Absence
In the midst of a global pandemic, our friends experienced another form of loss due to the wildfires in the West. They lost ancestral homes, life's work, memories. This devastation that has now become the norm was the impetus for our second body of work. We are exploring visually and through poetry Absence, the loss of forests. The work confronts a rapidly changing world, an unpredictable climate, a decline of diversity, and all within a context of a raging debate over what is true. By pairing art with poems related to forest ecosystems, we are hoping to spark a dialogue and explore how art, science and poetry might be combined to turn people's gaze to the sense that our world is at risk of being so fundamentally changed by humans that it becomes a place we can no longer live and flourish.
Our discussions were driven by the presence of ever hotter and frequent fires, skies filled with smoke so that sun and moon appear red and diminished. The art and poems were made as a call and response to each other. The work has been published in Penumbra Journal.
A few examples of each body of work can be found below.
Our discussions were driven by the presence of ever hotter and frequent fires, skies filled with smoke so that sun and moon appear red and diminished. The art and poems were made as a call and response to each other. The work has been published in Penumbra Journal.
A few examples of each body of work can be found below.
Sunlight Wood Flesh, 44 x 90 inches, ink, watercolor, gouache, and acrylic on paper.
After, 7 x 10 inches, ink and collage on paper.
Remnant, 30 x 44 inches, ink on paper.
Gone, 30 x 44 inches, ink, gouache, watercolor, pastel, and acrylic on paper.
DeCreation
In 2019, my friend, scientist, poet, and collaborator, the great Steve Peck and I began an exploration of the unraveling of evolution, or in other words climate change. We call it DeCreation. What started as 24 small pieces paired with poems made from scientific journals, has now morphed and continues to take shape as we dive deeper into ideas about destruction, sadness, and loss. This work has been published in several journals including Cold Mountain Review and Whitefish Review. The entire collection has been bought by the BYU Library to be used by students and faculty in the humanities, arts and sciences.
“What the Octopus knew (Climate change)”, 94 x 84 inches,
Paint, charcoal, pastel and collage on paper.
“The End of Evolution”, 30 x 44 inches, collage on paper.
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DeCreation 4, 11, 1 and 8, 7 x 5 inches each. There are 24 in this series.