Helen Werner Cox

Storybook Dollhouse

Originally constructed by Amy Sutton, this Real Good Toys 1769 Dollhouse was left on the curb for the taking. It has been completely restored and converted into a Storybook Dollhouse, featuring classic children’s literature in every room. With the exception of Alice, I made all the characters in the tableaux. The most common medium used was oven-fired clay, but other materials include: wood (both carving and burning), fabric, artificial snow, crepe paper, and paint. Over time, I learned new techniques for using clay and improved my results.

It took a year and a half from start to finish. 2022 – 2023.

Click on the picture to see the individual rooms and stories.

History Repeats Itself

Oil, oil washes, printing, 47 inches x 11 feet. 2022.

This is the final work in the Black Lives Matter Series. Corrugated cardboard was used to stamp print over the entire surface to create energy and movement. When the subsequent painted images became too “still,” the stamp printing was applied again, on top of the images. Historical events are represented by sepia tones and are… Continue reading History Repeats Itself

Déjà Vu Series

*Déjà Vu*. Monoprint, 18 x 12.5 inches, 2022. Photo inspiration: Brittany Murray and Jun Fajita.

Untitled Monoprint, 18 x 26 inches, 2022. Part of Déjà Vu series. Photos: Charles Moore, Miguel Arenas. Birmingham 1963. 15 x 21, monoprint, inspired by Charles Moore Hands II. Monoprint, 2022. 13 x 20″

Faces: Black Lives Matter

*Faces of Fear/Intolerance.* Pastel over oil wash on paper, 2021. 47 x 57 inches. Photographers who contributed to the research: Brittany Murray, Andrew Shurtleff, Seth Herald, Mark Peterson, Jeff Kowalsky.

This is the first panel of a three-panel image called Faces. I am appalled by the negative, militia-fueled reaction to the BLM movement. It strikes me as a medieval response; in fact, I saw faces that could have come directly from paintings by Bruegel and Bosch. In order to organize the faces, I used a… Continue reading Faces: Black Lives Matter

Journal: Black Lives Matter, 2019 – 2020

My days of street protesting are over, but I was deeply moved by the ground swell of protests across the country and in support of the basic premise: that Black Lives Matter just as much as anyone else’s and as long as they do not, no one’s life matters. So, a painting. I used Bruegel’s… Continue reading Journal: Black Lives Matter, 2019 – 2020

Black Lives Matter: Entering an Era of Rebellion

This series was inspired by the spontaneous protests all across the country, which included people from all ages and cultures in support of the African-Americans in this country: their painful past and difficult present. It began as one painting and grew into a series. (See the Journal 2019 – 2020 for more details.) Two-panel oil… Continue reading Black Lives Matter: Entering an Era of Rebellion

The Bridge Project: How it all Began

Excerpts from my Journal: Part 1. Written on November 11, 2018 and edited 2021. We have been going to paint the construction of the new bridge since the last day in August, 2018—a little over two months ago. The day Yu Ji had a memorial for Domenic Cretara there was a film, including some of… Continue reading The Bridge Project: How it all Began

The Top of the Bridge

Excerpts from my Journal: Part 2. Standing on the top of the bridge is a spectacular experience and painting from it is surreal. We have been so privileged. Right now the two highest pillars of the bridge, which will form the suspension part, have not been joined to the east and west ramps. The ramps… Continue reading The Top of the Bridge

Under the Bridge

Excerpts from my Journal: Part 3. I love the belly of the bridge as much as the top. From the time we painted in the parking lot at Connolly Pacific to now, it reminds me of Brueghel’s Tower of Babel. There are staircases that climb up the sides of the bridge pillars, made of metal tubing and… Continue reading Under the Bridge

Those who build the bridge.

Excerpts from my Journal: Part 4 There has been a lot of curiosity about what we are doing and enthusiasm for our project. Every day, one or two workers stop by to see our work. On some level, our project is a validation of their project, or at least a confirmation that the public appreciates… Continue reading Those who build the bridge.