Hush

It's getting closer to exhibit time and this piece just keeps revealing more and more about itself, much of it I won't fully understand until it is completely installed and experienced. It has taught me a lot in these 6 months.

 A little bit about the title...  Hush just kind of came to me as I was working, it wasn't anything I was searching for, but it fit perfectly. Hush is a perfect onomatopoeia for leaves, but it also connotes  consolation, relaxation, and secrecy. With this blanket of leaves growing larger and larger it began to feel like a symbol of protection too, a blessing, and a place of comfort. There are other characteristics that I won't really get to know until it's finally installed and finished. That's the process of art making though, isn't it? We start and move forward and most often the meaning isn't revealed until those final moments or even months after completion.
The art making process, for me, is a way of seeing into the future, but it's a future that reveals more about you to yourself about where you are going and what you are becoming. It's a process that involves lots of muddling and playing and becoming acutely aware of your intuitive responses to materials.

I have about 25 sections that I'm beginning to sew together with narrow bridges and sewing smaller sections to help join things together. The Live Oak leaves that I collected in April are slowly running out and the Eucalyptus and Bay leaves are slowly dominating, and the smells are dreamy. Colors are fading and shifting and every once in awhile a leaf crackles and busts up, leaving crumbles and loose threads, it's all a reminder of the ephemeral quality of the materials.

I'm so excited to see it all suspended and lit and to finally be able to sit underneath it and enjoy the shadows and light.

The exhibit opens January 24th 2013 at the Fresno Art Museum and will be up for the following three months or so. I'll definitely keep you posted as the exhibit process unfolds. Have a wonderful weekend friends.