Reverence & Reconfiguring the Landscape

I arrived knowing that much was changing here at Cub Creek and that I had to hit the ground running. So this is one of the first blog entries, on the first blog, of this place. We are growing and have a lot going on; new kiln plans, new resident housing, a new house for the director and I have a new exhibit. I am currently off site in Newport News staying with family and still "running". I have just completed the installation for a new exhibition at Mayer Fine Art Gallery in Norfolk

I began my time here at Cub Creek rapidly setting up my studio and surveying the landscape for the inspiration and materials necessary to begin the physical side of the work for the new exhibition. It only took a few days to cover the majority of the landscape and begin to find the sources that I needed. I had been thinking of the exhibit for some time and its title is one that I found not only intreaguing but close to heart. "The Smallest Footprint; Ecologically Responsible Art". This is quite the place to begin this project and my prior hesitation proved a valuable response. My decision to begin the physical work only when settled into this new landscape allowed me to investigate this concept through a fresh methodology. And so I sat, quietly in the fields that sustained the cultures of my materials; the Johnson grasses.

These grasses are the natural and primary response to the discontinuation of these fields as agricultural entities. They are annuals, a highly sustainable resources in that is generally considered a weed by most farmers, and the are perfect for my work. They represent new life for these fields and a first step towards returing to a forested landscape. So I have chosen to selectively harvest them and create and object out of the reverence i feel for this landscape.

I had to begin by harvesting, then move on to dissecting the individual segments, and finally taking those segments and tying them together all the while considering the value of this landscape; a reverent meditation.

Once completed I photographed the work for details and shortly there after packed and left for Richmond Va. and then on to Norfolf to handle the install.

So the work is now out of my hands and open for public viewing. To see this work please visit the gallery.



This work can be seen September 26th through October 26nd with a Opening Reception on October 4th @ Mayer Fine Art Gallery in Norfolk Va. on Waterside Drive.

The Smallest Footprint (ecologically responsible art)
Mayer Fine Art Gallery
Suite 252 Waterside Festival Hall
333 Waterside Dr.
Norfolk Va. 23510

Gallery Hours:
Friday: 4pm - 8pm
Saturday: 12pm - 6pm
or by appointment
757.803.4749

http://www.mayerfineartgallery.com/