I created an animated painting of my wife's old wooden dollhouse and she wrote an accompanying essay to mark the occasion.

A Safe House For Your Imagination

Essay by Denise Chiappetta, art by Joe Chiappetta

It's been over a 40 year journey and I've carried very few things with me the entire time. But the dollhouse my parents gave me when I was 3 years old, has traveled many miles in many decades. Childhood, while wonderful, can also have its challenges. A perfect little world of fancy furniture, a picture-perfect fireplace and perpetually smiling family members made an ideal escape.

Since my early days spent in grand imaginings, while sitting in front of this tiny home, I have raised 2 daughters who have woven their own whimsical tales within its small walls. So, the dollhouse remains a fixture in our household, some years being played with on a daily basis: other years fly by and it sits largely untouched, as childhood imaginings give way to bigger projects, and adulthood concerns. But every so often, us 3 girls, now women, who lived tiny lifetimes within its walls, will take an extended glance at it and recall the moments of whimsy we were privileged to enjoy within the walls of our very own little "safe house" for the imagination.