Redemption, from the Interconnected Systems series, 2023

Mixed media dimensional collage

Original digital imagery printed on 100% cotton rag paper, acrylic paint, assorted art papers

13" x 13" x 3"

Framed in a shadow box

When my friend, artist Priscilla Otani, viewed my uncut prints of plant capillary systems, she exclaimed that they looked like meat, flesh, or muscle! I had NOT "seen" that and it took me aback so I pinned them to my studio wall for consideration and regarded them anew as vibrating, pulsing, confrontational beings. Not at all in line with my serene Smith River series or my conscious state of mind, I contemplated what this said about my psyche and how I was reacting to growing global conflict which felt like a meaty, messy, and intractable entanglement. What could I envision as hopeful? I asked myself. Perhaps, a flowering, accompanied by forgiveness, and a sense of healing.

Redemption contains digitally modified original photography of plant capillary systems that are printed on 100% cotton paper at Kala Art Institute. Its center was cut and layered into a blooming structure with a variety of handmade and art papers. The substrate is painted matte black and the "mandala" is floated, ever so slightly, above the substrate.

Courtesy of Abrams Claghorn Gallery, Albany, CA