Ignition Projects 2021
I have made these piece out of what I call selected refuse that I find on walks with my dog, through the streets and alleys of Chicago. Most of what stands out to me are broken bits that were a part of a greater whole. Certain things seem like they need to be picked up
I have a vast collection of found materials. I organize them in bins labeled plastic, metal, wire and cord, stones and branches or by color, I have a large bottle of glue and spools of thread at my studio space.
From there I start building my pieces, sometimes I hide objects in the work, and sometimes fight with the material to balance so that they can create an armature that can stand or hang on their own.
When I work, I get lost in the materials and process that I use. It become like a streams of consciousness. There is no linear approach that I follow. I work very organically without having a picture in my mind of the end result. As I work, I do step back and look at what I am making and think about formal concerns, I have to feel a sense that I am creating something that feels composed.
There is a grounding I feel as I manipulate the materials I use. I think about rescue and healing of an often abused and broken world. I am also thinking about aging and declining bodies and of recovery and rejuvenation. I find beauty and decay equal to one other, in a sense the cycle of arriving in this world whether organic or inorganic and leaving it behind.
In repurposing I am also thinking about conservation. by using things thrown away I feel that in a small way I am leaving behind a world less obscured by garbage.
What I want the viewer to do when they look a finished piece is to come closer and to see more, uncover mysteries, to make their own personal story I and want them visceral reaction to the materials I use .
