acrylic, watercolor, sewn paper.
Like everyone, at some point in the spring of 2020, I began to clean. It was during this clearing of my studio I began to use the cut paper works I had been storing for many years. I knew that I needed some parameters for my endeavor so I would not simply stop and move on to the next new thing. I wanted to revisit this past work. See what was still and what might be active. One rule was there could be no scraps. Everything from every piece had to be used and sewn into new works. And yes, they are fairly thick. Handshake and Blue Lion are pieces from this series created from late spring through summer of 2020. Handshake is one the times when the relevance of the image changes. It would be disingenuous to say the cut paper image of a cherub shaking hands with a griffin was purposeful. It was, like finding something that you knew and now know differently because of context. Decoration has long been a part of my practice. To see a decorative element become a symbol for something we couldn’t do was walk in my practice I didn’t anticipate but welcomed. Blue Lion, now reassembled, is captive by the thread within its decorative palette. Resisting, revising, setting up rules and allowing wonder has been a sign post in this practice of sewing, cutting and painting.
