"We derive much from our natural world not only in terms of resources, medicines, and energy, but also in terms of sheer pleasure. And the pleasures are many: the joy of watching a pair of young Eastern bluebirds fledge, the smell of Carolina jasmine on a moonlit night, the dramatic change in color of approaching rain clouds, the thrill of watching dolphins race a ferry boat, the soothing repetition of ocean waves, the surprise spotting of a wild creature, charting the progress of a planted young tree, a concert of lightning bugs and cicadas on a warm summer night, camping on a sandbar in the middle of the Mississippi River, hearing the creaking movement of trees swaying in a forest breeze. All of these moments connect me to the earth. They are conscious revelations. For me, they are the necessary unveilings I need as an artist. They are my church.
I find a great deal of intertwining in the natural world; there are certain lessons I learn from it and it behooves me to pay attention.
For the past few years, I have had the privilege of watching Eastern bluebirds nest in my sky blue nesting box. I have four other natural colored nesting boxes, yet they return to the sky blue box every year. Observing those two parents working hard to feed their young, even in heavy downpours and on the earliest hot days of summer, I see that they are like the rest of us--trying to make it, doing what they need to do in order to thrive, many times striving against great odds out of their control, some of it human caused habitat loss. Yet, we're all there, everyday, trying to make it.
Life on this earth is interwoven. One thing begets another and so it goes for all of us, under the sun, the moon, and the stars."
Artist Statement from my Interwoven exhibition at Germantown Performing Arts Center, November 2019.
I find a great deal of intertwining in the natural world; there are certain lessons I learn from it and it behooves me to pay attention.
For the past few years, I have had the privilege of watching Eastern bluebirds nest in my sky blue nesting box. I have four other natural colored nesting boxes, yet they return to the sky blue box every year. Observing those two parents working hard to feed their young, even in heavy downpours and on the earliest hot days of summer, I see that they are like the rest of us--trying to make it, doing what they need to do in order to thrive, many times striving against great odds out of their control, some of it human caused habitat loss. Yet, we're all there, everyday, trying to make it.
Life on this earth is interwoven. One thing begets another and so it goes for all of us, under the sun, the moon, and the stars."
Artist Statement from my Interwoven exhibition at Germantown Performing Arts Center, November 2019.
