SERIES CREATED IN 2024
EVERYDAY MAGIC
As a kid, I remember spending endless hours outdoors... riding bikes, building forts, making up fantasy worlds that we lived in until dinnertime. In my teens, I spent hours writing and drawing under my favorite trees. Still today, I find my inspiration and sense of wonder outdoors... while hiking, bird watching, or sleeping in hammocks beneath the trees. Making art is how I honor and deepen that connection to nature and my own childlike curiosity.
The process of creating this work involves layering eco-printing and cyanotype printing in new and unique ways. There were also some happy accidents (like the bleached out “starry sky” areas from a little bleach spill) and unexpected reveals from the processes. I also included in this work my first experiment incorporating ceramics, with the three boxes titled “Memory Keepers”.
STARGAZING
Each of these pieces - created with rich layers of eco-print and wet cyanotype - is an expression of my connection with the stars. They celebrate a part of my story and a part of all of our stories… that there is a unique beauty to be found in the dark nights of life. Within this darkness is where we find the stars that will guide us true. It’s where we find our magic, and the magic of the souls that guide us.
Creating this work was especially meaningful to me. As I brushed cyanotype chemicals onto the rusty eco-printed papers, I thought of my loved ones passed and how they guide my hands. As I exposed each piece of paper to a light in the dark of our basement, I thought of how the stars have always been a beacon to me in dark times. As I rinsed each print, taking care not to tear it, I thought of how the night is the time that we rinse clean the stresses of the day to make room for a new dawn. The magic of the night sky filled my creative process with such depth and joy.
FLIGHT
The symbolism of feathers has always resonated with me. They remind us to let the winds of life flow through us. To soar above the stress and uncertainty. To let the discoveries along the way carry us ever farther. To fly to new heights every so often, and to always have a nest to come home to.
These pieces were created from combining wet cyanotype feather prints and eco-printed “moonscapes” to create richly textured original compositions. Originals works and print reproductions are available at the links below.
