Heart to Heart

 ARTIST STATEMENT: I spend my summers nestled within the protective shaded canopy of an eastern hemlock forest in Upstate NY; it is a personally sacred place in which the trees mean so much to me that they have become my family members. As I learn about how the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid insect is decimating nearby forests, I feel a strong sense of anticipatory grief for the future of this place and my fondness for this forest grows deeper. Like a family member with a terminal illness, I want to spend time with them, savoring each moment and thoughtful conversation, photographing them endlessly, showing gratitude.

In 2024, I learned that the Eastern Hemlock's physical protection against the hemlock woolly adelgid is an ingredient needed for photo developing chemistry, and so I learned how to make it myself. Using this handmade hemlock developer and photographic paper, I set up a studio in the dimly lit forest and created gesture drawings by painting with hemlock boughs. The mark making is intuitive and made with the energy I feel while in meditative conversation with the trees. Some are quiet, others loud, all are concerned with gestural integrity and emotional power. Each is a reflection of the conversation and reciprocal energy felt in the moment of creation, as I grieve the potential loss of my favorite place.

PROCESS: Chemigrams made by painting handmade eco-developer onto paper with Eastern Hemlock branches as a brush

MATERIALS: Silver Gelatin Paper, photo chemistry

DIMENSIONS: 11”x14”

CREATION DATE: 2024

EXHIBITIONS:

2025 In Stillness, The Silva Gallery of Art, Pennington, NJ (Solo)