Craft Store Ecology
It has been observed that having access or exposure to elements, even simulated elements, of the “natural” world has substantial mental and physical benefits, including increased empathy and calming and restorative effects. It has also been found that the risk of anxiety or depression for individuals living in urban environments is 40% higher compared to those living in rural environments. From a health perspective, when so much of our lives is mediated by technology and industry, it’s ever more important to slow down and connect to all kinds of life outside of ourselves (and other than ourselves). But in our busy day to day lives what does that look like?
Does it look like “realistic fruit and glossy natural-looking foliage in bloom” or does it look “elegant and trouble-free”? Are we forest bathing in the aisles of craft stores, or the like, now? If so, we must be mindful of the differences in reciprocity. Convenience should not be substituted for care, nor should plastic, artificial longevity engender disregard for the beauty that is the ephemeral world. We must take heed of the potential for disillusionment, to acknowledge dissonance, between what is readily seen and available for a consumer and what the greater state of health is for the world outside. A lived relationship between two bodies, sensing each other’s presence, will always teach us more if we are open to it.
Does it look like “realistic fruit and glossy natural-looking foliage in bloom” or does it look “elegant and trouble-free”? Are we forest bathing in the aisles of craft stores, or the like, now? If so, we must be mindful of the differences in reciprocity. Convenience should not be substituted for care, nor should plastic, artificial longevity engender disregard for the beauty that is the ephemeral world. We must take heed of the potential for disillusionment, to acknowledge dissonance, between what is readily seen and available for a consumer and what the greater state of health is for the world outside. A lived relationship between two bodies, sensing each other’s presence, will always teach us more if we are open to it.
Fluorescent canopy
Paint, pegboard, artificial stems, framed paint sample swatches
2019
Paint, pegboard, artificial stems, framed paint sample swatches
2019
Attention free, Care free, Trouble free
Text, pressed silks on paper
11.5" x 16"
2019 - ongoing
When I began this work I read that 517 plant species had disappeared since we began keeping track of them. I use #517 as the starting number to identify the plants in my collection as a reference to this loss.
I chose Lily of the Valley for its dual qualities of delicate beauty and toxicity and used this as a correlation to humankind.
Latitude and Longitude coordinates are real and accurate locations of collection.
Latitude and Longitude coordinates are real and accurate locations of collection.
Craft Ecology
Dimensional collage
scrap/waste fur, store bought rocks, store bought moss, found plastic
2019
Simulacrum dissonance
Digital photos/Archival Pigment Print
24” x 34”
2019
Impostor (Botanical Print)
Ink on paper
2021
Soundscapes
Some tracks I've worked on, off and on, beginning in 2018 thinking about the different the different overlays of experiencing a place.