Steve Ashby. Seated Semi-Erotic. Woman On Spool. Not signed. Cut out wood and painted with cloth and acorn on plastic spool. Great condition. 7" h x 3.5" x 1.5". Provenance: The Salvatore Scalora Collection. Est. $1,000-2,000. Ship: $35. Looking at and studying his works of art on a shelf in the big room, I can see a wonderment at the idea of re-creating a miniature world of one's own. All of his women are replicas of his beloved Eliza, they bear tiny remnants of her clothes and wigs. Years' worth of Eliza's empty sewing thread spools are repurposed to become lady's seats and whirligig fan arms. It is the most direct method of making art, not with fancy supplies and tools. Steve uses the most meager of materials and achieves dramatic results. Two years after his death, his works were included in the ground breaking 1982 exhibition, Black Folk Art, at the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C. - excerpt from, "A visit with Steve Ashby, Fall of 1978, Delaplane, Virginia," by Salvatore Scalora