I Live in “The Sliver”
a LITTLE BACKGROUND
Early in the morning, somewhere between around 4-6am, I spend time communing with my materials and warming up. One thing I like to do is experiment with mark making in inks on different kinds of nice paper (usually 8.5x11”) that can really take the wetness.
I like this time because there are no expectations really. I just want to enjoy the movement of my hand and body that feel right in the moment and observe the results.
Even if I go overboard and make a big ol ugly mess, it’s okay. I can always cut it up for collage. What I realized is that the beauty is in the details. Large and small portions of these pages contain little worlds and stories I cannot unsee. I can always take these exercises further. And then the meaning unfolds.
THE PROCESS
The pieces sort of tell me where they want to go and I trust this conversation. For this piece, I asked Big Poppa to pick 2 ink colors I could play with just to keep things random. He picked a strong red and bright olive green. I thought it could use some black for contrast and added that to the mix the next day.
I used sponge brushed for the fluid strokes and various paint brushes at different heights and force for the splatters. I ended up cutting that up to mount collages on playing cards. This was a nice way to work small and easily keep the size of the tryptic consistent. The first is covered with one full detail with no collaged pieces included. The 3rd has just a few pieces collaged together. The middle one is more involved with more pieces, shapes, and layers applied.
THE MEANING
I took the center piece a bit further. As the story began to reveal itself to me, I saw an opportunity to add a self portrait. I went with this feeling but it was important to me to keep it loose and barely there. It feels like she is a part of this surreal space
This piece is called “The Sliver”. The Sliver represents the now. And the *now* is all that seems to matter to me these days. The 1st panel represents the past. As we move further from the past, our memories become abstract, selective, morphed, and so on until it essentially doesn’t exist or hold meaning anymore. The same is true as I attempt to project the future. I can plan all I want, but who’s say what will be of me and this world in another 45 years? All that can truly be experienced is that sliver of now. I am reminded to live in the sliver.
