From What I Remember // Reconstructing A Landscape
Whenever I step into the world, whether I am conscious of it or not, I like to think that I am cataloging everything I see and experience, and storing it for future reference. Every color, sound, and texture gets filed away, and all the little extraordinary moments too - the ones that are not easy to capture by camera or word. The way the wind whispers through tall grass or the softness of a mist of rain masking the treetops as it delicately falls to meet the ground.
Some of these moments get collected into folders - folders of places. The place with golden light, the place where the storms roll in, the beach I love most, the lake I grew up on..
My sister and I took a walk along the road that leads to our family's house on Lake Keowee. Along this road a field expanse stretches up and tumbles down to chase the rolling land, and with it comes the sounds and colors of the lake I call home. Home to countless summers running barefoot and carefree. Bug bites and fresh berries, burnt marshmallows and fireworks, sunsets and rope swings, waterfalls and secret coves, tan legs and red clay. Add in spring with fresh blooms and sweet breezes, autumn with crisp leaves piled high in every color, holidays with pine trees and chilly air wrapping everything in a blanket of soft grey...
All of these memories, all of these experiences are components of this place, right down to its soil and water. Hand-stitched into the fibers of the landscape, a collection of moments tell the story of my past, my present, and my future. Filing them carefully into a folder in my mind, I carry each moment with me as valuable resource.
“Hand-stitched into the fibers of this landscape, a collection of moments tell the story of my past, my present, and my future. ”
So I take out this folder of memories, open it up and let it spill out its color and form onto my surface. Speaking in energy, breathing in color - my memories build a space that tells their story. They reconstruct the landscape from the silky waters of the lake to the rugged mountains in the distance, and every day that begins and ends resting upon their silhouettes.
"From What I Remember"
Thread, Ink & Acrylic on wood panel
11 x 14 in
This piece is available for sale here.
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