Shoe & Tell Exhibit: Ninety Square Feet of Shoes & Paraphernalia

This week I will be posting my recent exhibit Shoe & Tell in all its splendor. I will post one case every day or two, along with the details of its contents. Here is the chronicle of the exhibit so you can follow along.

When I was asked to fill five 6'x3' cases at Los Angeles Valley College with my own shoes and shoe collection, I said yes immediately, as my general rule is to try to say yes to everything regarding my work. Upon reflection I wondered how on earth I was going to do it, but that's how I tend to inspire myself to do things that might otherwise seem daunting, or somehow out of my orbit or comfort zone.

My natural inclination was to have the exhibit focus less on me and more about people's fascination with shoes in general. There is a contemporary fascination with making shoes, which is part of a big wave of interest in making things oneself, in conjunction with the new allure of using and wearing less commercial products, and I find my expertise in this craft is suddenly oddly in demand.

I find that although almost every woman I encounter, regardless of style prediliction or economic status, will say without prodding that they "love shoes," few of them can say why. Thus I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about what makes particular shoes worthy of our attention, and elucidate details that would be overlooked by a casual observer. Naturally, my own shoes and shoe education seamlessly blended with my other intentions for the exhbit, and when I happened upon a coral red crocodile skin at my supplier, the final case took its shape easily, along with my ideas for exotic summer sandals!