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This collage will be in the Attleboro Arts Museum (Attleboro, MA) for the nature themed exhibit that is part of their Annual Flower Show.  This 20" x 30" collage is titled “Before Moving On”.  The Flower show runs March 22^nd through March 24^th. For details please go to http://attleboroartsmuseum.org/.

When I work on a collage, words and sentences, thoughts, freely come and go.  Like the insects in my collages, they take a while to settle, to decide where they belong.  The emotions and thoughts I experienced as I created this collage were not all happy ones.  How could they be?  Even my studio does not hold off the events in the world and in our country.  Nature is my refuge, art is my refuge, but I cannot (nor do I want to) disconnect myself from events and from others… even as I work alone in a room or behind a closed door.

Engaging in the world and staying hopeful is difficult.  I do not create political art.  Once in a while I chastise myself for this, but it is not my natural leaning.  This collage is simply a snap shot of the natural world that I am privileged to experience.  It is not a deep or significant work, but it found me, and spoke to me, and now I offer it here.  

What will you see?  Possibly something that even I did not.  That happens.  The heron would appear to be the main character in this visual story, but you must decide.  As you're deciding, consider this... a moment ago, something was here that is no longer here.  A moment from now, something will appear.

Also offered is the poem that emerged along with this collage.  It’s all pretty ambiguous, I know.  I think the ambiguity is my favorite part.

before moving on

she paused

and the world opened

tiny jaws

enormous wings

the hard and soft

composing themselves

in the afternoon light

then

a small sound

impossible and unnecessary

to identify

everything gentle

everything fierce