After the Show
Sketch May 2021
After taking my show down last Monday, I am faced once again with the big nagging question of why I make things. Physical things that will exist in the world hopefully for a long time. I have always struggled with this. The majority of the work I brought home from the show now lives in storage. This always brings a pause. Don’t get me wrong, I am very proud of the show I put together. I feel closer than ever to my expression of deep meaningful ideas. The only answer I can come up with regarding the making of material things is this. I don’t have an answer. Haha. I really don’t. I have been making things since I can remember. Having my hands busy helps calm my spirit. I can’t see stopping. Making art is integral to who I am. It is in the making, not the thinking about the making, where the magic lies. I guess the biggest questions in life will just remain unanswerable.
So after that inevitable pause, wondering why I have this need to generate so much baggage, I am ready to get to work again. I want to explore not just the vulnerable way we live in the world but how we thrive leading with that sensitivity. I want to look closer at the ties that keep us bound to histories of making mistakes. To look at the fear of change and how to take confident baby steps out of the boxes we find ourselves in.
I am challenging myself to expose raw and unsafe parts of relating to the world. Wire on wood, squeezing just a little too tight. Struggling yet thriving. Unexpected blooms where the roots are intolerably short. Beauty and fragility against the rigid and hard. Long shadows produced from the journey closer to the light. Resistance. Maintaining ground. Solid versus soft. I have so many paths to explore. It’s like veins carrying the same blood, back and forth.
Putting this body of work from the past couple of years up on white walls in a clean space allowed me to see it for what it is. Thank you DaVinci Art Alliance for allowing that opportunity.
Again, thank you to all those who went to see my show live in Philadelphia. Thanks to all those who looked online. I feel incredibly supported. And big thanks to those who purchased a piece. I don’t take that for granted at all! Ever.