Introducing The Curiosity Cabinet!
We believe good companies are good neighbors and hope to live that out in our communities. Over the years, the Creature team has restocked Little Free Libraries around Athens to contribute to efforts to provide free access to books for our neighbors. And now, leaning into our value of Crave Curiosity, we’re excited to introduce The Curiosity Cabinet: a Little Free Library-inspired hub newly installed at our Snow Tire Taproom! We will keep the Curiosity Cabinet stocked with books and other resources we find inspiring and informative in our pursuit of excellent beer and service to our community.
Athens-based artist R.L. Vance, whose art examines feminist spirituality and depicts the intersectional femme experience, designed the Curiosity Cabinet. She combines images and influences from prehistoric and ancient art, contemporary pop culture, and natural phenomena to reclaim and reinvent feminine narratives through painting, drawing, and collage work. “Hello Goddess” reflects Athena, the Greek goddess of war and wisdom, and prehistoric figurines like the Venus of Willendorf, commonly interpreted as symbols of fertility. Together, these influences represent the knowledge and power of women as leaders and culture bearers. Here’s what Vance had to say about her work:
A goddess floats with an expression of curious complacency on her face. Radiating from her countenance are colorful, patterned, almost halo like circles. Her arms reach out to find what she can. Her hands come to the opposite side to frame a light bulb on the door of the cabinet. The lightbulb glows the word “crave” as the hands seem to dance around it. Her arms continue to reach all the way inside the cabinet, almost as if ready to pick through the contents. Inside the cabinet are smaller figures seeking out their own curiosities. When the cabinet door is open, one figure can be seen on the back of the door, welcoming all guests of the curiosity cabinet with a, “HELLO!”. Inside the cabinet are two more small figures, “HELLO!” they both say as they float closer to the light bulb inside glowing with the word, “curiosity”.
You can find the newly installed Curiosity Cabinet in the garden area of our Snow Tire taproom. The Curiosity Cabinet is an initiative stemming from our Get Artistic program led by Madeline Blankenship. Madeline founded the Get Artistic program in 2017 and has brought so much light and life into our company spaces through art. As Madeline continues to pursue her passion and curiosity, we bid her farewell as a full-time staff member. We will always cherish her work for Creature Comforts and the Athens art community at large!
Madeline will continue mentoring the Get Artist 2022 Artist-In-Residence, Beaux Xavier, now through October, so please stop by the taproom during that programming to show them both a lot of love. To learn more about the work Madeline has done within this space, follow the links below.