When hiking or walking along the beach I am collecting rocks and always return with pockets full of treasure.

Seeing, noticing and holding these small, details amidst the grandness of nature engages my ‘seeing eye’ and quiets my busy mind.  Once home, collected in vessels around the house, they serve as a reminder of walks taken, paths explored and offer a sensory recall of my mind slowly clearing as I explored, often spectacular places, in my own quiet, small way.

One place that I collect is in the mountains of Colorado.  Those mountains, over the past 30 years, hold so much— love, partnership, deep friendships, beauty, laughter and lots of rocks.

When invited to visit a decommissioned limestone mine, in South West Colorado, I went- with zero hesitation and lots of curiosity. The invite was to view an art installation of sound and light inside the mine Fluid State, by Chromosonic.  The installation was incredible and truly challenged my perception of space through sound and light. The experience left me with a deep appreciation of the mine itself and how it shifts reality.  Immediately upon entry it is (in summer) 15 degrees cooler, and I was enveloped in quiet and darkness, almost a deprivation chamber that settles and primes your mind for experiences anew. In sharp contrast to the experience of a working mine, which is loud, busy and reverberating with the violence of extraction.  A working mine takes the value of the place, this decommissioned invites the making of value, of meaning.  Blinking into the bright sunshine of a summer day I exited the mine altered and saw anew the environs of the mine entrance.  What was earlier just another dirt road with mining debris, welding equipment, rusting cars, scrap metal and various metal structures in progress-  now came into sharp focus as precious- a gateway to treasure, the ledge of rocks an endless collection of stunning variety and proportion framed by the materials of work.

The balance of busy/still, engage/escape, work/rest, challenges us profoundly today. We choose to make meaning daily:  In our routines, our actions and particularly our creations.  As artists each time we move paint, make a photo, build with ceramics or carve into stone we are making meaning- consciously or not.  Making art, for me, began because the creative process was good for my mental health.  The open ended nature of making art is a way of quieting my brain, allowing background noises to recede, permitting a less chaotic, quieter and more attuned sense of the world emerge, making meaning of my experience by finding the line, the beauty, and the quiet in this chaotic world.  As viewers and consumers of art we also make meaning- what we see and assign import or emotion to is what makes art valuable and essential. 

Often it feels I find my work in the world around me, the aged, chipped paint on a factory door, the lichen on a boulder, textured stones, shaped rocks, the play of shadows and light.  That summer day, exiting the mine and seeing that treasure was an affirmation- that the beauty exists and it is ours to see.  In this show, I am holding onto and sharing the beauty and meaning found as I emerged into the sun from the impossibly dark, vast, softness of the mine.  Acknowledging the beauty and meaning that is always there when we can attune to feel it.

Red is the Color, curated by JoAnne McFarland. I’m proud to hang my work with JoAnne McFarland and Elizabeth O’Reilly two amazing local artists at the always delicious Runner & Stone. Show is up through November 30, 2023.

100 artists along a mile and a half of Atlantic Avenue. Explore and enjoy the art, the shopping, the dining, the music of Atlantic Avenue. Maps are available at www.ArtsGowanus.com

My work is featured in Why Not Art? curation “Abstract on Atlantic” at the NU HOTEL, 85 Smith Street opening June 18.

Join us as we celebrate our community with Art, Music, Wine and of course bagels.

Preview June 17th @ 7:30pm

Show, Wine & Music June 18th from 7-10

Bagel Brunch Sunday June 19th 10-12

An Abstract Group Exhibition at Established Gallery 75B 6th Ave Brooklyn

Curated by Johnny and Hally Thorton this show features 7 Brooklyn Artists working in a variety of mediums. Show is up through June 30. Gallery is open Wed-Sunday 12-5 or by appointment.