It has been a bit- but I have been steadily working; both on art making and collecting. What is the history of these two and how do they have a common bond?
The Straw that Broke the Camel’s back
Size: 6” x 3 1/4” x 5 1/2”
Materials: Silk, watercolor, thread and mined plastic
I like to reference and point to Cabinets of Curiosities. These were collected item that typically had a scientific, observational classification. Cabinets of curiosities came of age during a time when science and scientific inquiry were gaining common interest, to the point that within a home a common way of entertaining was to host a science experiment. This interest and development for a keen eye and observation were greeted with a display of natural wonders. Today’s curio cabinet takes its name from these origins in science.
Image of a Closet of Curiosity
So what is it that I observe and collect? I sort of consider myself a miner of our culture. I have an affinity for observing what we cast off, what we throw away or how we use objects in our happy little world. To do this collecting I usually observe coffee shops in my local area, pick up pieces of what may lay around these shops, I observe what my child casts off and I frequent the local buy it buy the pound thrift stores to see what people rid themselves of. Within each of these spaces, I can observe, collect specimens and make some inferences from my times.
The body of work that has been most recently on display is primarily the make up of the first two areas of study. Coffee shops and my own home for pieces of plastic, typically meant for single use or to sort of protect merchandise that may also be plastic thus creating a swirl of me trying to fully understand why we do this to ourselves and our planet. My method of making amongst these backdrops is to attempt to repurpose and rejoin the material with a sort of ethereal realm. The pieces started as these bubbly shapes of silk that were painted with meditative and primarily non representational images. I could take these with me on the go, create in an out of doors space and attempt to capture that feeling of being alone but also inextricably tied to everything in nature all at the same time. So developed all of these colorful dots. Eventually the pieces of collected plastic began to join the fabric with embroidery and an attempt to make it more than simply single use. Instead what if it could be a beautiful element that other pieces could overcome, grow from or even become a new building block for our known world?
Fizz PPPPP Gulp
Size: 5” DIA
Materials: Silk, watercolor, and thread
Could we think of these items in a more thoughtful and purposeful manner? I have delved into this personally and hope to have a more practical way of thinking of this moving forward in my daily life.
Detail of “Circle, Spot, Dot, Around” upcycled plastic embroidered onto watercolor painted silk.
I invite you, should you be within the Madison, WI area to come and see the pieces for yourself at the Goodman Community Center, Ballweg Gallery through the end of September. The gallery is available during open hours. In addition, any works sold during this time will have 50% of the cost go back to the Fritz Food Pantry, part of the Goodman’s great community initiatives.
