I am very excited to announce the solo exhibition of my handmade paper abstract landscapes, "Cornwall [re]Constructed," opening August 23, 2013 at the
St. Louis Artists' Guild in Clayton, Missouri.
This newest series of landscapes [re]constructs divergent tangents of historical meaning and myth, abstracting place over time and space, by building up layers of handmade paper subjected to natural elements that rust, tint, dye, emboss, and inform the marks left behind.
Located on the farthest western tip of the
United Kingdom, Cornwall holds two coastlines (the English Channel and the Atlantic
Ocean) and is divided from England by the River Tamar. Cornwall is a land of one-lane hedgerows
blanketed in wildflowers; mythical piskies; wild ponies and herds of sheep
wandering the moors; tidal pools and estuaries; Neolithic stone circles; and Iron
Age villages. From the time of the early
Bronze Age, Cornishmen have mined for copper, silver and tin down into the
earth … and out under the sea.
Since kaolin, used for
porcelain and later paper, was first discovered in Cornwall in the mid-16th
century, the china clay industry pitted the moors and altered the horizon with
their white mica waste tips standing proud like gleaming pyramids on the
uplands.
While Cornish tin mines are now slowly rusting into the granite landscape
and china clay tips have all but disappeared, replaced by modern mica plateaus, the people of Cornwall are as
strong and resilient as their ancestors. Working fishing villages hold dear to
their culture while embracing 21st century tourism. Celtic crosses
and ancient stones still stand watch along rocky cliff paths and yellow gorse
lined moorland trails. Yet deep in the woodlands, where moss covered stones lead to pre-Christian wells, and hillsides of blue
bells are walled by mountainous rhododendrons, one only need to quiet one's heart and listen - for the flutter of wings, the gurgle of springs, and the Spirit of God all around.
The exhibition runs through October 20, 2013. For more information, visit the St. Louis Artists' Guild website.
