How Looking Through a Tangle of Branches Ignites a New Perspective

Can you recall the last time you took a moment to look up? What you'll see is an awe inspiring spectacle. The orb of a moon hanging low against a black mid-night backdrop, or the clouds softly spreading across the span of gorgeous blue.

Even a soft dove grey sky creates a quiet more somber mood. Often when gazing up I do so under the canopy of a tree where the tangle of branches stops me in my tracks. These abstract patterns are hanging above our heads waiting to be admired.

How do they affect you?

From this vantage point the organic meandering contours has capture my attention and inspired a new body of work; Silhouettes, which is about how silhouettes reduce a complex three dimensional object, like a bramble of branches, down to its essential defining outline.

These images ignited a question in me; in what way have I reduced and simplified complex things? Sometimes I think I know all about a person or situation, I make assumptions. I only see their silhouette just like looking up through the crisscrossing branches.

I hope my work can serve as a reminder of how intricate and layered life is and how we can be aware that our perspective is by definition limited. That means there is always room to see things in a new way. I need to take a step back in order to see the trunk and roots of the tree. This expands my perspective and sometimes that can be as refreshing as a spring shower.

I invite you to explore new perspectives using the natural world as a guide.

All you have to do is look up!

To see artwork inspired by these silhouettes click here