Miniatures have always been a point of fascination for me. Something about recreating the world in a small scale helps me comprehend it’s actual magnitude. I strive to make my sculptures hyper-realistic in an attempt to fool the eye, trigger giggles, and incite wonder.

But…I have another agenda with Micro Picnic. I want to encourage conversation and heighten consciousness about our troubled,  global, industrialized and unbalanced food system: the collective splintered perspective on farms and trade; GMOs; carbon footprint, food insecurity and hunger; waste and depletion of natural resources.

These sculptures don’t bluntly shout “let’s talk about child hunger” or “do you have any idea the carbon footprint of that mango!?” but they DO act as catalyst for conversation due to their quirky, unique, let-me-look-closer nature (if you’re already a customer, you know what I mean!) Once a conversation is started, we all have the chance to discuss our passion for <insert avocado toast / hot dogs / donuts >, or maybe we talk about what we are growing or cooking, or how we are making a conscious effort to eat organic and support local farmers. The point is:

These sculptures help us talk about food

When we talk about food, we connect

and when people connect, we make the world a better place.

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I work in non-profit arts administration and am a graduate of Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design - plus a mother, maker, and vegetarian working and living in Portland, Maine. See my paintings at www.louisadonelson.com

- Louisa Donelson