Winter Drawing, sumi-e ink, aquatint, copper plate engraving, acrylic, and beeswax on paper
Winter Drawings, consists of a series of drawings made during the winter of 2010-11. The drawings combine sumi-e ink, aquatint, acrylic, and copper plate engraving. Each drawing has transparent sheets of color (aquatint) and detailed linear elements (sumi-e ink & engraving) layered with beeswax or acrylic.
In addition to a group of individually mounted and framed images, a large wall installation includes multiple drawings supplemented with hand calligraphy, arranged asymmetrically in overlapping sheets of various dimensions. The text, Vajrasattva, repeated in varied portions and formats on the wall, is a mantra from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The mantra provides a repetitive visual element that counterbalances the abstract energy and frenetic pace of the drawings with a constant reference to contemplative or meditative thought.
The narrow border at the western edge of the continent where the earth becomes the sea and the sea dissolves elements of terra firma is a microenvironment with dynamic, diverse geological and biological activity. Great changes occur in this natural zone of activity, some subtle, some dramatic but all continually shaping and reforming the physicality of this border. The images presented in Winter Drawings reflect perceptions of change and continuity in this local coastal edge.