I made this tiny artist's book in 2001, when I was finishing my last semester of grad school. It was a time of uncertainty and I think that is one thing that has recently reminded me of this piece.
Yesterday you saw my game face, well that wore off at lunch time and then I just couldn't fake it anymore. I know lots of you have certain stresses right now and I don't like to chime in to the hype the media plays up about the economy, but sometimes the pressures rise and you just have to acknowledge it, then move on. Amen? Amen.
We have been so stressed lately and I've been thinking about how it is affecting other areas of our lives. I won't go into details because I'm still figuring it out. But I think all this has led me to some of the recent subject matter and concepts in my work. I've been drawing rocks, feathers, shells and fragments, seedlings, roots and I'm also considering humor/irony again. These things feel honest to me, and while the meaning during the process is sometimes veiled, even to myself, I still follow it because I know it will lead someplace.
All of this is to say that this tiny book holds for me some aspect of myself, then in 2001, that I see now when I look in the mirror. I'm somehow looking in the window of yesterday, metaphorically and actually. And I just wanted to share this with you. I like to tell the truth and this is my space to do that. Hope you don't mind.
Oh, some of the materials I used in this book include : drawing ink, digital print, vellum, hymnal pages, graphite, conte crayon, toilet paper, egg shells and skin, punched paper holes, and thread. I love mixing materials and recognizing the stories they tell together, don't you?
This spring exhibition looks awesome, I wish I could go see it.
I hope you have a blessed end to your week.
H