When rendering plants and land, I endeavor to illustrate the marks of time. I imagine all of the human events that have occurred in a place and observe how each subject is altered by these events. In common with the scientist, I am searching for evidence; a record of memory in the land.
I look for changes in landscapes that silently display human history. Land, long fallow, is forever altered by the plow. Trees that must grow among built structures or beyond the cuts of pruning tell the story of our existence here. The land mirrors our behavior and documents survival and actions.
Some of my etchings are an ongoing documentation of trees growing in the built environment. Pruned trees and purposefully placed garden plants have a quirky beauty that reflects their coexistence with people. The growth patterns of trees have direction and pre-determination. Even when pruned radically, most trees continue to produce more leaf area and survive. It is heartening to recognize ourselves in the land. Trees are a cultural symbol for life. They display our economic priorities, our differing notions of beauty and our relationships with the natural world.
For several years I have focused on trees as subjects. Yet the trunk, branches and leaves are less than half of the tree. The roots comprise the greatest portion of the whole. It was natural to expand my inquiry into the earth. Soil shows only one layer until cut, revealing an interdependent system of life. Geologists and archeologists reconstruct the story of the planet and our ancestors by excavating layers of earth. Perhaps it is my familiarity with their discoveries that imbues exposed cliffs with mythology and metaphor. Perhaps the organic and mineral deposits that are laid in strata contain a narrative record as well as a fossil record of time.
In a more formal sense, I am developing a vocabulary of marks specific to the manipulation of etching materials and the printing process. As this enquiry deepens, the expressive qualities of the prints expand as well. Much of the results grew out of a call and response to the printing process.