My solo exhibition, Sticks and Stones and Bits of Bone is currently running at the Loomis Gallery in Allen Hall at Mansfield University. The formal reception for the show is this Thursday, August 30, 2012, from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. I will be giving a gallery talk that evening. I'm looking forward to that. Being in a room, surrounded by your work is somewhat like being surrounded by your own children. Each piece has come through you, but it now lives it's own life. I look forward to seeing people interacting with each piece and finding what each piece means to them.
The piece on the left is Pikermi © 2012 and it is one of the last pieces that I completed for this show. A Pikermi (pronounced “pee-KER-mee”) is a running term, describing a race with a distance of 13.1 miles, also known as a half marathon. The term Pikermi, comes from the historic olympic marathon. The town of Pikermi was the halfway point from Athens, Greece during the original 26.2 mile run. There is a movement in running communities to give the "half marathon" it's own name because the accomplishment of running a race of 13.1 miles should not be diminished by describing it as "only half" of something else. As a runner I like this idea and Pikermi, as a title reflects that. This image is 14" x 20" and is an archival aluminum print. It's in an edition of 10 prints, each available at $380. They are float mounted and ready to hang.
I recently ran the Catherine Valley Half Marathon. This piece was created about two weeks prior to the race. Whether you are a runner or not, I can imagine that you might understand how daunting a distance 13.1 miles is. Particularly if you consider running it. I trained for my race for about 20 weeks. Prior to that, the longest distance I had ever completed was a 10K race of 6.25 miles. A half, is over double that distance and to me it was extremely daunting. This piece, for me, is representative of those feelings. There are 13.1 sticks in the bundle which are neatly tied together to form a single unit. Notice however that all the sticks are not the same because all miles are not equal. Some miles run uphill on loosely packed trails while others are downhill or flat in terrains that are solid and groomed. Miles at the beginning of race can be run with relative ease while those at the end are fraught with pain and struggle. I suppose those 13.1 sticks could represent any obstacle in life as much of life is like this. We "mark time" with sticks or slashes as imagery. The stopwatch in this image hangs, suspended, on the starting point. Every hand is pointed at zero. It represents a beginning. We might be in a race with other people but we always are really running against our own clocks. Again, one could make up many stories about what this work represents about life. Running is rich in its metaphors and analogies. For me, this piece is about running and the challenges presented by the half marathon but it is also about the challenges we meet and explore in life. A very good friend of mine, recently reminded me of the importance of exploring the challenges that confront us as humans. Both the challenges we choose for ourselves, and perhaps even more importantly, the ones that have been chosen for us. What does this image mean for you?
The piece on the left is Pikermi © 2012 and it is one of the last pieces that I completed for this show. A Pikermi (pronounced “pee-KER-mee”) is a running term, describing a race with a distance of 13.1 miles, also known as a half marathon. The term Pikermi, comes from the historic olympic marathon. The town of Pikermi was the halfway point from Athens, Greece during the original 26.2 mile run. There is a movement in running communities to give the "half marathon" it's own name because the accomplishment of running a race of 13.1 miles should not be diminished by describing it as "only half" of something else. As a runner I like this idea and Pikermi, as a title reflects that. This image is 14" x 20" and is an archival aluminum print. It's in an edition of 10 prints, each available at $380. They are float mounted and ready to hang.
I recently ran the Catherine Valley Half Marathon. This piece was created about two weeks prior to the race. Whether you are a runner or not, I can imagine that you might understand how daunting a distance 13.1 miles is. Particularly if you consider running it. I trained for my race for about 20 weeks. Prior to that, the longest distance I had ever completed was a 10K race of 6.25 miles. A half, is over double that distance and to me it was extremely daunting. This piece, for me, is representative of those feelings. There are 13.1 sticks in the bundle which are neatly tied together to form a single unit. Notice however that all the sticks are not the same because all miles are not equal. Some miles run uphill on loosely packed trails while others are downhill or flat in terrains that are solid and groomed. Miles at the beginning of race can be run with relative ease while those at the end are fraught with pain and struggle. I suppose those 13.1 sticks could represent any obstacle in life as much of life is like this. We "mark time" with sticks or slashes as imagery. The stopwatch in this image hangs, suspended, on the starting point. Every hand is pointed at zero. It represents a beginning. We might be in a race with other people but we always are really running against our own clocks. Again, one could make up many stories about what this work represents about life. Running is rich in its metaphors and analogies. For me, this piece is about running and the challenges presented by the half marathon but it is also about the challenges we meet and explore in life. A very good friend of mine, recently reminded me of the importance of exploring the challenges that confront us as humans. Both the challenges we choose for ourselves, and perhaps even more importantly, the ones that have been chosen for us. What does this image mean for you?
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