Geographies

acrylic paint, water color, and colored pencil on mylar or mulberry paper

2021-ongoing

These paintings consider the written word, the cadence of walking, the rhythm of breathing, the way the world forms veins and branches.

The word geography comes from the Greek "geo" meaning earth and "graphy" meaning to write about. 

During my sabbatical in the spring of 2021, I took many walks in my dear friend and neighbor's orchards. Her family has cultivated this land for over a century, and she--and I-- have a deep respect for this land and its much deeper history. The plants, the dirt, the weather, and the paths she's cut through some of the meadows have provided me with walking meditation space to consider the people who once inhabited the area, the Odawa and Peoria; the endurance of the land; the Dutch settlers; the resilience of plants like wild violets, goldenrod, red clover, artemsia; the encroaching urban sprawl; and the animals and insects who call this small patch of land home. In these walks, and beyond them, I am compelled to think about what it means to care, and that in caring, as in loving, respect and accountability are inseparable from affection.

The paintings become a visualization of the layers, of movement, a nod to writing. And they become formal studies of colors pulled from the landscape in different seasons and at different hours.