Mab Graves is by far one of my favorite artists. I know I’ve mentioned her before since I received this lovely Leia cameo recently. But her artwork has always held a special place in my heart. So when I heard that she would be doing an Alice in Wonderland show, my jaw hit the floor and I was immediately filled with both excitement and dread. Excitement because…Alice is my favorite. But dread because I knew I would want to OWN THEM ALL and that’s indeed impossible. Though sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.Mab is amazing in that she was able to take my favorite thing and make it unique and gorgeous. I love that she didn’t butcher the story. Sure, she put her own twist to some of the characters. Like the caterpillar’s awesome moustache and the female versions of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. But they’re changes that I really love. Overall she stuck to the root of the story and made the paintings come alive with beautiful colors and intriguing characters. Not to mention her AMAZING vintage frames. Mab recognizes that the artwork doesn’t just end with the painting itself. The frame is also an important part of the entire work of art. I love that. I think it would take anyone a lifetime to find and collect frames like these.

I’m also intrigued by how she managed to capture the curious spirit of Alice in Wonderland. Like all of the little details on the White Rabbit sculpture and the Blythe dolls. Mab also had a few small doors at the gallery that an adult or child could pull open to reveal a painting on the other side. Imagine bending over and opening a door to reveal Alice staring back at you! That would definitely feel like a surprising little Wonderland. So many marvelous things and I wish I could’ve been at the opening to see it all. Maybe one day I’ll get to see her works in person. Until then I’m just happy she’s so willing to share them with us online.

On a personal note, one thing that many people might not know about Mab Graves is that she’s had arthritis in both hands since she was 14 years old. I know that makes her artwork difficult at times, but I admire her perseverance and determination to continue doing what she loves. And I hope she continues for many, many years to come.

Her Alice in Wonderland gallery show opened on September 5th in Indianapolis at the Monster Gallery and the closing reception is on the 26th from 7pm to 9pm. So if you live in the Indianapolis area, I would highly recommend that you stop by and check it out while you can!

If you’re curiouser and curiouser, you can see the rest of the art from her Alice show HERE. There’s even a few originals still up for purchase at that link.

And if you’d like to buy Mab Graves’ prints/note cards/cameos/etc., you can check out her Etsy shop HERE.