Paintings of Family History

Jeanne Ludeke‘s box painting are beautiful. There is simple charm to the everyday, but when you understand her attachment to what one might discard, more sense is made.

Ludeke says “I come from a family of builders and makers.  My father built the house I grew up in and my mother remained in that house until she passed away in 2014. While sorting through her belongings with my brothers and sisters, I became interested in the cardboard boxes my mother had used to store and preserve what was important to her.”

Suddenly causal cardboard has memories housed within, a world of emotion awaiting to be explored. We just get to steel a glimpse of the lovingly kept, catalogued and preserved. It’s funny the things that are so precious when loved ones are gone, these paintings are a tender reminder of just that.