Hold/Fast

The Hold/Fast Project is a collection of 3-dimensional soft sculptures which will grow to 100 pieces to form an expansive, experiential installation.

Individually, the sculptures represent the tethered relationship between Mother and Child- the heavy, solid rock being the Mother, and the dreamy kelp-like flora as the Child. Through the visual contrast and relationship between the two, I explore physical closeness, the dissolution of boundaries, and the idea that my small child still very much feels like an extension of my own body. Although the weight of responsibility keeps me grounded as The Mother, I am constantly untangling these feelings of suffocation, absurdity, sweetness and hope. This work is kindled not only by my experiences in early parenthood but by the compounding effects of pandemic isolation.

What has become abundantly clear over the past year, is the necessity for support and camaraderie in parenting. Sure, we can do it alone. We’re amazing. But it’s the perspective . . . the laughter we share in the togetherness that makes the impossible possible. In a similar way, the unique Mother/Child sculptures become part of a diverse forest when gathered. Bursting with life and movement, this is my ideal community.

Each piece is mostly made up of hardware store and discarded domestic materials: chicken wire, landscaping aggregate, drop cloth, galvanized steel wire, and RIT dye. The process of agitating, tearing, fraying, twisting, knotting and piecing together imitates the motions and emotions of parenting. The end result is imperfect, but beautiful.

She is The Sea

Based on an original poem, She is The Sea is a flurried effort to control my environment under the dramatic pressure of mothering a small child during never-ending pandemic isolation. The large-scale diorama paintings depict a tangle of growth and decay, resisting the containment of the traditional four-cornered canvas. Scenes invoke Mother Nature’s power, freedom and inevitabilities, displacing my fears rooted in uncertainty. Just as I placate my depression with a walk on the beach, this process of art-making is an act of progressive escapism.  

She is The Sea
Wild, changing

Yet,
Her tides return Rhythm

Sometimes
In a violent fit

A reminder
To tend to her curves
And depths

(Small mixed-media collages perform as “Creature Studies” for larger, 3-dimensional pieces.)