“The artwork that I am currently involved in is an autobiographical wall of crosses.
It started as a collection of crosses that were gifts from friends and continued to grow as I bought folk art crosses from Mexico, Guatemala, Lithuania, etc. Pocked wood from New Zealand, scraps of rusty tin ceilings, galvanized metal, wire, etc., were supplies for my own creations.
After my parents came to the US from Lithuania, they continued to receive publications and I recall seeing pictures of amazing hand carved wayside shrines in the woods of the villages.
It started as a collection of crosses that were gifts from friends and continued to grow as I bought folk art crosses from Mexico, Guatemala, Lithuania, etc. Pocked wood from New Zealand, scraps of rusty tin ceilings, galvanized metal, wire, etc., were supplies for my own creations.
After my parents came to the US from Lithuania, they continued to receive publications and I recall seeing pictures of amazing hand carved wayside shrines in the woods of the villages.
I was very touched and impressed also by photos of the Hill of Crosses in Lithuania (erected by the people in response to the Soviet occupation of their country) which was torn down by the government many times and magically reappeared.
Some of my crosses are tributes to people from my past: piano keys in memory of my piano-tuner friend, Cliff, parts of a spinning wheel and spools of thread for my mother (weaver and seamstress) and boxes and bottles for Papa, who made things out of old boxes with words on them (tramp art). Papa worked at the paper mill then became a bartender at the Lithuanian Club, and ultimately had his own tavern. At an early age, I was privileged to decorate cigar boxes that he brought home from the tavern. A wood burning tool and Mongol pencils were my toys.”
– A description by June of her collection
Some of my crosses are tributes to people from my past: piano keys in memory of my piano-tuner friend, Cliff, parts of a spinning wheel and spools of thread for my mother (weaver and seamstress) and boxes and bottles for Papa, who made things out of old boxes with words on them (tramp art). Papa worked at the paper mill then became a bartender at the Lithuanian Club, and ultimately had his own tavern. At an early age, I was privileged to decorate cigar boxes that he brought home from the tavern. A wood burning tool and Mongol pencils were my toys.”
– A description by June of her collection