The fecundity of an open furrow, the thin slice of earth that forms, and the potential for new growth.

For this exhibition I set out to create an experience of elements that form and inform my work: fire, air, family, soil, water, love, forgiveness, gratitude. Much of what is presented is work I’m in the midst of making; the flurry of engagement with multiplicities, and a feeling of working on the verge is part of it.

The drawings are recent; meditations on the sculptures, which are also quite recent. I set a regular/frequent, not-quite-yet-daily, practice of study, experiencing the three dimensions anew. The rubbings record my physical interaction with 300 year-old logs that form the house on my mother’s ancestral farm in Wisconsin. The sculptures are smoke-fired in small batches, fueled by materials gleaned from my collections - old newspapers, notes, and messages, seeds and branches. I conduct the firings on places meaningful to me and my family.

My ideas are honed in duality and multiplicity, and a deep interest in history and place has long been a part of my artistic practice.

These works are grounded in family and place, loss and attainment, & the cleansing power of fire, which features prominently both here and in my history. Powerful, terrible, formative, creative, fierce. Both in the life of my ancestors, and in my work.

Whatever the media - whether photography, sculpture, mark-making - I rely on metaphor… I am coaxing meaning from material. What I hope comes through in this is the continuity throughout my practice - rootedness & groundedness of my creative practice.

The furrowed brow, deep creases, born in the brows of my ancestors. Especially the women.