One of the things I was most thrilled about with the Taproot editors was that they selected a wide variety of styles of my work to publish ~ and the above piece is a perfect example of that.
This is definitely not your traditional pattern. It is solely my personal spin on the art form. Actually, I really can't take credit for COMING UP with the idea for this image. I was simply reacting to what the bath was (or, more appropriately, wasn't) allowing me to do.
It was a hot, hot day. My bath was old. The wind was picking up. Humidity was nonexistent. Wildfires filled the air with ash. The conditions could not have been worse for marbling. But I just had to get into the studio despite the fact that Mother Nature was not on my side.
With nothing at all but the desire to create something ~ anything ~ I stepped up to the tank, tossed all expectations and ideas aside, and just did what the bath allowed me to do that day. It turned out to be one of my favorite moments in the studio.
Up close, this piece feels like a relief map of a secret world ~ I see rivers and valleys and mountains and roads and islands and lakes and forests. Step back and the there are suggestions (hints? clues?) of....something. I see a shape ~ but I'm not gonna share. I don't want to taint your perspective. You'll have to discover your own "something."
"Dry" is featured in the Summer 2013 issue of Taproot magazine (Issue 6: Water). The piece measures 10"x13" and is created on my favorite paper, Arches Text Wove from France. Brilliant Purple, Cad Red, Payne's gray, Indian Yellow Hue, and Light Blue make up the show. You can purchase "Dry" here.
It is also part of my Favorites postcard set:
