What I Have, What I Dream Of continued

it became clear about halfway through this process that a single layer wasn't going to allow me to express my understanding of the complex relationship between city and nature. Once I cut the original images into strips and situated them on top of one another (see last post of this piece) and then began to work back into the image as a whole (this post) I came to see this piece as a metaphor for the upward motion of the city.

The base layer of this work, upon which all the maps and geometric fields rest, can be interpreted as nature, before any human altered it. The rest of the composition is supported by that layer, and as your eye moves towards the uppermost drawings you may notice how simple, geometric, and sparse they become. In only two or three areas did I allow the eye to perceive clearly the organic that exists beneath all the gridwork, and I imagine these areas to be reminders--what if we were to lift up a stretch of the city and remember again everything wild that lives down there?

This blueprint is representative of how I perceive the city. If one were able to slice it into vertical strata, the lowest layer would be the richest and most organic, and the highest layer would only include empty air and the rectangles of the highest buildings. Everything in between would be defined in terms of the spectrum set up by the lowest and highest layer.

lungs, cells, and other dark wet things

the progress is as follows

Leonardo's Lungs

these are small drawings I'm working on. a series of twenty in total. I'm reading Da Vinci's journals of anatomical drawings, which he had to keep secret from a Roman government that forbade human dissection. The pieces, when finished, will have very dark, dense negative space filled with incorrect anatomical drawings that preceded Da Vinci, and are only guesses, as opposed to observed. I'm sort of talking about dark as an allegory for ignorance and also fear, and light as one for knowledge and also courage.

Line as Sculpture

here's where the lines as sculptures idea took me

Sculpture, Framed

First creative act of the fall semester, in response to a Mixed Media assignment from Frank Hyder. The only parameter for the assignment was a single word, fusion, and that it had to be mixed media.

I tried to discuss the relationship between the canvas and the third dimension, and also between 2 dimensional and 3-dimensional art. I tried to fuse each component in each of these relationships. My answer to the problem was to suspend between empty stretcher bars long vertical drawings, two in vine charcoal, one in ink. I then tried to simlulate the shape and line in each drawing with three dimensional black thread. To avoid adding another element to the excercise, I used vine charcoal, the same I'd drawn with, wrapped within the thread to add bulk in the appropriate places. The wire on which the piece hangs is visible, in an attempt to make the conversation I'm having a little more obvious. Perhaps, though, that's too literal.

My other professor Moe Brooker suggested not limiting myself to the square, flattish format, and thinking about the spatial possibilities of such a discussion (fill an entire room with sculptural and flat lines, or, if I want it in the same plane, and entire wall). I'm inspired to pursue this further now. I think this will remain a study for something grander

Mardi Gras

"Overgrowth." The ink drawing in this watercolor just poured out late two nights ago, as if my brain just needed a good rinse before I called it a day. I've always considered myself a morning person, so it's strange that I've made a habit of doing outside-of-my-sketchbook stuff at night. Perhaps it has something to do with the Nanny job I've had this summer, which has given a whole new excitement to solitude.

I think I could have planned more carefully the colors, maybe restricted my palette a bit, because I didn't intend the Mardi Gras effect. Oh well. My Mommy liked it.

AS OF 9/20: THIS WORK TO BE SOLD AT THE 10X10 SHOW BRUNSWICK, MAINE. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT ME.

Beyond the Map

when i closed my eyes a few nights ago I saw this pattern on the insides of my eyelids...blue interlocking blobs with four tentacles each, and one green one. i had to make note of it, in case it turned into anything. it turned into this tree. i finished this piece before i even went back to sleep that night. it should be called something like "taking off" or "the exciting unknown" or "up and out" but without the cliche-ness. It both got me out of my dry spell from artwork and made me think of how little I've planned past the next two years, which is more appealing than scary at the moment. I think the swingless swinger agrees.

SOLD October 2009

Urbal

Urbal. A Sixteen-Panel Abstract Drawing. The whole process of making this work yielded an efflux of thoughts, streams of consciousness, rhythms, and discussions all surrounding issues of home and creativity. Because I was raised in Maine, moving to Philadelphia was quite the leap. I have experienced all sorts of tensions and contradictions that result from creating in such a foreign, busy, regulated, stimulating, and often overwhelming environment. With these drawings, I was asking myself these questions:

Why do I find myself at my creative peak in the midst of such a non-organic environment? How is this possible? Is it possible for an organic aesthetic to harmonize with that of the city? How can I slow down in this fast new world? How is my creativity affected when I get bogged down in the fast rigidity of the city? What life exists in the city? What structure exists in the country? What gets lost in the city, the country? How have both environments shaped and contributed to my artwork? My life?

While I did not find answers to all above questions through the creation of this series, I did make progress, and my art was much changed. Layers of work in the same space became the perfect method of feeling out my conflicts and never getting stuck in one mode of thought or a single answer/solution. I've found that my heart really lies in the process of layering drawings and materials in my art, and I've been exploring this direction since.