Inspiration

Musings and Inspiration…

Evolution: A gradual process in which something changes or develops into a different or more complex form

Where is there an end to the process in a work of art?

Where is there an end to an artist’s blossoming style?

There is no end, as there is never a beginning.

Rather, there exists a constant state of being that is ever evolving, ever affected by the surrounding environment.

Did the work begin as plant and fiber, waiting to be cooked and beaten into paper pulp and twisted rope? Or did it begin in the rain which fell from the sky?  Or was it in the sun’s rays which enabled to plant to grow? Or was it the seed from whence the plant was born?

When was the idea planted in the artist’s mind?

It was in the moment of inspiration in watching dried grass swaying in an autumn breeze, and it was found in the small sprout who rose up in the spring’s nourishing warmth. It was found in the child, running through a forest in the summer’s full bloom, ferns towering above her head. It was in the full moon’s reflection on a glistening field of snow, the air so cold not even sound ventured out of doors.

The inspiration was manifest when twisted string wrapped fallen forest branches and forest vines. When washes of color mixed with quilted paper, leaves, blossoms, and wood, they formed a new opening in the forest and in the mind.

It was in these moments that plant, seed, rain, snow, and sun took on new form, ever changing with the artist’s evolution.

I love everything about being an artist: the endless ideas and inspiration, the messy art studio, building, creating, and exhibiting.

I have exhibited and sold many works of art over my career, nationally and internationally.

My primary medium is handmade paper. I enjoy the texture and the tactile quality of manipulating plant fibers. For nearly 20 years I have explored the art of hand paper-making from both pre-processed and raw plant fibers.

I also explore plant fibers, primarily organic cotton and flax, in rope form through the ancient art of Macrame. Macrame is knotted rope decor that originated in the Arab nations and traveled throughout Europe. Sailors of old tied knots while sailing and then sold their wares at ports around the world. The art form came to fame in the US during the 1960’s and 70’s where it reached a manic popularity. It’s popularity faded in the 1980’s. Macrame is enjoying a new and stylish revival in the new century as a stylish approach to texture.

I transform these mixed media sources, rope, paper, paint, and botanicals, with inspiration drawn from the world of nature: by the wisp of grass swaying in the autumn breeze, or the small sprout searching for the sun’s nourishment in spring.

The world of spirit, myth, and shared human stories, are all sources of artistic inspiration. In my work, I seek to describe the relationship between humans, the earth, and the heavens, in an intuitive felt experience. In each creation I invoke a meditative quality, reflecting upon shared human stories and the natural world, suggesting a connection between all beings at their source.