Kitty's Favorite Things

The raw edge of kitschy coolness in Kitty B's work makes it great fun. And if you ever lucky enough to meet her, it takes about three seconds to understand she is as festive and unabashedly honest as her work. She is full of stories and thoughtful comments she offers in a lilting and breathy voice. She lends a sincerity to passionate discussions that bespeaks of her joy for the moment at hand, and a reverence for the past.

It takes less time to understand Kitty loves the leftover bits of yesterday that are worn and loved and seemingly useless...some would call it old junk. She seeks it out and hordes it with abandon. Calico & Buttons are her two very favorite things, so she’s named her assemblage pieces and framed collages in their celebration. They hang everywhere in my home.

Kitty Babendreier is the mistress of assemblage, carefully curating her odd boxes of whimsy by freezing bits of everyday life for inspection. In her art, Kitty elevates castoff tools, misfit toys and broken tidbits in her celebration of whimsy, selecting and then surrounding them in their own little world of paper and glitter, whimsy and mirth.

I am completely intoxicated with Kitty and her work. I've collected it feverishly for years. When we first met in 2003, I would drive 3 hours in February snows and the muggy heat of August to see her at a show she used to do down in Pennsylvania. I would make piles of boxes, arranging them on the floor in vignettes, moving them about endlessly. Then I would decide I had to have all of them...or at least as many as I could carry in my two arms (I had to establish some type of control or I would have had every last one!)

I am no less than overjoyed that she is now among my "Angel" artists! Thanks Kitty for all the fabulous mixed media boxes, kitsch-laden collages and bits of magic brew you have sent this way....30 new pieces are here at Earth Angels. E-mail if you'd like us to add you to the list to receive images via email newsletter.

You can also see some of Kitty's work at my sister-in-law Joanne's shop and restaurant, Charlotte's Tea Room. It's well worth an afternoon visit. Have a pot of my favorite "Paris Tea" on the deck overlooking the creek or inside the cozy tea room where chintz and white wrought iron chairs nestle with ironstone teapots in cozy nooks. Tell Mary, the best waitress in the world, that I sent you. And if they have their famous toffee scones that day, ring me and I will be right down to join you.

xxoo Jen O'Connor

Earth Angels Toys