I recently shipped seven mixed media pieces to Lark and Key Gallery for the Collected and Gathered exhibit that opens this Friday. I so wish I could be there to see it hung and how they will interact with the other work in the show.
When I was thinking about creating work for Collected and Gathered I really wanted my pieces to communicate how my work, and life in general, is often very much about collecting and gathering. In terms of form, the majority of the pieces were created by piecing together different panels with each other as well as with pieces of wood and metal. And I added bits of things from my collections.
In general though I think of my role as artist is to collect and gather and weave things from my life and my experiences together with paint and speak to the things that matter to me and that I hope speak to others.
The inspiration for my work comes from photographs when I am out on hikes or even things that catch my eye during everyday routines. As an artist, I am always observing the world, no matter what I might be doing right at that moment. Experiences, fleeting thoughts and emotions are gathered and saved.
My inspiration comes from nature and observing the cycles of life and how time always makes its presence known. I feel most at home with my hands in the dirt and my feet bare in the grass. And when I am in urban settings, I always notice the life that against all odds growing through the cracks in the sidewalks. And how no matter how accomplished and modern we are, nature is always in charge.
I collect feathers, pieces of bark, cloth, old pages from books, lace, rusted bits of metal. I have a thing for old rulers. Worn and turned golden from use and age. And wood- I love the patterns of the grain and the feel of worn wood. And metal- all aged, rusted, beautiful cloak of patina and time. I have carried dried pods filled with poppy seeds across the country, through three houses, to remind me of my beautiful poppies in my first garden in Seattle. Memories are carried in these objects. And when I have lost these objects, I still carry the memories with me…but as a visual and tactile person, I love to have them within sight. I will never be a minimalist in my home.
My inspiration comes from words- collected and gathered. Poetry, fiction, essays on the natural world all feed my curiosity about this world and what it means to be alive and living on this planet. I’ve been reading lately about sacred spaces out in the natural world where there’s a feeling of a blurring between what separates our earth present time with another time, maybe heaven, maybe the spiritual world, but always something deeper and mystical.
Thin places, the Celts call this space,
Both seen and unseen,
Where the door between the world
And the next is cracked open for a moment
And the light is not all on the other side.
God shaped space. Holy.
-Sharlande Sledge
Does memory exist outside of time? Does our sense of time differ from the way trees sense time? I think so. There are so many worlds that are existing side by side, within and without. Can awareness and stillness allow us to crack the door open between worlds?
Going to aim to post about each painting that I sent out into the world this past week. Let’s see if I can keep up.