ART

Thinking + Creating + Collaborating

“Create dangerously for people who read dangerously, writing knowing in part, that no matter how trivial your words may seem, some day, somewhere, someone may risk his or her life to read them.”

— Edwidge Danicat

RECENT and WORK in PROGRESS

“Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”

— Joseph Campbell

COLLABORATIONS

“A storyteller should court eviction from her tribe.”

— Alexandra Fuller

SHIFU DRAWING PROJECT

a collaboration with multiple artists using a traditional Japanese method for making thread from paper

In this project, I gave a single piece of paper, hand-made in Japan by a family of traditional paper makers, to fellow artists with whom I share a connection through values, be it the labor of art, or a commitment to voice, or a desire to teach and share the gift of making with others. I asked these artists to draw or paint on the paper, knowing that I would take their finished piece and obscure the image though shifu— the traditional Samurai craft of making thread from paper. It was a profound act of trust. Each artist gave willingly and without hesitation. Much to my surprise, in cutting and shrouding their work, a deeper meaning emerged. Rather than feeling like I was destroying their work, I felt like I gained an intimacy I could not otherwise know. I felt like an entirely new piece was manifested. Not only did my actions not obscure the original meaning, but the transformation in some ways allowed for an increase in meaning filtered through the hands of multiple makers; first the paper maker, then the original artist, and then myself. I also found that each artist and each artwork imprinted itself on me, changing and marking me, even as I changed it.

Artists involved in the collaboration:

Patty Hudak

Annie Quest

Susan Osgood

Pending:

Bunny Harvey

Christy Dewitt George

Deborah Baronas

Nick Benson

Monika Agnello

THE INSTITUTE OF SPECULATIVE EXCHANGE with Brandon Pierce

a creative partnership exploring the creative process

Brandon Pierce and I have know each other since 1987 when we both transferred to the Rhode Island School of Design. Our discussions as undergraduates became an art form of their own. Despite taking extremely different paths in the field of art, we both kept coming back to our conversations together. Art for us, is a form of philosophic inquiry rooted in the act of making. We decided to formalize our conversations and document our explorations into what art actually is. Our styles continue to be far afield, but our interests intersect.

In January 2018, we did a performance-based piece with an audience, in conjunction with a show of my work illuminating my creative process. In our piece, Brandon and I engaged in a discussion about what we believe the fundamental elements of the creative process are for ourselves. Brandon drew a mind map of our discussion, while we talked, using a form that relates to his experience of the creative process. I spun paper thread during our discussion. At the end of the piece we wove together my paper thread and his mind map drawing together two disparate approaches to creativity, further advancing the question, what is it that makes artists similar and different in their creative process? (first two photos)

In January 2019, we met in NYC to continue our explorations. We had conversations related to the art shows and museums we visited including the Armory Show, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Met Breuer. We identified frequently used key words in our discussions, themes, and developed ideas for installations and projection pieces; experiential art pieces designed to evoke sensation. I took the text produced during our discussions, printed the words on silk, embroidered them, and hung them in relation to one another, allowing the text to interact without our curation. (bottom 8 photos)