The Ground | 2020
My studio practice is centered in the fragile environment of the high desert of Southern California, where I am engaged in works that contemplate the edge of survival. The drawing work that I am presenting springs from my walks through desert landscapes where a surprising variety of living things struggle to exist. Day to day I have noticed the many twisted, calligraphic twigs scattered on the desert floor. I began to “read” these patterns on the ground as the fragments of an inchoate language, giving voice to the strain that life on the planet is experiencing. The imagined letterforms began to suggest messages or warnings calling us to focus, listen and awaken to our predicament. Over the past two years the letterforms have evolved into single words with multiple meanings reflecting my interest in the power of poetry to deliver meaning in a visceral direct experience. The one-word, short phrase works that represent ”The Ground 2020” are abbreviated poems in visual form.
As an artist whose work is concerned with the human relationship to the natural world, I continue to develop my artistic practice with the goal of minimal environmental impact. These works on paper are created using silhouettes of the actual objects gathered from the ground on my frequent treks and are drawn with handmade inks derived from earth pigments and minerals.
Mixed media drawings: India ink and homemade earth and mineral oxide pigmented inks, Arches watercolor paper, 18”x24”, 2020
