Macular Degeneration Series: Self Portrait w/poetry, charcoal drawing w/magnetic poetry
Macular Degeneration Series: Self Portrait w/Flowers Becoming Stars, charcoal drawing w/collaged photograph scraps
Three Klees,: Three Keys to Emptiness, collage triptych
At Ease Near Lethe Wharf, letterpress printing on marbled paper
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
One of the agenda items for our August meeting to plan this show, was the name, its title. What would we call this, our 12th annual Homewood Studios Resident Artists Exhibition?
During a round-robin of ideas, Laura suggested holding space, remarking on the political atmosphere we were then immersed in and mentioning the fact the election would take place while our new show is up.
I, for one, resonated right away with the idea, and others chimed in their agreement. So pretty quickly that was the name of the show you are now attending.
What do we hold space for? And how do we hold space? Is this space internal or external? What is the landscape of this space? Is it occasioned by hope, by belief, or informed by experience?
Another way to say holding space is to say, “awaiting more information,” or “open to the unexpected, or even, “let’s wait and see.” For an artist, or at least for this artist, saying “I know” forestalls the possibility the artwork itself will have a voice of its own about how it wants to inhabit the world. Whether working on a collage, setting type for a broadside, or looking for an imaginative way to express the frustrations of losing my vision, conversation with the artwork is essential. It is necessary to hold space for what the work knows that I do not, what the work wants that I am unaware of, or what the piece is asking me to give up to make room for something else…most often something better.