specimen wall
making rocks without geological time and pressure
Growing up in Florida, collecting shells was a pastime of mine. A marker of places visited, shells were abundant, varying, and spoke about the life forms and history of my native land. Once I moved west of the Mississippi, there were far fewer shells to find but many more rocks to discover. In both Texas and South Dakota, I have found that I pick up different interesting rocks along my travels, either to commemorate a place as a memento of a visit, to hold in my hand as a talisman, or to place on a shelf at home as an object of beauty. Rocks hold secrets much the same as shells – a creation of geologic time and compressed minerals that I can carry home in my pocket.
This particular piece (a work-in-progress) is a creation of maps within the rock forms, which serve to mimic the geographical places I have explored. As an installation, the rocks aim to relate the way we as humans collect and categorize things, including our distinct trait of recording and mapping.
