Tools

Art can be a meaningful way to reflect upon and understand your life. My husband, Stephen and I recently purchased our first home; after many years of short-term renting this presented a long list of difficult but rewarding challenges. This series aims to elevate and draw focus to the basic tools with which Stephen and I became acquainted during the past two years. Our five acre property has been a schoolroom for us, learning to spackle, stucco, install dog doors, build fences, re-enforce the chicken coop, build raised garden beds and cut firewood. All of these are just simple tasks for those who are experienced, but a bit of a puzzle to a couple of novices. I have thrown myself into these tasks and my world has changed in subtle but profound ways. As I become more comfortable with the instruments of home-ownership, these simple objects came to the center of my vision, and I wanted these objects to be appreciated and valued for the things of utilitarian beauty that they are. Surrounded here in the rambling, natural New Mexican landscape, I chose to surround my tools with some colorful, organically inspired patterns and images to draw attention to the close connection that exists between the instruments of a landowner and the land. Displayed at The Teahouse on Canyon Road, Santa Fe in 2018.