My favorite tree in the backyard, a flowering crabapple, was demolished in the heavy winds earlier this spring. After sixteen seasons of admiring the billowing white and pink blossoms that signify the end of winter, it was heartbreaking to see the damage, and knew I wanted to repurpose what I could of it into some sort of art piece.  I had just been asked by Theater 29 to create some sort of collaborative art installation so I immediately thought of a nest, a giant one, and started to work in a way that I thought a bird would, selecting, bending and building it branch by branch. I even had a furry assistant ‘help’ me along the way.  I love how it turned out but can’t wait to see how this nest gets transformed further as the attendees at Theater 29’s Emergence event add their own personal touches to it by painting it and adding yarn, scraps and shreds from nostalgic items, leftover fabric or possibly a ribbon from a special gift. And the eggs, 40 blank slates waiting to adorn the unique markings of their owners before they hatch.

More photos to come soon!

What is special? It can sometimes be hard to tell when we’re inundated with attention seekers and highlight reels. Hyper-focused on the shiny coin, the brass ring, the rising star, we often overlook what appears ordinary or mundane and fail to notice some of the understated masterpieces surrounding us. 

Walking through my neighborhood, along the ground, dead matter mixes with the beginnings of life, dormant grasses, and spring sprouts not yet sprung. It’s an ‘un-pretty’ stage between nothing and something, between winter and spring where under the surface, something is starting to grow. But because of its subtle and nondescript appearance, it is often ignored, invisible, and dismissed as nothing. Reliability, resilience andpromise is not nothing. When you look closely, you can see that ‘nothing’ is strong, complex, and quietly beautiful. 

Nothing is special. 

This series of 30”x40” photographs magnifies and brings attention to frequently unnoticed objects and surroundings. Although these nature scenes are inherently modest, the photos have been further simplified to black and white to fully showcase their layers, composition, elegance and charm.