Tabula Rasa (2010)
white sand, aluminum wire, adhesive, other

Whenever I am about to start on a new artwork, I start from a "blank slate" (tabula rasa). At the point of embarking on a new place in the studio, thre are always paradoxical emotions involving both trepidation and excitement of the unknown. As with any work, I know that there will be unforseen challenges ahead, but my fear and anxiety subside when I remind myself that I am starting from nothing.
 

In this piece, created for the exhibition, "Studio Practices" at Macy Gallery in 2010, the skeletal frame of the table echoes my workbench in the studio, as well as the desk on which I do my research and writing as an educator. The table (the word table originates frm the Latin word tabula meaning a board or slab) sits atop a bed of white sand, evoking blankness, or state of mind that is open to new ideas.

Through obsering reading, experimenting analyzing, writing and reflecting, I am able to slowly fill my mind with new knowledge and experiences, not unlike the movement of sand flowing through the narrow funnel of an hourglass. But the hourglass can be turned over and over again, starting from the beginning ready to reeive new ideas and information -- the tabula rasa