12" x 12", chalk, screws, thumbtack and marker on wood.
The Roc is a meditation about tranformation and change:
Birds where there were no birds before.
This series began with dust and scrap bombed down from the rafters of an old garage in Appalachia. No, scrap is not the right word. The word 'scrap' is kind of like the word 'weed', in that it is a stand-in for a thing that is unwanted, one for which we don't have a use or concern.
No, there should be a better word. Barnboard maybe...
Barnboard...
...But what is that?
An old barnboard in fact represents a lifetime spent growing in silence and darkness beneath the bark of a tree, and then suddenly, its an object. Just like: BAM! Turned into its own separate thing. Cut into a (typically square) man made shape, and yet ironically, try as we might for uniformity, every square foot of every board is different, with a grain that is like a fingerprint- with its own unique character, energy and design.
Paradoxical at heart, as without the human intervention of cutting the tree into a boring old rectangle, none of the wild variation, the texture and grain, none of this would have ever been the surface of anything, and so would have remained forever hidden...Forever out of view.
My inspiration for this piece come mostly from the material itself. I start with an interesting piece and then its pretty easy to bring out whatever design has suggested itself. I try to tune my method to best support what the work is pointing at.
The right mix of form and formless...
On a spiritual level, this is a shout out to the Eagle Spirits that watch over this land and without whom life as we know it would simply not exist. Thank you.
On a more physical level, I hit on a process that involves rubbing on a board with chalk, then giving it a spritz of clearcoat.
I hope that you like it.
Thanks for checking in & have a great day!
While I have you here:
I would like to thank Cheif Thomas Porter of the Mohawk Tribe for his good works and generous spirit. I call your attention to The Cheif as he has returned with some of his people to the ancestral homeland of the tribe (near what is now Palatine, NY) . Like many of us, he is having trouble with his water supply and could use some help. Please check out the website listed below if you are interested in Native American culture, or would like to help them out. Thanks!
www.mohawkcommunity.com
BTW: I have entered this piece in a contest that I found here on Steemit. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out and thanks again for stopping by!: https://steemit.com/svq/@cabelindsay/steemit-vision-quest-20-from-the-mud-the-lotus-blooms-what-does-your-higher-self-see