The Gathering I and II

From across the room, these read as a stand of trees. Step closer and the trees come apart into dozens of torn pieces, each one its own color, its own texture, some with handwriting still showing through.

That's the whole idea. Up close, nothing matches. From a distance, it holds.

I've been thinking about that a lot since I moved here. A family is like this, so is a friendship, so is a small town. Pieces that didn't start out together, standing close enough that they become something.

I made these two at the same time, in layers. Cyanotype first, then watercolor and collage, then gold linework over the top.

Mixed media botanical collage, pair
Made as a pair, meant to hang together