over-under-over

Woven, 18 x 24, pastel and pigment on prepared panel

Have you ever been intrigued by a basket? Many strands, each important to the integrity of the whole. Whether done tightly to hold water, or loosely to hold goods, baskets are crucial to native life. Over and under, around and back.

I think there's a metaphor in here someplace.

Crushed

Crushed, 22 x 30, watercolor and pastel on Arches Cold Press

While in the desert, I tried to understand the artifacts of the people who lived there before it was divided into movie star lanes, fountains, and golf courses (not to mention the strip malls). I wanted to understand the baskets, the jars, the stone tools of the hard life there. Mortar and pestle to crush what is hard to release the sweet fragrance of sustenance within. 

I almost get it.