After the passing of my maternal grandmother, I began having recurring dreams of being in the home in which she and my grandfather lived when I was a child. Their home represents the essence of my childhood. My grandmother later moved to another house and old one sat empty and fell into disrepair. The land was sold and the new owner tore down the ruins. The land changed and no physical trace of my grandparents’ home exists, yet the sense of place remains in my memories and in dreams.
There are other places to which I feel a similar connection: my paternal grandparents’ home, my father’s business, and my childhood church. Although these structures still stand and I could visit these places, the spirit of place is lost as the people who once inhabited them are no longer present. What bonds me so firmly to these physical places? Why do these spaces seem alive in my spirit?
This series of pod and nest-like forms is my attempt to wrestle with these questions. Inspiration comes from birds’ nests, insect cocoons, and seed pods—impermanent structures all, and soon abandoned. Each piece began with a stitched fabric base. Some pieces were bound to the end of deadfall twigs or branches, as though attached by a creature and harvested for scientific study. Surface treatments include plaster, sand, latex and acrylic paint, thread, twigs, and grasses.
There are other places to which I feel a similar connection: my paternal grandparents’ home, my father’s business, and my childhood church. Although these structures still stand and I could visit these places, the spirit of place is lost as the people who once inhabited them are no longer present. What bonds me so firmly to these physical places? Why do these spaces seem alive in my spirit?
This series of pod and nest-like forms is my attempt to wrestle with these questions. Inspiration comes from birds’ nests, insect cocoons, and seed pods—impermanent structures all, and soon abandoned. Each piece began with a stitched fabric base. Some pieces were bound to the end of deadfall twigs or branches, as though attached by a creature and harvested for scientific study. Surface treatments include plaster, sand, latex and acrylic paint, thread, twigs, and grasses.