Automaton, Charcoal and Pastel on Paper, 31" x 24 "
For the past eight six years I’ve been making charcoal drawings of my possessions, including my grandmother’s cast iron doorstop, my underwear, my jewelry, a small bronze Buddha. I draw with the softest charcoal possible so that the dust falls in shadows. The titles often describe the objects and sometimes their colors. For example, a black charcoal drawing of nine views of a bar of white dove soap is titled Nine White Doves. I completed a series of drawings based on Andersen’s Fairy Tales that are framed with matchsticks. Recently, I’ve been making more elaborate drawings with charcoal, pastels, and watercolor.
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Attachment, Charcoal, Pastel and Watercolor on Paper, 30 1/4" x 22 1/4 "
I’m utterly in love with the sound of charcoal as it crunches between my fingers as I push it into the paper, how it glides along the surface and disappears when erased with a kneaded eraser or chamois, how it breaks and cracks, how the dust settles naturally or when I blow on the drawing. These were the first methods and tools I learned as a beginning art student and here I am again. I’m reminded of one of my favorite (and often quoted) passages from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets:
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| Indian on Horseback Toy, Charcoal on Paper, 22 " x 30" |
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"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
