dreamcatching
This journey started in the woods of the Hoh Rainforest in Washington state. The hanging ferns, moss and all things wet and wild. It was a bizarre and otherworldly place. A palace of trees, undergrowth of giant ferns, moss covered logs, ground and up the sides of everything. The tiny leaved ferns hanging from the tree branches, soaking up the moisture from the air and using the trees as a support. Next stop, Deer Isle, Maine. Lace lichen covering trees in the woods. Walking through spindley forests with lichen encrusted branches, the bark underneath blackened by decay. The trees slowly giving way to its ultimate death and looks all the more sad because it appears to be choking from the lichen. The ground is littered with small pine cones and sometimes there is a stray oak giving up sweet little acorns.
As I was walking through the forests of Maine, I could not not collect. The little bits of this and that would become something. I took some lichen and the decayed branch came with it and there it was! A little something to hang. The idea of catching dreams - especially the dreams of little people. Simply dreaming. What a gift.
I carried the collected goodies from Maine to Toronto, to New York City, and now in Hamilton, Ontario. With the right headspace, motivation and light, I made five small dream catchers just the right size for dreams the size of children.
This is a simple exercise, that is how I see it anyway. An interlude between this and something else or more. What that more is, I am not sure, maybe it is more developed, conceptualized, deeper meaning or just nothing, it is complete… and it usually spurs another idea…hopefully.
being
What is it to just be. I am learning what it means, slowly… After a lifetime of doing, being seems so foreign. I am beginning to understand the joy of being and also how uncomfortable it can be. Getting comfortable with simple things, seeing the beauty in the most subtle. Being filled with wonder at the patterns carved by the sea, lake, wind, river, sand. Each place unique to the rhythms and patterns of nature,.
photo - kerryhayesphoto
Taking pictures
Solo Travel
partnership
reflection
open minded exploration
fashion and style
moviemaking and doing something I have never done before
The deadline is in sight. Four months from start to finish and there is so much to do and the concept is mostly living in my head. I have a start but it is a slow go. I had just gotten my second knee replaced and now with that behind me and the residency ahead of me, I decided to make a mini movie. Kerry would be my collaborator/cinematographer. We disagreed about some things at the beginning but we worked it out and it became one of my favorite parts of this project and putting it all together. It would be the beginning of what can happen when two people are in sync.
The concept for this exhibit is named Borders, Boundaries and the Backstory. It is essentially about my journey into myself. An inner exploration of what it means to create boundaries, how easily they are frayed and how to be fluid. Understanding how black and white thinking can erode most anything and how do we find the grey area. I used the grey scale in film and photography as a starting point and went from there. The movie was an illustration of movement, flow, water, fluidity, and what was really good for me was exposing myself in this very vulnerable way. My movement, my body, my ideas out there for critique and compliment.
The movie would be my concept, vision, content and direction. Kerry was fantastic as a partner/collaborator, a true artistic partner and the result was nothing short of wonderful.