These works were created in the winter of 2007-8 in my studio (actually a little rented corner of someone else’s studio) in the Distillery District in downtown Toronto. This area was historically the Gooderham-Worts Distillery. Much of the original architecture and many of the industrial machines used in the production of whiskey have been carefully preserved and are on display throughout the development. Artists, galleries and cultural life in general are everywhere. (See The Distillery Project Poem below)

These fascinating elements have informed the body of work made this winter. As always, formal elements, visual stimuli, conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotional states all find expression in my work. In the past, the rocky shore of Nova Scotia and my hardy, semi-wild garden down east have dominated my summer work, contrasting sharply with the interiority of work made in Ontario during the winter. However, this year I quite naturally found new ways to integrate the two geographical and emotional realities that constitute my creative life. Using photos of flowers, specifically orchids, in the work seemed to ensure that it would be “sophisticated” enough to stand up to the scrutiny of the sophisticated artists by whom I am surrounded at the Distillery. And yet, I also found myself gleaning photos of much more common, less “snooty” flowers from down east and using them in a similar visual idiom, without feeling that I was doing violence or disservice to either reality. That felt very good.

In this work, I continue my exploration of the use of digital photographs printed on Japanese paper (washi), then cut or torn as needed or desired. Sometimes the photo is the original inspiration for an image, while at other times, the image as it develops just seems to call out for a particular photo or even a piece or small part of a photo. The creative possibilities are absolutely endless!