September 2012
The inspiration for this work comes from the most ancient artists, using natural dyes and tools, creating beautiful images on 30,000 year old cave walls. The human drive to produce aesthetic renderings of our stories is at the same time humbling and compelling. These prints are a silent prayer to the sacredness of our natural world and to the ongoing tragedy of how much we have compromised its beauty and health. It is, as well, a statement of gratitude for all the beauty and richness that is still with us.
The lines used in the prints have a fragile and genuine feel, meant to evoke the human touch and the antiquity of the early marks. Salt resist is used to suggest the old rocks and walls and the diminishment of endangered plants and animals. Many layers are used in the printing, just as layers have formed over the years in the geological landscape.
A few words about the triptych (Holy Ghosts 18):
Etching paper was deliberately left in a rain storm, buried under branches, for three days. Natural forces created the beautiful design. The words are embroidered onto the paper and are a testament to our diminishing grasslands and natural habitats.