Threads, Scribbles and Inspiration

While the other parts of this website display a "finished" piece of art,  this section is where my creative process -in all its messy fits and starts - is made a bit more visible . There might be some rough sketches of an idea, a photograph that somehow catches my eye or an attempt that may or may not have worked. 

I have also included some writing related to my work: maybe an artist's statement on a series of work; an article that I found useful;  or just some musing  about how I got to this particular place in the creative process. 

Enjoy

 

 

   

Sketches and Grand Plans

On Circularity

I  have spent a great deal of time depicting the the idea of “circularity” and "cyclicality" . Our popular culture is rich with ' circular" references; “going around in circles”,  "the circle game" and “a dog chasing its tail”.  Spiritual practices and religions speak of the “wheel of life” that help us make sense the vicissitudes of our existence . More recently, complexity and chaos theory describes the rhythms of large systems –such ecosystems, organizations or societies- with concepts like the "cycle of creative destruction" and virtual/vicious cycles .
 On a more personal level, the notion of circularity seems to pop up naturally at certain  point in our lives.  When we have seen enough fads and trends, births and deaths, relationships, setbacks and victories, mistakes that we stumble over again and again ,then we slowly  start to discern larger patterns.....ebb and flow... rise and fall.... life death and rebirth..... impermanence.... 
These sculptures are about this dance of “circularity”  in its various manifestations and stages. The subject matter may vary:  the trajectory of a life lived,  geological events like swirlholes or kettles, a leftover gear from our industrial past or life events like a child leaving home.  Minimally these are vessels,  with rough edges and voids. Cable and wire run through and hold everything together ...barely. But there are also bright flashes of kiln formed glass and and worn surfaces that have been burnished over time into a high polish. 

Photographic Threads

 Garbage dumps have always been fascinating places to me. As kids (and before the days of landfill sites) we scoured farmers dumping grounds at the back of their properties, often finding "treasure" antique bottles and precious artifacts that were promptly thrown back out by parents.

And still,  I am drawn to old industrial sites and metal junkyards. As recycling and the price of scrap metal has increased, they are vanishing, just like our industrial past has been steadily disappearing over the last 30 years. What's left are rusted parts and cogs and assemblies from iron machinery. And circling these sites, nature reasserts itself, with fast growing weeds and sumac.