sense of place

This body of work is so specific to place : exploration, hikes, collecting of leaves, stones and shells. Holding them and celebrating the wildness they contain. But sometimes the place is no longer comforting, it becomes claustrophobic mixed with an uneasy intimacy. The largeness of the work spilling into the real world. Senses of Place draws inspiration from Maryland locales such as Pretty boy reservoir, Glenstone grounds, Cascade falls, Calvert cliffs as well as the Rhode Island coast line. These places themselves have an undeniable magic to them, like a fairy mound inviting you to your own peril. Beauty and tragedy will always go hand in hand.

Influences of greco/roman, jewish and Irish motifs weave their way in and out of the place: The Kelpies, Narcissus, the sirens. Even Amphitrite herself, the greek goddess of the ocean, she too wonders if Gods can drown. The circle of life;  birth and death are constantly present. The anxious mind lingers and becomes the danger to these places- as well as a danger to themselves.

Many of the images focus on self portraiture and text interwoven with mix media layering. The painting has a sentience, manifesting their desires. Like humans, the wish to be transported to these abstract places just to feel the water, to touch the grass blades, to feel the mountain rocks beneath their hands. Sculptural in form, yet confined to 2 dimensions. As through mental health we too can become trapped. The vibrancy, the repeated drips, and lack of finished imagery becomes obvious. How the work trembles and cries, attempting to escape its rectangular form. 

What is a place anyway? Do you just feel it in your chest or will it take you down with it.