I thought I'd share the statement I wrote to accompany my work at Surface Gallery. I know I'm a terrible tease, considering I haven't posted any images of the work for the show, but I'd love to hear what you think...
statement: very long lines
A few months ago I taught myself how to spin yarn with a drop-spindle. Besides becoming obsessed with the repetitive nature of the craft, I was also fascinated by the spatial paradox of the process. In my tiny little apartment, I could sit in a small space and create a very long fine line. Yards and yards and yards of creation, wound up into a tidy, compact space.
Although the work included in “very long lines” is not made of Michelle-spun yarn, this interest in the spatial complexities of creation has certainly informed this body of work. My current living/working space is very small, and this has affected my art in ways I am just starting to understand. For years most of my work has been petite, or made of many petite fragments. I made a conscious decision to work on larger pieces for this exhibition, making an uncomfortably small workspace even more uncomfortable. It is part of the work that is invisible to the viewer, but working through this discomfort is part of what the work is about.
In creating these airy, open compositions, I am satisfying my desire for a place (or state of mind) where there is room and time for intricate detail, room for growth, and even room for un-organized “stuff” to comfortably exist.
My work is an autobiographical exploration of the non-linear nature of memory. The repetitive nature of my processes, (printing, mark-making, sewing) facilitate a meditative mind wandering, thus each finished piece becomes an abstract record of my thoughts. The “very long lines” refer to time lines, conversations, landscapes, paths, and distances between friends. I often equate interactions or conversations with tangible threads: loops as repetitions, tangles as complications.
2 comments:
Love the piece... it's really fun to follow your lines!
nice artist statement. very clear explanation of your work. a little long, yes, but it says what it needs to say. some artist's statements are so full of jargon, i miss the connection with the work. your statement is very connected to the work.
and i love your piece on the tooth (s)! i can feel the pain all over again.
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