My artwork continues to be informed by my research and immersion into the history of this deep red and deeply divided state of what was once labeled Indian Territory.
In some respects, I am haunted by the imagery I discover, and the use of photo layering is an attempt to create a composite narrative for a past that was and never was.
On my father's side, my family came to Oklahoma in the early part of the 20th century from Poland. My grandfather worked in the smelters, my grandmother was a house cleaner and they lived with five children on the western edge of Bartlesville in a Polish neighborhood on the poor side of town.
My mother claimed a mixed bag of ethnicity: English, Dutch, Irish, and a smattering of Cherokee blood that was buried in the ground so deeply that it was rarely spoken of and mostly forgotten; a topic that was off-limits. In truth, our family heritage was frayed by sagas of death, separation, and divorce; elements that fracture one's connection to place and to one another. Now anyone who could speak to it has passed; what remains is my desire for a connection to place.
I feel indigenous to this territory; I've lived here for most of my 67+ years but my longing for a deeper connection goes unrequited except through my efforts to lay claim to a homeland through my creativity. The world changes so rapidly, it seems we spend most of our time either looking ahead, trying to remember what was, or trying to forget; it's a race to keep up that no one can win.
This piece called "mother was a dear" will be on display at Price Gallery in Tulsa in April 2023.
There are four individual layers embedded in this image. It is a personal and meditative study of loss; a lament for a connection to a world that I am a part of and yet am also removed from.
Layer 1: Nellie Johnstone, Bartlesville Oklahoma.
Layer 2: Mrs Ryals
Layer 3: Eudotia Teenor
Layer 4: Found Poem of the Creeks
More on these layers to follow.
In some respects, I am haunted by the imagery I discover, and the use of photo layering is an attempt to create a composite narrative for a past that was and never was.
On my father's side, my family came to Oklahoma in the early part of the 20th century from Poland. My grandfather worked in the smelters, my grandmother was a house cleaner and they lived with five children on the western edge of Bartlesville in a Polish neighborhood on the poor side of town.
My mother claimed a mixed bag of ethnicity: English, Dutch, Irish, and a smattering of Cherokee blood that was buried in the ground so deeply that it was rarely spoken of and mostly forgotten; a topic that was off-limits. In truth, our family heritage was frayed by sagas of death, separation, and divorce; elements that fracture one's connection to place and to one another. Now anyone who could speak to it has passed; what remains is my desire for a connection to place.
I feel indigenous to this territory; I've lived here for most of my 67+ years but my longing for a deeper connection goes unrequited except through my efforts to lay claim to a homeland through my creativity. The world changes so rapidly, it seems we spend most of our time either looking ahead, trying to remember what was, or trying to forget; it's a race to keep up that no one can win.
This piece called "mother was a dear" will be on display at Price Gallery in Tulsa in April 2023.
There are four individual layers embedded in this image. It is a personal and meditative study of loss; a lament for a connection to a world that I am a part of and yet am also removed from.
Layer 1: Nellie Johnstone, Bartlesville Oklahoma.
Layer 2: Mrs Ryals
Layer 3: Eudotia Teenor
Layer 4: Found Poem of the Creeks
More on these layers to follow.
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