This summer marks the beginning of something new. I am shifting my attention to focus on my work as an artist. With a new direction and new work coming on line, a redesign of my website was in order. As I began to redevelop the site, I searched for an anchor image – something that was visually solid to hold the space. I found myself returning again and again to this image from 2013. It seemed odd to use something old for the new site, but this image shows my roots, the foundation for the work that follows.
Taken in the studio at Wesley Seminary, the image is of a preliminary sketch for my Extravagant Gift exhibition later that same year. I had worked out the tree installation in a scale model but this was my first attempt creating dimensional cuttings at full size. At the time, I was not even sure that it was going to work. Behind the paper trial is a large silverpoint drawing of a tree. Another first, as it was an unusually large drawing for that medium and for me. This image was later used as the post card for the exhibition.
So why this image for the future? Paper and thread, line and surface, trees and roots; all of these elements are central to my work. But the image shows something else that is important. This is not a completed work. The image represents a thought process that launched a whole new body of work. It is my willingness to go out on a limb and try something even when there is no existing template for what I want. This is the heart of my practice, to follow the work where it leads, to listen deeply to the stories the materials are telling me, and to gather the treads together into something new.
More images will be added to the galleries and more stories will be shared. Please check back as there will be new work online soon.