inspired by...

I have been working on plans for redesigning a spray park in the Fish town neighborhood of Philadelphia. As a result, I have been looking at many books and images of water parks, water gardens, rain gardens and other means of conveying water. From classic Islamic gardens, to paintings of Indian Miniatures, and many other Asian and European designs. My studio practice invariably reflects the distillation of all of that imagery. Here are 2 drawings from a series of 50 (in progress) that are inspired by landscape architectural drawings of plan and elevation sketches. 

All works are available through my etsy site, please take a look. 

Drawing 1

india ink 

pen and brush

8" x 8"

Drawing 2 

india ink

pen and brush

8"x 8"

the desert Series

When I finished the Spring semester of teaching, I was eager to head into the studio, for pure looking and silence. I often  think about the time that I camped in the desert, the macro and micro levels of experience- the landscape, plants, the close palate, the stripped down feeling of it. I have not been there since September, but I was inspired to make small drawings as meditation, as exploration, as memory and hand work. For this series of 50 I used walnut oil and prussian blue water color. This series is available on etsy. Enjoy

rip rap and lichen

walnut ink 

watercolor 

pen and brush

8" x 8"

pool and needles

walnut ink 

watercolor 

pen and brush

8" x 8"

fish hooks

walnut ink 

watercolor 

pen and brush

8" x 8"

arch and drag

walnut ink 

watercolor 

pen and brush

8" x 8"

work

Every thing that you do will be insignificant 

it is important that you do it

Ghandi

transitions

El Paso to Marfa

flying into Nevada

Marfa, Tx

"We live as separate beings, especially in the Western culture, separate from each other and separate from the earth. We may even believe that we can discern the boundaries between  the material world and ourselves, between the visible and the unseen. But none can say where the line is that divides inner from outer. Where do I begin? Where do I end? Where do I belong?

My life is made of countless journeys from 'here' to 'there'--- from this step to the next step as I walk across the room, from parents hearth to other shelters and commitments,  from one segment of time to another. Every displacement reveals an intermediate zone, which because it is neither here not there, is an encounter with the unique. In this place the extraordinary may touch the ordinary, but the opportunity has to be recognized. What is the experience of that transition? What do I leave behind and what do I discover on crossing the thresh hold from this moment, this place, to the next moment, a new place?" R Solnit from Wanderlust

windswept

Drawing 36 square charcoal on paper 2011

March is starting to show some force, spring trees are flowering, the snow drops beneath the pine trees are almost finished, and daffodils are unfolding everywhere I look. My dad and I happened to work in our respective gardens on March 1st. The need to plant feels pretty strong right now, but I'll order some arugula and spring mix soon. I just found the National Gallery of Art podcasts, and am slowly going through them. Today it's Jim Dine. Drawings are underway in the studio, and I'm trying to reclaim a lot of clay to start making sculpture. I am also thinking about a kite project that seems pretty irresistible right now with these spring winds beckoning...

listening

in scale

It is a common mistake to think that being in proportion means being small. Rather, it means being in scale, in making either a large or modest gesture, but doing it in a manner that lets us see the scale of our bodies embedded in its structure.

From Patterns of Home

The ten essentials of Enduring Design.

M. Jacobson, M. Silverstein, B. Winslow