Walker Terrace Window

Whew, my prints are finally installed in the Walker Terrace Window on the west end of Congress Street in Portland. It was a hot day and hotter yet in that window space which is only 2 1/2 feet wide! What a project. I painted the wall black before lunch, then Deb Whitney from Whitney Artworks helped me hang my prints this afternoon. We hadn't accounted for a door that is part of the back wall. I had to buy a piece of plywood to nail to the door to create an extension. I attached the lefthand print to that, because I couldn't put the print over the door (unless I wanted to be a part of the installation - I would've been sealed inside!) So we had to futz around with that. And after all that the print on the left is crooked. Argh! But I think that I can live with it. My grandmother used to say about a small stain on a piece of clothing, "It'll never been seen on a trotting horse." I hope that the crooked print will never be seen BY the trotting horse, the passerby on the sidewalk. We'll see. I might have to move it around a bit.

Here is my artist statement for the prints:

Blackwork Lovers speaks of a Utopian balancing of anima and animus in the individual psyche, in relationships, and in the outer world. It also tells of a joyful and spiritual connection to nature: Adam and Eve get to stay in The Garden post apple, minus the shame. While working on this diptych I have been inspired by illuminated medieval manuscripts, the Bible, Mexican retablos, the linoleum prints of Kiki Smith and Pablo Picasso, blackwork embroidery, books about birds and flowers, and my dreams.

Here are a couple of comments I've had on my prints:

“Weirdly wonderful” is what comes to my mind. You are very brave to make such unabashedly hopeful imagery.

Wild! They look so elemental. They look.....Polynesian.