Little Miss Muffet 

Scott Gustafson created "Little Miss Muffet", an undated oil painting. It’s an interpretation of a classic nursery rhyme, filtered through a Rococo aesthetic. Gustafson plays with themes of childhood, gender, and class. The young girl, dressed in a pink gown and lace cap, is set against a romanticized landscape. She's poised, a picture of upper-class leisure, with her dog and violin. The image seems to ask, what does it mean to be a "little miss" in such a carefully constructed world? The spider becomes less of a threat and more of a metaphor for the challenges to this privileged existence. Gustafson invites us to consider the roles we play and the stories we tell ourselves, while evoking the emotional nuances of nostalgia and longing. In this world, societal expectations and the sweetness of innocence collide.