Parched Series: Drip Works
Parched Series Statement
I took it for granted. After all, wasn't it everywhere? At least it had
been growing up in northern Wisconsin. But in Colorado, it was a different
story. The first time I really took notice was the new-to-me news that
installing a rain barrel to gather rain and water my freshly planted garden
was an illegal act - fineable by law. Water was handled differently there.
As it turned out, the water falling on one's roof was not one's own to keep.
It was a resource. Scarce and quantifiable. Bought and sold. "My" water
wasn't really my water. My water and everyone else's in Colorado is collected
in multiple ways by municipalities and dispensed accordingly - whether pumped
up from aquifers, divvied up from rivers and streams, collected in reservoirs,
or selectively managed through extensive ditch systems. This world of water
restrictions was an eye opener, and so began my inquiry into water sourcing,
water rights, preservation, conservation, and restoration.
My interest in water followed me home to Wisconsin thirteen years later.
And as my husband and I attempt to restore the woodland behind our house and
studio, I find myself continually interested in land health and its twin
sister, water health. They go hand in hand. I'm back in the land of
plentiful water - from lakes, rivers, streams, and a substantial yearly
precipitation. But what I find is that the land and water I took for granted
as a child and young adult has changed. It has been altered by invasive
non-native plants, quickly draining aquifers, and tainted with nitrates and
bacteria.
Water in Wisconsin used to seem so simple, so abundant, so pure. With my
eyes open now, I find it a complex issue, but nonetheless a stunningly
beautiful inspiration. In my work as an artist and sculptor I attempt to
capture moments in time of fleeting, transitory beauty. I distill the
multifaceted beauty of water into fundamental line and form. This interest
in the beauty of nature - its quiet stillness and gentle grace - continually
renews my spirit, no matter how complex the issues surrounding it. And
interpreting it in the medium of katagami-style hand carved paper and metal
sculpture is my way of capturing that beauty and purity forever.
