Project Assignment 1: Ephemeral/Site

Artist Statement:

After spending a week in Palm Springs, California, I have finally returned to my hometown: Schaumburg, Illinois. Although I live in close proximity to the city of Chicago, my neighborhood is suburban with an abundance of parks, gardens, and forest preserves. It is because of these surroundings that I chose to utilize natural materials during my ephemeral exploration.

Although I have previously seen Andy Goldsworthy's Rivers and Tides, I never grow tired of watching it. I love watching him work and I have great respect for his methods. Consequently, I wanted to produce a piece very similar to something he, himself, might create.

I chose to work in the environment of my own backyard; the backyard of the house I have lived in for 21 years. My reasoning for this was because I wanted to create in a place I was personally attached to, much like how Goldsworthy tends to choose sites he feels connected to for his ephemeral pieces.

The materials I utilized consisted of the tiny clover flowers which grow on our lawn each Spring, and my favorite tree on our property. I'm not sure what kind of tree it is, but I do know that ever since I was little, I have always referred to it as "my tree". My dad has wanted to cut the tree down for years on account of the fact that it gets in the way of the backyard ice rink he installs every winter. However, I have somehow always been able to convince him not to do so.

The clover flowers are banding together to embrace and protect the tree; the tree which has so much significance in my life. It represents home, a place which I hold very near and dear to my heart.

The flowers will eventually fall out of place and blow away in the summer breeze, but I will always remember the image of my favorite tree in the world rooted and protected in my favorite place in the world.