Works in Birch Bark
Some of the bark in these pieces is very, very old, having hung onto long-dead trees for years, before storms brought them down. They tell me their stories, and I, by arranging and embellishing and framing them, tell them mine.
Totems: Meditations on a Time out of Time
Whether consciously or not, we prepare. In the 2 years before COVID, I started to collect heaps of scrap and drift wood. Then, during the pandemic, after never having done so, I began to make vertical things, using all that scrap wood as their framework.
Scrap Metal
I find there is such integrity in old metal. Injury improves it. Rust makes it all the more beautiful. And wondering what in the world some of this stuff was originally designed for will keep me entertained long into my own old age!
Fleece, Feathers, & Fur
I have always wished I could knit or sew, but I have neither the hands nor the patience for such work. However, I do love the color and texture of textiles.
Odd Bits
When anyone asks me what I love to do, the first thing that comes to me is, “I love to take something and turn it into something else.” Silk ties, map tacks and old window mullions turned into social commentary; cowhide and tobacco sticks into an aid to prayer.
A Sampling of Magic Wands
In the winter of 2022, I received a gift of home spun art yarns. Mesmerized by the color and texture I started using it to wrap everything in sight: birch saplings I’d brought back from Maine, a collection of disused chopsticks, discarded porch pickets, antique spinning wheel parts, junked walking sticks, garden stakes. Immediately I was calling these objects ‘magic wands.’