2020 Faculty and Staff Showcase

Largemouth Bass

Flameworked glass sculpture

Nurture

Flameworked glass sculpture

History Warp and Weft

Medium: hand-painted woven fabric (cotton thread, textile dye), textured paper, pen and ink, ribbon; watercolor (model sketch)

Transcript of calligraphed text:
"During the whole of my sickness, I was nursed in a most devoted and affectionate manner by my maid Fanny. At times she actually wept over me...And yet--when I was scarce able to walk without assistance--she left me without provocation or reason--left me in the night, and that too without the slightest notice."
-- Catherine Devereux Edmonston, Diarist, Civil War*

She could not read between her own lines to find out why. To comprehend Fanny's history, one must read between the lines--indeed, between the pages. No one likes to be owned--that is why Fanny had to tear herself away. Everyone who is able to walk alone should do so.

* The quote comes from Eugene D. Genovese's study _Roll, Jordan Roll: The World the Slaves Made_ (Vintage Books, 1976), p. 99. Genovese contrasts quotes from formerly enslaved persons discussing their deep desires for freedom amidst the denials of their humanity under the constraints of slaveholders, with quotes that demonstrate the concerted non-comprehension exhibited by slaveholders of the humanity of the persons forced to work in their households. Though Genovese documents reflections from other formerly enslaved persons, regrettably there is no quote from Fanny to directly counter Catherine's version of events. Primary sources need to be read carefully for what they contain and what they lack, as they give us incomplete pictures of the past.

When I produced this work (as an undergraduate history and art student), I had hoped that the painted warp fabric would closely resemble the watercolor sketch I used as a model; however my amateur skills at loom-threading resulted in an image less photorealistically but more historiographically accurate.

Summer 2020

Painting

So glad the painting was not depressive when it looked back at me.

Joshua Tree ROCKS!

Photography.

I am amazed by Joshua Tree's rich and vibrant desert colors.

Utica GLISTENS!

Photography

The varied and historic architecture of Utica becomes so pronounced at night under adverse weather.

Untitled - Flowers

Oil on canvas

Snowscape

Oil on canvas

Tom Thomson's Canoe

This work was originally a book-art piece, which I adapted into a video. It is a tribute of sorts to the Canadian wilderness painter Tom Thomson, created about 10 years ago when I was living in North Carolina and when I made the decision to drastically change my career.

Still Life

Terrarium (reclaimed mason jar, potting medium, live plants, LEGO figure, and LED lighting)

I made this a few weeks before the full force of the pandemic hit. Now it's difficult not to see it as reflecting the weirdness of life in a quarantine bubble.

Spring Break 2020

Terrarium (reclaimed mason jar, potting medium, live plants, plastic figures, and LED lighting)

Woman/man

Drawing

Untitled

Drawing

Moonflower unfurling

Photography

Moonflower, in bloom early evening

Photography

Acadia NP

Photography

Just spooky

Photography