Throughout my life, the extraordinary beauty and vastness of natural history has been profound. Marveling at the diversity and richness of form, down to the most finely structured surface, is central to my work. A predisposition as a tinkerer, has resulted in a diverse group of work, each forged from a different constellation of events. Reflecting on, and reconsidering this predisposition, has informed much of my work.
Charcoal: The charcoal works were inspired by at first, drawing with charcoal. I then became interested in the reflective beauty of the charcoal itself, contrasting with the conventional mat blackness of it's drawn line. This led to charcoal making experimentation, testing different kinds of wood for reflective qualities. The resulting work is made with charcoal made in a chamber within the wood stove I heat my home with.
Algae, and Cyanobacteria: I have long been interested in these beautiful simple life forms. I was inspired to use this basic genetically coded material in my art. Some of the works incorporated the material into sculptural growing systems. Other works fall somewhere between landscape, topiary, and photography. While growing Cyanobacteria oscillatoria on paper in " Landscape With Restrictive Element", I realized It's exacting sensitivity to light and shadow. This led to projecting light through a negative onto a growing culture. The resulting works on paper and glass, explore time and scale, and were produced using this process.
Insects: Milkweed bugs, and Morpho aega butterflies were used in these works. The investigation of genetic variation, and light refraction, as well as life form hierarchy, and value, were central factors used in considering the Morpho. Milkweed bugs are one of the standards in entomology classes. Here they are used to demonstrate the life cycle of this Hemipteran (true bug). In this case they were used to make an abstract watercolor on paper. Three generations of reproduction occurred on the paper. The Milkweed bugs were fed sunflower seeds in round dishes, and water containing blue coloring. A square tube made into a rectangle held the water.