The two pieces I will talk about are similar in material, handmade paper, but they came from two different places in my thinking.
The first set of images are of a piece called Shadow and Tree The narrow scroll down the middle was cut from the initial long piece of paper. and woven with paper thread. The shadow drawn on the whole scroll is from a tracing of my elongated shadow on the ground in the late afternoon. I was thinking about the tall verticality of the central woven scroll as a tree cutting through the human shadow. The human shadow on this planet is menacing the survival of our species. But the planet, and the trees, will outlast us. The scroll continues past the shadow and the story can (and I hope will) change.
The second set of images are from a piece called Anticipation. The silhouette is from a photo of a young girl waiting patiently. The piece is quilted with the word WAIT sewn four times.
I was thinking about the long history of black descendants of enslaved peoples in this county being told over and over again to wait, we white Americans aren't ready for that (many 'thats') yet. Society (white society) will be ready later.
I have yet to tie together the threads of nature and racism in my art making. I know there are many connections, but here they are just side by side.
Shadow and Tree
Anticipation
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