The Space that Holds Us
On display in the hallway of Central Bank of Boone County
Nov. 8, 2023- Jan. 5, 2024
Artist Statement
I am an A/R/Tographer - an Artist/Researcher/Teacher. As a researcher, I investigated the spaces in which my students formed their artist-teacher identities through stories of their lived experiences. In this new body of artwork, I am considering the spaces that hold me as an artist who is responding to the world around me. Here I am delving into spaces of memory, comfort, legacy, and the meanings and feelings provoked by the idea of home. I excavate layers of materials to reveal and uncover what makes these spaces awaken our senses, hold us, and let us linger in wonderment.
I am a fibers artist and I utilize mixed media techniques/materials/ found objects to produce my work. I do not use Photoshop. In some work, I use personal photographs that are printed on vellum and layered between strata of cold wax and pigments as a means to see through to different dimensions and create new atmospheric conditions. I endeavor to recreate the spaces that hold me by developing evocative objects that hold forms for the memory or moment in time.
Artist Bio
My artistic focus has been to tell stories visually through works created with fibrous materials. I am intrigued by the idea of being able to see through something and hope that the viewer will want to investigate further, in the same way that an archaeologist sifts through the sand and soil for artifacts. My work is about memories, relationships, and our human connection to history and our environment. I am interested in visually investigating the ephemeral qualities of life and humanity, earthly echoes of spirituality through layers of strata. The viewer is invited to look into the work for delicate details. In this way, my scholarly research is interwoven like the warp and weft in the reflective fabric of my professional life. One strand strengthens and supports the other to create the single cloth of an artist, researcher, and teacher - an A/R/Tographer.
