Today I began a project that I have named Mud Quilts which is my very first site specific project. I created an Instagram account to document each site and work. Visit MudQuilts if you are interested in following along as I’m not sure I’ll document every site in this journal or site.
This is my first Impression made with a hickory nut shell in the root ball of an old tree fall.
The main aim of this project is to bring awareness to and comment on the complicated way that we as humans shape and form landscapes and places as well as how landscapes and places shape and form our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual lives.
I have set up two very simple parameters for my project:
Neither to add anything to nor to take anything away from my sites but to only leave an impression once I’ve left.
Document each site on my Instagram account using photographs and the site’s geotag.
I plan to form a series of ceramic stamps in which to explore leaving impressions at each site location. One question that I’m asking myself right now regards water. Will I allow myself to moisten sites in order to achieve better impressions and if so can I bring my own water or limit myself to water sources at or near the site. I will post about those decisions here whenever I am forced to make them.
Interestingly, when I began this Instagram account and named the project by picking a hashtag I stumbled upon another artist , Terri Dowell-Dennis, who had used the hashtag #mudquilt a few times. I did not want to bomb her beautiful hashtag so I added an ‘s’ to mine. Her works involve playing around with symmetry of photographs of mud to create textile like effects. She has some other pieces which she calls ‘markings’ that are of a similar nature.
I am choosing not to follow anyone or add any hashtags to my posts at this time, nor am I posting about or linking to it from my larger personal Instagram account. I want to know what will happen if I allow this project to develop organically and fully free from the pressure of developing a social media presence. The project will be visible and can be located from this website and I will also be experimenting with signing and numbering each site with an impression. If anyone finds the site they will be able to locate the project by following the tag.
I think this has the potential to develop into a collaborative project by sharing ceramic stamps with others and receiving stamps from them in exchange. I could host an event and invite the public to participate in the making of a quilt, etc. This could add another layer of meaning not only to the process but also contribute to the understanding of the main premise.