Statement on Bird’s Nests

Since the time I saw my first Chinese screen at age 10, Asian calligraphy has inspired me by the simplicity of its line and the emotional impact of its poetic execution. In my work, I seek a pathway to the most spontaneous, unconscious expression of my heart. Through the physicality of the gesture, I strive to become a part of the primal, ever changing energy that fuels the Creative Process. In wrestling with the line itself, I hope to dig beneath the surface of things to discover the simplicity of what connects us to our world and to each other.

Seymour Remenick, my mentor and friend, helped me to understand that all that is surprising already exists in Nature. I have found this to be true. This is why I look no further than a bird’s nest. Like all things in Nature, the nest is a synthesis of opposites: simplicity within complexity, strength within fragility. The nest is a spontaneous creation; It is practical; It is eternally inventive in its use of materials. No two are alike. They are an inspiration to all who observe them.

However, it is the meaning of nests that resonates most with me. The cycle of life is within them. They speak to our most deeply held aspirations. They are sanctuary in an often forbidding world. I frequently think of how we are all nesting in our arts, gathering twigs, winter leaves, husks, strings, and plastic straws…. how we are all weaving strands to poems, threads for stories, colors for music, pure notes for our various expressions.