More Covid cut-outs 2021
​Figures in motion have always been an interest of mine. In 2021, I spent some time collaging figures, patterns from other cutouts and images of fig leaves from our giant “feed me Seymour” fig tree. 

This garden gate was commissioned by a Bolton Hill neighbor and installed at their beautiful garden. The setting created a challenge. They wanted to maintain their present chainlink fence posts, so the gate had to be designed to accomodate out-of-plumb posts in order to function - to open and close smoothly. It all worked out thanks to the engineering help from Paul Daniel.

During the many months of the Covid-19 quarantine in 2020, I found comfort in the meditative process of cutting paper by hand and tying it to my interest and passion for nature. My perception of time is greatly altered in this process of cutting. 

Fascinated by botanical forms, I create work that embraces the fluidity and mysteries of nature, reveling in curves and the interlacing plant or cellular forms. Vascular systems, in natural forms such as leaves, with their complex networks of interconnected loops inspire me. 
I immerse myself in the world of plants in my garden.

The pieces Monarch Mambo,Vertigo & Ring Around the Rosy are image transfers of large elephant ear leaves from my garden that involved rubbings of the leaf surfaces with Conte crayon.
I lost a nephew-in-law to Covid19 in April.  He had seen Monarch Mambo before he died  and noted the relationship between his lungs and the leaf network. Vertigo had the feeling of being off kilter and Ring Around the Rosy - horrifyingly over 400,000 people fell.

In Daydream. I was attracted to a combination of natural structures and man patterns and Sheltering involved multiple layers of heavy weight paper cut outs. In these drawings, some parts are pre-determined; others come into play purely by chance. None are laser cut. 

My desire is to draw viewers into the mysteries of nature as well as the process, engaging them in discovery. 

Photography by Joseph Hyde

 2019 Nature Walk Gate, Ladew Topiary Gardens, Monkton, MD
The gate design was inspired by the habitats along the Nature Walk and incorporates a variety of shapes inspired by leaves, wildlife such as butterflies, birds and bees as well as water plants plus the guide Tully the turtle. The gate created a lively and colorful identifier for the Nature Walk entrance. Positive and negative shapes were cut from aluminum plate and powder coated.

Visit to see topiaries, art in the meadow, concerts and the nature walk - it's a great place. https://www.ladewgardens.com

 2019 two benches for Alexander House, Silver Spring. Dogwwod & Fern benches.

Sassy bench was designed for Brookside Gardens. The Sassafras tree has three distinctly different leaves. I missed that info in grade school. It fascinated me, so I used the three leaves as the cut-outs on the bench back and painted it bright red!

Montgomery County Department of Parks & Recreation runs this gorgeous botanical garden in Wheaton, MD. A great place to visit! http://www.montgomeryparks.org/brookside/

They commissioned 4 works from me - a gate, a canopy,  a bench and an entrance piece. The gate, canopy and bench. The gate and canopy are what is shown here and were funded through the Montgomery County Parks Foundation. The entrance is waiting for a donor!!!

Photography by John Dean

Gate for Maryland Public Health Lab:
Protein diagrams, molecular structures and cell geometry refer to scientific analysis conducted by the Maryland Public Health Lab dedicated to the well being of the citizens of the state. When closed a DNA helix visually ties the two sides of the gate together. Interplay between solid and open shapes in the gate indicates a vital lively site reflecting community activity and many processes pursued within the building.
The gate automatically opens and closes.

Photography by John Dean

Much of this work is connected to my personal health issues. Working on these paper plus pieces provides the best medicine for the issues I have encountered.
 
 Fascinated by botanical forms and biological systems, I create drawings/paintings that embraces the fluidity and mysteries of nature, reveling in curves and the interlacing plant or cellular forms. Vascular systems, in natural forms such as leaves and biology, with complex networks of interconnected loops inspire me. 
 
These pieces are investigations into dimensional drawings/paintings using images of leaves, seedpods, insects and human anatomy. Often images are then altered and rebuilt by the weaving process of Mylar and paper. Mylar is cut into strips and woven into a painted paper form.  Drawing with brass rod van be added to the work and sewn on. Some parts are pre-determined, others come into play purely by chance. The process is a balance of forethought and the unexpected. Realities merge into something new both literally and figuratively.

The work becomes a fusion of energy and concept. The drawing and I interact until some solution coincides with the intended scheme. This improvisational process of give and take ultimately appears as a work expressing movement and exuberance. My desire is to draw viewers into the mysteries of nature as well as the process, engaging them in discovery.

I got a little tool that makes stripes when filled with acrylic paint- it's really fun. The quick physical process of drawing lines with it offsets the more studied process of weaving cut-out patterns - knots and matrix imagery -into one another.

Photography by Joseph Hyde and John Dean

Co-Laboration: Front Stoop / Back Yard is a joint project installed at School 33 Art Center by Kelly Bell, Melissa Webb and me. It was funded through BOPA by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation.

Press release: "Using local front stoop and backyard neighborhood culture as a starting point, “Front Stoop/Back Yard” aims to be a quirky and delightful new meeting place for the community and a little sanctuary for urban birds. Artists Bell, DePalma, and Webb have constructed highly detailed birdhouses that are scale replicas of iconic Baltimore buildings – Penn Station, the Patterson Park Pagoda, the “Painted Ladies” of Charles Village and formstone row homes. Marble step and canvas awning constructions provide a shady spot to start a conversation. Painted screens installed in School 33’s windows overlook the garden. Collaborating as a group for the first time, the artists have used Baltimore’s architectural vernacular as an inspiration point to create a garden environment that connects with the senses and invites the community to interact with the surroundings."

Painted screens by Jessie Unterhalter & Katey Truhen

Site specific sculpture - entrances, railings, gates and other amenities for urban streetscapes

Photography by John Dean