Books are portable treasures. They grant access to the wisdom of another individual or individuals. Books bring joy, reflection, adventure, advice, and above all, knowledge. To me, books are friends and teachers.

For this project, I found Taste of Home, a cookbook, at a Goodwill store. It spoke to me because I love to host and entertain people around our big table, and I also liked this book because it was a substantial hardback copy that will lend itself well to alterations.

I was inspired by World Central Kitchen’s Chef Jose Andres: “Don’t build walls, build longer tables.” I used a wooden serving tray as the base for this 3D sculpture. On it, I constructed a roof (the cover of the cookbook), with rafters made of plastic cutlery. The roof rests on four pillars, and shades at least half of a very long table that extends into a garden where lots of healthy vegetables grow. The table’s surface is covered with a collage of faces, while it is lined underneath with paper napkins. On top, I added simple white plates made from clay. The table rests on a welcome mat woven from pages of the cookbook.

I used paper, plaster, grout, canvas spanners, acrylics, gloss medium, string, plastic cutlery, and superglue.

The piece is 20 x 14” and 12” tall