ART HEALS

I suppose I have always been a scavenger, picking up lost rocks, shells and twigs. My quest for found (and foundry) wood truly began when I was an artist in residence at River Oaks Art Square in Alexandria Louisiana, in about 1995.  A local business man said he had a large pile of wood in a covered shed that He wanted to dispose of.  He asked if we artists would like some.

Would we?  We shared many trips to this massive mound of wood and each time we went, others had uncovered more areas, and so more and more enticing pieces became available.  Layers of old foundry molds from which iron was cast for farm implements, and other things, possible fifty to a hundred years ago.  I have just begun using those wonderful pieces of inspiration!

Pieces like these are finding their way into larger pieces of art.

I also love to scrounge through my wood-worker husband's scrap pile. He works mostly in  cypress that has languished under water in the nearby Atchafalaya Basin for many years.  Who wouldn't love "scraps" like these?

Some of these pieces are being incorporated into a body of work I am presenting in August at the Louisiana Crafts Guild in downtown Lafayette Louisiana.

I hope to show you some finished pieces soon.
Namaste.