Water Ways
This series is influenced by fluid dynamics, the study of movement of fluids. Some of these works follow a cartographic impulse, exploring topics such as the meander belts, wind rivers, watersheds, and gyres. For example, Nomadic River was inspired by a detailed map of the Mississippi River meanders made by geologist/cartographer, Harold Fisk, for the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s. The movement of the great river over millennia is revealed in the tracings of the meander belt still visible on the land. I lived for many years in Minnesota near the Mississippi River. While engineers attempted to make it easier to navigate with levees, dams and locks; still, the river would forcefully spill over its banks to follow its natural instincts, the continuity of momentum. Flooding has become a constant occurrence all over the world, as unusual weather patterns and sea level rise are brought about by anthropogenic climate change. I wondered what it would be like if we, humans, correctly valued our waterways as a dynamic system with their meanderings and watersheds; if we understand their constant movement as essential to the natural cycles of life. What would that look like? This work seeks to re-invigorate a sense of wholeness and connection with global patterns of water movement and exchange.
Some of this work is based on a braided rug motif. In the past, braiding rugs from used woolens and scraps of fabric was a way in which valuable items were salvaged and put to new use. Nothing was wasted. In this collage series, photographs I’ve taken of my surroundings, prints, drawings, fabric and other ephemera are braided together into strands that move around the paper as if animate, sometimes becoming unwoven, entangled or knotted. They mirror the way we seek to make sense of life- one puts memories together and a pattern seems to emerge, only to have events take you on a different journey, a wild ride.
