Artists Statement
My father served as a flight navigator on bombing missions during WWII. When I was a child, he would point out constellations to me and my siblings on hot summer nights. In the top drawer of his dresser he had a stash of war-time maps, printed on silk, that I would peek at on the sly. To me they were both marvelous and mysterious.
I like to believe that I inherited some of my father’s navigating skills; I have a good sense of direction, a keen visual memory, and I still marvel at maps and love using them. Armed with these aptitudes I’ve invariably felt comfortable traveling to unknown places, and confident in my ability to get from one place to another, both literally and figuratively. However, sometimes life dispenses such a ballyhoo of events that even one’s most trusted methods of navigation become insufficient, if not useless.
The woodcuts presented here are gleaned from sketchbook images I’ve recorded over the past three years. In that time my life has changed in profound ways; I sold my home of 25 years; made two cross-country moves; and lost my dear mother to Alzheimer’s. These changes left me feeling unmoored, detached, and displaced. My inherent navigational skills failed me, and forced me to seek out other approaches to reckon a way through the myriad of changes I faced. During this time a sketchbook became my ‘captain’s log’ where I considered new ways of piloting, using my senses, feelings, and memories; a kind of emotional dead reckoning. This work examines my search for navigational clues and direction, while contending with uncertainty, indecision, and loss.
Woodcut
One block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
10.5" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
10.5" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
11" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
11" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
10.5" x 14"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
10.5" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
10.5" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 5
10" x 15"
Woodcut
Two block reduction
2017
Edition of 6
10" x 14"
Woodcut
One block reduction
2017
Edition of 7
10" x 14.5"