WALL HANGINGS
In recent years leaves and weeds have become metaphors for my relationship to my environment.
I was initially drawn to the expressive shapes of voluptuous burr oak and spiky pin oak leaves collected on walks in the local cemetery. The fading color of these leaves, etched away by insects, brings to mind the mottled splotches overlaying the wrinkles on my own hands. The fact that their richest coloration appears during the last period of their lives appeals to me, as I enter my own autumn years.
In this “Self Portrait: Leaf” series, the leaf is both subject matter and tool. On a blank silkscreen, oak leaves are covered with dye and left to dry. With each successive print, the colors are gradually released, with unpredictable and unique results on this whole cloth piece.