When I first began making art seriously, I turned inward and dug around in my memory using my artistic practice to build an understanding of my experiences. The resulting imagery was often melancholy and subdued. As I grew, I shifted my gaze outward, looking to what was around me as inspiration - light, shadow and natural forms. Making was a contemplative and often somber act for me. This was a road I walked for many years. Following the birth of my child, however, the mood and rhythm of my work shifted from a quiet mediation to a playful bounce. Inviting in joy was paramount and the work became more celebratory.
A change in career paths created a pause in my own studio work and the last several years I have laid fallow. Little by little, I am finding my way back to the studio and to a new way of seeing my surroundings. This latest body of work is still in its beginnings, but I can see that I am returning to a more meditative practice. These new intimately sized pieces are created from older, enormous prints that have been carefully cut down into strips and woven together. Looking at those older prints as seeds that were planted years ago and now are being harvested so that this new series can grow feels authentic, meaningful and exciting. As it does, life and art come full circle. Initial intentions reappear as new clarity comes with the wisdom of age. I now find it time to shift my gaze outward, dig around in my surrounds, record what I see in order to share my experience by collecting new memories. I hope to offer the viewer something lovely to look at and comfort in knowing that both joy and melancholy will pass with time and both should be celebrated at every moment. |