Take Care
11" x 9"
tissue paper, ink, pins, mescal beans in shadowbox
2015
This piece is an ode to relationships.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
Precious Dead Things
I started collecting chicharra shells when I was little. During the summer months here in South Texas, these beautiful morphing insects leave behind little "ghosts" all over the place: fragile, translucent evidence of transformation. I now feel that same awe as I observe the life cycle of plants within my garden. Some leave behind hollow skeletons after they die. And of course, I collect them. I will be assembling a wreath of these precious dead things.
chicharra or cicada exuvia
clockwise from top:
mystery seedpods, calla lilies, pitcher plants,
magnolia seedpod, devil's trumpet
center: easter lily cactus
Thursday, July 21, 2016
In the Lab
I have several experiments brewing in my garden at the moment. This is one of them. I hung some plastic rings in my jasmine vines. Every couple of days I wrap the new growth around the plastic ring a little more. Its creating a wreath that I hope to dry out and use as a sort of frame.
Experiments in Self Portraiture
I create self portraits as a way to better understand myself, to bridge the gap between my physical appearance and the roles I play within my life. My self portraits always start with a photo. Then, I sketch. From the sketch I make a large scale paper pattern. I use the pattern to cut the pieces from paper or fabric. Finally, I piece all of the parts back together again. Here are some photos that may or may not turn into something bigger. Obviously, plants are my world. My identity is all tangled up within my garden.
mimosa tree shadow-mask
philodendron leaf crown
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Healing
These old family photos of my husband and his maternal grandmother are the inspiration for a new series of work I am doing about healing. My husband's mother documented the healing rituals performed by her mother in Asherton, Texas in 1982.
Ama uses an egg to perform a limpia or cleansing to treat mal de ojo or evil eye. These afflictions often manifested in a fever, stomachache, or lethargy. After rubbing the egg over the body of baby Ariel, she cracks the egg and drops its contents into a bowl of water. A cross made of broom bristles is placed atop the bowl which is then set under the baby's crib.
Here, Ama uses ruda or common rue/bitterwort to treat susto or fright. With susto, the baby is startled very easily causing him to cry often.
Gathering Supplies
I am in the process of collecting materials for new work. I am feeling very drawn to flesh tones lately. Here are a couple of vintage linens I bought from a local thrift shop. Thrift shops are where I do a majority of my art supply shopping.
Monday, July 18, 2016
New Batch
I've been working on a new batch of cactus hands. I'm expediting the decaying process by letting them dry out in the Texas summer sun rather than indoors. This group of hands is to be used in a series of assemblage work about trauma, healing, and transformation.
wavy leaf prickly pear harvested from my own garden
I went smaller with this particular group
details
letting the triple digit heat do its thing
I re-planted one of the carved hands to observe its rehabilitation
