BREATHING 2019

Prior to making an arrangement, plant materials have been collected and the container has been selected. There is a moment just before the actual arranging takes place. I breathe in and I breath out.

Photographs, wood, wooden shelves, ceramic vases (hand-thrown and slab built). 8’h X 8’w X 16″d

“BREATHING– assemblage of long strips of photographs of leaves cut at various lengths and shown frontways and backwards, intermingling among shelves presenting hand-thrown ceramic vessels used for ikebana. Translated from Japanese to “making flowers alive”, the art of ikebana cannot help but reinforce its opposite — a momento mori. “More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Contrary to the idea of a multicolored arrangement of blossoms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and puts emphasis on shape, line, and form”  From the curatorial essay by Kegan McFadden for the exhibition Studio Practice: Meditation Practice.

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