Assurances

Sometimes, as artists, we are more productive during or right

after difficult times in our lives. And then, we wonder. Would I be

an artist without distress and discomfort? Does drama follow me?

But the truth is that difficulties will come, and we all need ways to

survive and deal with them. As artists, we have this additional

language that emerges from the subconscious to help ourselves 

and others. My current project is taking on a new direction with 

recent diagnoses of cancer among friends, and needing 

reassurances of safety after a horrific school shooting.

Below is a sneak peek at my current project, a collaboration with

poet LouAnn Shepard Muhm. My job is to create rather large

translucent bowls out of sewing pattern tissue paper and various

hardening agents--still experimenting. LouAnn's is to write poems

against fears, assurances that our fears will not win. Next, I will

paint a poem and an image inside of each bowl.

This project is being partially funded by a
Minnesota State Arts Board grant,
and is inspired by ancient incantation bowls.