There Will Be Signs

Artist Statement

"There Will Be Signs"
“The rattle snake is sleeping right now, it’ll be back in the spring. We thought we had it, but it got under the house.” She was sitting on top of a horse, grey hair perfectly still despite it being an impossibly windy day. She was looking down at me and my daughter with all the love a person can project while they are clearly imagining beating a snake to death with a shovel.  
The “algia” part of nostalgia refers to pain, but my work concentrates on the “nostos” part meaning returning home. My home, my safe space is made of objects, places and things I covet and cling to, and the masks we wear.  My goal is to capture the happiness of those moments in objects from those memories, that when you look at the art you feel the happiness and maybe some pain and even if only momentarily you forget that spring will come and that snake is going to wake up.  
 I wish I could tell you she got that rattler. I wanted to say we drank lemonade on the porch at table with a jar full of snake rattles. But, I believe for art to be impactful it has to be honest, that's the only time I ever saw that woman and I don't know if she ever found that snake. This story doesn't have an ending.