This trip was really rather amusing. I got it in my head that I wanted to head out into the desert again all alone and make some art… but it was pretty much on a whim and therefore I was totally unprepared. The clothes I was wearing were more fashion forward that desert practical, I had no sun block, no water, no map, no gloves (everything in arizona has prickers)… but somehow I still thought this was a great idea. It wasn't until I got out there, got out of the car and started walking around I realized how unprepared I was. I proceeded to wrap my scarf around my head like a scene out of a Christmas play and wandered off into the desert with no idea what I was doing...
This first thing that caught my eye while I was out was a cactus. When I lived in Arizona, I always sort of thought they were annoying… I mean they have really sharp needles on them and don't offer any shade. But coming home I was able to seen them in a bit of a new light, recognizing their will to live even in the most difficult of situations.
Right next to the cactus I found was a bush full of brightly colored flowers, again my amazement for the ability of something so beautiful to thrive and grow under such harsh conditions was breath taking.
I noticed the cactus had several holes in it, where birds and other animals had used it as housing against the elements and I love the idea of filling the hole with some of the flowers I collected… it a way is was almost like filling the whole in my heart that leaving home had left in me and symbolic of my roots and the fact that if this cactus and grow and thrive here, I can figure out a way to do the same wherever I may be living.
This next work I dubbed "Stop Here And Listen"… I think in life, I for one tend to go go go go all the time and the process of going out into the dessert alone wandering around with no one for miles collecting white stones, putting them together and then just taking a moment to be… was simply amazing… after I had completed most of the circle I coupe hiking randomly wandered past me and I'm pretty sure thought I was crazy with my fashionable clothing in the middle of the dessert, scarf wrapped round my head collecting rocks…
This next piece was my absolute favorite.
As I was wandering around I spotted a palo verde tree, one of the only trees that somehow is able to grow out in the middle of the desert. It has branches with long skinny tendrils that are very flexible. I cut off a few (well ripped off… I had forgotten a knife as well) and laid them on the ground next to me with no idea… I sat down in the little bit of shade the tree offered and started to play with them and ended up winding the ends together to form a circle… and it held all on it's own. I made another and another and joined them together in a long string. It reminded me of christmas and making paper garland from strips of construction paper to decorate out living room. After I had a decent amount of tendrils connected I started wondering what on earth I was going to do with them. I wandered around dragging the garland around behind me until I spotted a tree, sort of deadish looking and alone. I walked over and started to drape the garland on the tree running off now and again to collect more tendrils to increase the chain. The process was so calming and meditative as I wound each branch together, sort of like a rough version of crocheting.
When I was done, I was struck by the thought that I was decorating a lifeless looking tree with living branches… that somehow seemed very profound to me, but in the end it was the reverent quality that I most identified with. The act of honoring my home with a gift.
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