Hello Treeleaf art friends.
The project I am working on is conceptual. In a series I title Anitya, which is the Sanskrit word for ‘impermanence’, I explore the theme of impermanence as well as the concept that all comes from and returns to the earth.
The first piece in the series was a land art installation in 2009.
I used terracotta clay from the mountains of northern NM and formed 81 bowls which I did not fire. In the center hole of each bowl I placed three seed balls, each containing indigenous seeds from our desert area (made from a recipe of Masanobu Fukuoka, some of you may know him for his ground breaking book One Straw Revolution http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/On...evolution.html ). The 81 bowls were placed in a 12’ x 12’ grid. Over time with rain, snow and weather the bowls dissolved and the seed balls released their seeds and sprouted. After a year there was no trace of the piece other than some muted red stains and some plant life. The placement of the piece was in an agricultural field in the heart of Albuquerque. I spent 4 years in the 90s working to save this property from development. So it has enormous significance for me.
This year I am working on a second in the series “Untitled (Anitya series)”, this piece will be placed in a wetland near Santa Fe in the fall. I have made 9 books (traditionally I work in series of 9 repeated shapes) out of the same terracotta clay as with the original Anitya piece, I’ve made paper out of native NM grasses, using 3 pages for each book. Each book is bound with grass. I’m making ink from plants and the red earth to do drawings on the books. Again over time the clay and paper will dissolve back into the earth.
(I am not sure how to post an image of one of the books. HELP! tried the INSERT IMAGE setting but no image has appeared.)
Not only are these projects about impermanence, but about non attachment. I witness many, many hours of work dissolve back into the earth. Of course over time everything does, but not before our eyes! It’s a lesson in letting go, and learning that my work is in no way precious.
The earth is my ground.
Please if you have any comments or suggestions I’d love to hear from you. I, like Daizan, am a student, learning as I go.
Anne
~st~
The project I am working on is conceptual. In a series I title Anitya, which is the Sanskrit word for ‘impermanence’, I explore the theme of impermanence as well as the concept that all comes from and returns to the earth.
The first piece in the series was a land art installation in 2009.
I used terracotta clay from the mountains of northern NM and formed 81 bowls which I did not fire. In the center hole of each bowl I placed three seed balls, each containing indigenous seeds from our desert area (made from a recipe of Masanobu Fukuoka, some of you may know him for his ground breaking book One Straw Revolution http://www.onestrawrevolution.net/On...evolution.html ). The 81 bowls were placed in a 12’ x 12’ grid. Over time with rain, snow and weather the bowls dissolved and the seed balls released their seeds and sprouted. After a year there was no trace of the piece other than some muted red stains and some plant life. The placement of the piece was in an agricultural field in the heart of Albuquerque. I spent 4 years in the 90s working to save this property from development. So it has enormous significance for me.
This year I am working on a second in the series “Untitled (Anitya series)”, this piece will be placed in a wetland near Santa Fe in the fall. I have made 9 books (traditionally I work in series of 9 repeated shapes) out of the same terracotta clay as with the original Anitya piece, I’ve made paper out of native NM grasses, using 3 pages for each book. Each book is bound with grass. I’m making ink from plants and the red earth to do drawings on the books. Again over time the clay and paper will dissolve back into the earth.
(I am not sure how to post an image of one of the books. HELP! tried the INSERT IMAGE setting but no image has appeared.)
Not only are these projects about impermanence, but about non attachment. I witness many, many hours of work dissolve back into the earth. Of course over time everything does, but not before our eyes! It’s a lesson in letting go, and learning that my work is in no way precious.
The earth is my ground.
Please if you have any comments or suggestions I’d love to hear from you. I, like Daizan, am a student, learning as I go.
Anne
~st~
2004)230a4-6.
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