Whose landscape?

Walking through downtown I couldn't help but notice sections of the city where nature would begin to reclaim its territory. A small shoot creeping out of cracks in the sidewalk, vines racing their way up light poles or droves of grass and weeds toppling over chain linked fences, these were all small battles taking place in the middle of the city. I kept thinking about how the city as a whole continues to grow and destroy in order to sustain itself and how similar this is to every other little "societies" in nature. Of course we work at a much larger scale but in hindsight we infest the landscape and destroy all in the way to make room for ourselves the same way termites will infect a home or mold will infect your loaf of bread. It is just the way things are, it's nature's little game that we have to participate in in order to survive.

Spiral Eyes

Spiral Eyes
Ebony Pencil on Paper
10"

This mandala exercise is a study in fluid line quality. Free flowing lines expand and contract into interwoven contours of organic forms.

The was not any subject or central idea in place at the start of this study. The tip of the pencil was just placed on the paper and set free to lay down anything that flowed out from the experience.

Singing in the Rain

First Mandala Study: 'Singing in the Rain'. I've never done one of these before so it was a nice new experience. Suggested to do the drawing as an exercises to get the creative juices flowing I just approached it by starting a gesture drawing, which is something I usually do in times when I need to get the juices going. All I remember is that on this particular morning it was raining pretty hard while I was walking to class. I remember walking in the rain listening to all the traffic and weather and other city sounds going on. All this was on my mind when I got to class so I started doodling a random gesture and the mandala turned into a window scene of my morning stroll.

Still Life

This still life is a carved drawing of a dresser into a wooden surface. The subject of the piece was chosen for the nostalgic air it carries for the artist. Having moved around through life the artist is only able to hold on to the objects that are necessary or useful to living. By leaving our mark on the things around us we attempt to solidify our place in the world.