Foot for thought… we are all the same where our
soles touch
the earth. I never set out to make footprints.
It started innocuously at the birth of our
first grandchild, then became a renascence as a spiritual quest.
Where do our feet take us on this journey
through life?
Soles, souls; heel, heal; words and images….double
entendre
leads the viewer beyond the obvious to
deeper introspection. Each of us is
different, yet each is the same. Each leaves a unique footprint on this
earth. Small, smooth, curled in
infancy. Calloused, wrinkled, withered
as we age. Just as our life is
mirrored
in our face, it is also reflected in our feet.
Regardless of how we color, distort, or manipulate
our soles, we remain
eternally connected to each other by our souls. Footprints
remind us of the imprint,
great or small, that we each
leave behind.
Artist
Statement... Paintings
My paintings are a reflection of my closet—shades of the ordinary and often mundane. Just as my wardrobe reveals a comfort level in the unassuming, the people and situations I depict are sometimes regarded as unexciting as well. In a country obsessed with glamour, celebrity, and money, my chosen subject matter is often as overlooked as old shoes discarded in the corner.
Wherever I go, a camera is my constant companion. Thousands of photographs clog my laptop, waiting for a return to the studio where they can be interpreted in paint, textiles, clay, sculpture, or digital collage. Whether the finished product represents children at play, life around me, or everyday people doing everyday things, the work is always a statement about the world in which I live. Social commentary bubbles in my mind, titles often presenting themselves long before a work is even conceived.
I have an intense emotional, if not outwardly expressive, attachment to whatever I create. There is a spiritual investment in the process---a part of my soul remains forever a part of my art. For me, the creative process is a need that justifies the freedom I have to choose whatever particular shade of ordinary I’ll wear today.
Suzanne Bort Gray