FLEA MARKET QUEENS: Check out Maggie Kunze's latest article in Journey Magazine!

A fun article about Laurie Zuckerman and Maggie Kunze.
















Here's some excerpts from Maggie's article, "The Flea Market Queens,"
on page 13 of Journey Magazine.

"I think you either have the flea market gene or you don't. I truly believe the inspiration for my artwork has come from other people's leftover stuff...So flea marketing became somewhat of an obsession with me.

"I know I am not alone. I know many artists who get inspired and just downright crazy about flea markets. One of my favorite people in town is an artist by the name of Laurie Zuckerman. She teaches at Front Range Community College and I first met her when her home was on the Studio Tour sponsored by the [Fort Collins] Museum of Contemporary Art.

"When I went to Laurie Zuckerman's house while it was on the tour, I was absolutely speechless. Her house contains more than 30 shrines that would blow your mind. Laurie has always been a collector—she goes by my motto of "more is more."

"She has been influenced by traditional shrines she found in her travels to Mexico and Costa Rica. Folk art was something she was drawn to and she started collecting miniatures. Enamored with the traditional altars that she found in many cultures, she began building her collections into altars and making memory jars.

"She has hunted antique stores and flea markets from Virginia to the West Coast, including Fort Collins and all surrounding areas, to add to her amazing collections.

"She is much more theme-oriented and historically accurate than I am. She has researched the tradition of building altars and she is at the flea markets almost weekly to see what is new.

"When I talked to one of the owners of a local flea market and asked about local artists who frequent the markets, Laurie's was the first name she mentioned.

"Laurie's "In the Pink" altar [on view in FCMOCA's 2006 Biennial—see articles below] was a wonderful collection of all things pink—a tribute to her mom and growing up in the '50s. It was an incredible array of collectibles from that era that she displays with such panache and flair.

"Many other local artists do what is called "found object" art or assemblage, following the mantra of "Re-think, Re-use, Re-purpose." It is all about taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary."

THANK YOU, MAGGIE! GREAT EXPOSURE.