I've been doing an artist residency with Centrum Residencies at Fort Worden and have created an installation which I'd like to share with those who are interested to see and experience it. I will have an Open Studio 2-4pm this Thursday and Friday (May 14-15). -- Other times for viewing might be possible by contacting me and let me know when a good time for you is by Sunday the 17th. The studio is at Fort Worden across the street from Madrona MindBody Institute in the 205 building upstairs on the Northside - Included here is a statement and some photos to give you an idea of the installation.
A Laundry Line of Meditations and Reflections....
Each morning, I sit with coffee and a notebook to journal, and "purge my mind". This process helps me connect and reflect with what’s going on within myself as well as reconnects with the physical world after sleep. My intention is to do this without judgment of right or wrong, good or bad.
In recent months, this practice has expanded into making white marks on small cut pieces of black paper that you see in this installation. These marks of words, lines, and dots arise from reflections and intentions that are currently within me—a process of both meditation, focus and release.
I first began using white markers on black paper years ago when I wanted to create without the pressure of trying to “make art”. Making marks on white paper felt like adding more "stuff" to an already overcrowded world, while white marks on black felt like an act of renewal and bringing light into darkness. In the beginning these pieces consisted of mostly parallel lines—as straight as my shaky hands would allow—drawn close together but never touching. This became a kind of active meditation involving intention, focus, patience, and presence. And the process helped me become more present with greater peace within myself.
This installation was created from several months of these small daily marking meditations. The red line serves as a kind of "lifeline," inspired by William Stafford’s poem, The Way It Is: “There’s a thread you follow. It goes among things that change. But it doesn’t change.”
The ladders, repurposed from a previous installation, suggest the continual practice of navigating between our inner and outer worlds as well as the ups and downs of our lives.
I consider the small black abstract forms on white paper “Blowhards”. I “make” them by dropping a splotch of liquid black ink on the small paper then blowing through a straw to incite it to spread out in whatever curious form it makes. They represent the sometimes curious, interesting and unpredictable aspects of our lives over which we have little control.
