Salt Marsh, LBI, 2024
Salt Marsh was created for the Plein Art Plus exhibition at the Art & Science Center on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Typically, plein air work is representational, but the addition of "plus" allowed me to express myself freely and have a vibrational conversation with the Land, including the ospreys and salt marsh. Although I am excited about completing the actual piece, documenting the process is equally exciting to me. This Conversation with the Land led to an encaustic and mixed painting accompanied by a soundscape.
Let me share a bit about my process.
My journey begins with a deep connection and Conversation with the Land that I am called to co-create with. I sit outside in the area I'd like to connect with and offer tobacco and prayers as a way to honor the spirit of the Land. Then, I settle in and enter a state of meditation, singing, or rattling to align myself with the rhythm of the Land. I ask the Land how it would like its energy, life force, and gifts to be shared in the form of a vibrational artwork, allowing that energy to inform the underpinning. In my studio, before clarifying and refining the painting, I take time to listen to the recordings and look at the photos I took, which help me bring myself back into a co-creative relationship. The artwork then evolves based on the individual Conversation.
Recently, I have been creating soundscapes to accompany the pieces. The soundscapes combine live recordings with a Music of the Plants device, which was developed to translate the electromagnetic impulse of the Plant world into melodies.
This co-created piece was done on Long Beach Island this summer. It will be on display at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences from September 7 through November 3 2024.
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