In 2015, I found myself inhabiting a live/work space directly above a dive bar—the seasoned gin-blossom-adorned professional drinker kind of dive bar—open daily from 10AM to 4AM. Twilight disputes were settled with gravel-throated slurs and wobbly combat on the sidewalk below my window, followed by summoned police sirens, as the jukebox bass levitated my bed frame—this was a nightly occurrence. As a form of self-prescribed therapy, I created a new body of work with the intent to reverse the negative energy and manifest a positive new direction and future home. The series Runaway/Run Away takes heavily from the Factory Made series that preceded it: the meditative aspects of the careful, intricate, hand-cutting of paper; the positive healing properties of vibrant color use, and my fascination with the overwhelming feeling I get in the presence of large architectural structures and vast spatial environments. Referencing the interior and exterior views and escape routes of my building, I created still-life cut-paper-scapes, then scattered the pieces as a cathartic release, and to create something new and personal. The scrambled works would stand as final cut-paper compositions and as models for paintings and prints. I revisit this process and series when needed.
