Shelby Goggin: The Woman Behind ‘Little Red House’
Monica Obradovic
Staff Writer
When sophomore Shelby Goggin was at a loss for what to do for her sculpture project, she turned to music.
“I was listening to Jimi Hendrix and his song ‘Red House’,” said Goggin. “As a kid listening to it I always imagined it as a little red house 
with butterflies.”
Since its conception last spring, hundreds of students have walked by “Little Red House”, Goggin’s 16-foot plywood sculpture outside the Humanities East building. With brightly spray-painted plywood walls of red and orange, Goggin utilized her childlike imagination to turn a run-down shack into a beautifully surreal image. Multicolored butterflies screwed to tree branches tower over the main structure of the sculpture. The nineteen-year-old’s sculpture has the semblance of a ragged home with a history of being beaten down by time.
Construction of “Little Red House” proved to be the most challenging part of its creation. Goggin used popsicle sticks to create a miniature version of the sculpture.
Once the design was set, she began construction on the full piece with two sheets of plywood which were then cut with a table saw.
“It was fun,” said Goggin. “I felt like a manly man.”
The sculpture was originally intended to be only four feet tall, but the mentorship of her teacher, Joe Chesla, encouraged her to think bigger. Outside of STLCC, Goggin takes inspiration from her father, with whom she listened to Jimi Hendrix, as well as some of her favorite artists. 1950s painter Francis Bacon’s work, which leans toward the macabre, is what makes him appealing,
said Goggin.
“Little Red House” was Goggin’s first sculpture.
“It makes me nervous that people are walking by it all the time,” said Goggin. “People push you here. They’re nice but they can also be jerks. But it’s nice because they make you work.”
Like her fellow art students, Goggin simply wishes to continue to do what she’s doing for the joy of it. In an age where having a career in a creative field is increasingly difficult, Goggin
remains hopeful.
“My goal would simply be to have a career. Most of the time it doesn’t work out. My goal would be to keep doing it, to not stop,” said Goggin.
