HUMAN/NATURE Series

“Nature Is Our Teacher”

60 x 38.5 x 4.5in heptaptych

Mixed media collage on canvas + 24k gold leaf

Quote - Albert Einstein

The HUMAN/NATURE series attempts to capture a serendipitous moment in time where nature and humanity collaborate to create something beautiful.

Each unstretched piece of canvas is saturated with paint and dye on concrete, oftentimes with artifacts from nature placed underneath. As the canvases dry and fade in the Florida heat, they are almost baked, as if in a kiln, and adhered to the ground. Once adhered they are pulled off the ground, removing pieces of paint and concrete from prior works from the outdoor studio floor and often leaving “fossils” of nature behind. Some pieces come out perfect on the first pull, others take multiple pours/pulls.

Once they are ready, the pieces are cleaned and transferred inside where a period of arranging, settling, and coalescing happens both randomly and intentionally to create a collage that feels complete or whole. Frames are then cut, canvases stretched and assembled to create a dynamic gestalt. Words/quotes are added on the outside frame to increase the power and intention of the piece.

With deep reverence for the Wabi-Sabi philosophy and aesthetic, these pieces additionally attempt to connect with some of the key aspects of this way of life and creativity that is difficult to easily define.

The Material Qualities of Wabi-Sabi: (from the book Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers)

• The suggestion of natural process

• Irregular/Imperfect

• Intimate

• Unpretentious

• Earthy

• Murky

• Simple

These works of art remind the viewer that nature, both it’s beauty and principles, can make us more fully human.