12" x 12" OBSERVED
This selected body of work was exhibited April 2018 at Origami Air Art Gallery, Sarasota, Florida and based on a 2017 solo road trip from Sarasota, Florida to Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.
Artist Statement
Law of Detachment
“In detachment lies the wisdom of uncertainty...
in the wisdom of uncertainty lies the freedom
From the past, from the known,
Which is the prison of past conditioning.
And in our willingness to step into the
unknown, the field of all possibilities,
We surrender ourselves to the creative mind
that orchestrates the dance of the universe.”-
Deepak Chopra
In his book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Chopra’s writing spurred me to pack minimal necessities, easel and paint, my bike, leave Sarasota, and head west on a solo road trip June 25th, 2017. Living out of my Jeep, I traveled 53 days, 8,235 miles, 18 states, 2 oil changes, and surrender to uncertainty. Destination: Montana and Wyoming. How does surrendering to uncertainty help us to define ourselves in a new context and environment? Why is it important to leave a safe place to see life from a different perspective? As a multidisciplinary artist, I have struggled with taking risks and overcoming fear and self criticism in my life and art making. I practiced and refined intuitive decision making-which road to travel on, which towns to stop in or avoid, and letting go of control-in my travels and in my artmaking process. I became a lone observer and participant. Most significantly, I learned the joy of being alone and going with my gut. The Grand Tetons, Wyoming and Boulder River, Montana I played for hours balancing rocks in icy water, painted with clay in Colorado, explored a 3 by 5 mile working ranch, and collected over 30 pounds of rocks and clay. I was particularly interested in miles of open plains juxtaposed with jutting buttes and mountains. A new vision emerged: breaking it down to its pure and simple forms of shapes, planes, and colors. This body of work maps intimate observations and reflections of identity, place, spaces and objects: an exploration of belonging and displacement, and personification of the human experience.