Studio in Winter Part 2 : Regeneration

 I began making the rooted art pieces as a homage to my Dad when he died, he was as a soil conservationist. The work evolved deeper into soil pieces as I recalled what I had been taught.  This lead to research, 1st just to see if I was getting the science right as I composed my “Soil Horizons”. Was I getting the layers right as a joyfully poured paint and added roots and texture?

Roots Of Houses detail

Google searches lead to a mish mash of articles which peaked my curiosity, which led to books, especially audio books, my favorite studio background hummm.. a story. So dips and downright plunges into the geology and biology and history that have me standing on soil and thinking about water. Some of that early research, plus Ted Talks and articles from popular science magazines, as well as the books linked above left me both fascinated and frightened & isn’t that what the internet does best? In reading about soil, I learned that living soil, the source of all our food is degrading at alarming rates… that frightened me so I headed to one of my safe places, a book store and found the 1st of many books that give me hope. “ Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey Through Carbon Country” by Courtney White.

This reading path has lead me to regenerative agriculture…and more visual exploration. Part of my process has always been collecting images when I want to start to work, I have years of files of these photo collections, sometimes they lead to a piece sometimes just a visual direction.

Sometimes though, you see the possibility right away in the images and materials which leads to:

Regeneration, mixed media 7x 5 eco print on bfk rives, embellished with collage of painted fabrics drawing, sewing and burning.

awake