Reflection #2, Garden Path Series
felted wool,giclée photography,silk thread, 2008-2009
In the summer of 2002 I created a stone path in my back yard and have since observed the naturalization process. Over the years, I have walked the path as part of my outdoor yoga practice. In this Garden Path Series, I have merged my interests in feltmaking, photography, gardening, and yoga and a deep connection to the world around me. This daily walking meditation allowed me to observe and document changes from the minute to the extreme. The Meditation pieces include images of the stones as I walked them, the Reflection pieces show the path under water after many days of rain, and the Salutation pieces are views looking up from the path. I often felt as though I were moving around a game board representing life’s journey, and have chosen images of playing pieces to serve as human surrogates.
The creation of the pieces of felt, a very physical process, was similar to the physical effort required in the making of the stone path. It was my intent to create felt that looked very earthy. Cutting into the layers of the felt and peeling it back to insert the photographs, reflected the act of cutting into the ground and removing layers of sod in order to set the stones for the path. I sought, however, to give the sense of opening a way into some other dimension or internal space.
It is my hope that this visual expression of a reality that I experienced both externally and internally, will invite viewers to respond with journeys of their own interpretation.
In the summer of 2002 I created a stone path in my back yard and have since observed the naturalization process. Over the years, I have walked the path as part of my outdoor yoga practice. In this Garden Path Series, I have merged my interests in feltmaking, photography, gardening, and yoga and a deep connection to the world around me. This daily walking meditation allowed me to observe and document changes from the minute to the extreme. The Meditation pieces include images of the stones as I walked them, the Reflection pieces show the path under water after many days of rain, and the Salutation pieces are views looking up from the path. I often felt as though I were moving around a game board representing life’s journey, and have chosen images of playing pieces to serve as human surrogates.
The creation of the pieces of felt, a very physical process, was similar to the physical effort required in the making of the stone path. It was my intent to create felt that looked very earthy. Cutting into the layers of the felt and peeling it back to insert the photographs, reflected the act of cutting into the ground and removing layers of sod in order to set the stones for the path. I sought, however, to give the sense of opening a way into some other dimension or internal space.
It is my hope that this visual expression of a reality that I experienced both externally and internally, will invite viewers to respond with journeys of their own interpretation.