. But, with the way the elements come together, the theme feels pretty cohesive. Don’t you think?

This is my first finished piece of 2024 but its journey into being took over six months. It was a labor of love, frustration, a lot of experimentation and dumb luck. In short, it reflects my life over this timeline. I have no idea how many iterations it took to finally come to its conclusion, just as I can’t begin to summarize where all I had to internally go to get where I’m at now. But, that’s life: the road maps that end up going in circles only to finish in uncharted paths, the grand designs that absorb all your attention yet you have to overcome obstacles to see them clearly, the patterns you make for yourself, the patterns you brake for yourself, feeling you’ve got the world on a string only to discover you’re being pulled by a rope.

All these moments you carry with you, some as life lessons, some as experiences and some just traveling along. If you could somehow carbon copy a few of your selves in a couple of these moments, as lessons are being learned and experiences had, would these selves recognize their own tempered reflections? Maybe we’re all just a colorful pastiche in our own way. So, here’s a quilt-like composition to remind us: We need to be a little kinder to the parts that made us, us.