Palimpsest or The Trace, History Revealed

I know I usually post on Monday, but well, yesterday snuck out the back door pretty quickly and now here we are on Tuesday...better late than never, that's what I say!  I'm in a better frame of mind this week, probably because I have some concrete goals in front of me, which always helps.  Besides the complicated process of cancelling a website and redesigning a new one, I've found that I've been revisiting some themes in my new pieces that were once the mainstay of my work.  I'm sure this is because of the seed planted by a fellow artist/blogger from Australia whose blog and work I dearly love, as the ideas and themes that play out in his pieces have such a close affinity to my own history of artmaking.  I'm referring to Glen Skien of Silent Parrot Press...you can find his blog here.  He's been working with ideas related to the notion of the "trace" and a week or so ago extended the offer to his readers to send in their definition or idea of the meaning of "trace" for them.  Well, Glen, you got me thinking and since the word "trace" and ideas related to the trace are the very bedrock of my need to make art, I'll use this blogpost as my response to the call out to your followers....I've begun to revisit the trace, which has never been far my heart, but has kind of disappeared as an idea in my work lately.

Let me just start with an example of a piece from a decade ago, when I began working with the idea of palimpsest, which for me is synonymous with "the trace". Palimpsest refers to a manuscript page, vellum or some other surface, in which the text has been erased allowing for new writing....but the trace is left behind.  When I first heard this word and its meaning, there was a kind of instant recognition, because, as a metaphor, it described exactly all my ideas related to personal and collective history, the land, our place in the cosmos.  Palimpsest...the trace revealed.

The Soul of One Man

The land itself is a palimpest. Think of it...traces of whole civilizations lie buried beneath the ground on which we walk and doutless, below those remants, lie even older ruins.  Sometimes the land formations reveal this trace, but often times not and it is only discovered in the process of digging, perhaps to build another future artiface, that this history is revealed.  I'm currently reading (alternating with Proust!) Oracle Bones by Peter Hessler, a book that not only looks at contemporary China, but also it's long history....often revealed through the artifacts found buried in the earth.  This reading, along with Glen Skien's Silent Parrot Press, are both reminders of the trace and got me revisiting this notion of the palimpsest.  The piece above is an example of a series of work I was making that began about a decade ago, using Johntimothy's handmade paper....the handmade paper I still use today. I would paint, draw, paint over, draw, paint over in successive layers, always revealing something of the layers underneath....a subtle building of history and information, just as civilizations build on top of one another, leaving a trail of their own.  The pieces are subtle, with drawing in pencil on top of muted shades of white and not quite white, finished with beeswax and sometimes embroidery.  Look...there's the idea of writing and pattern,  both of which continue to be present in my work and the pages always started out folded in two...the idea of the book was very much a part of the work, although at the beginning when this piece was made, I wasn't yet aware that I was thinking in terms of the book page....now it seems so obvious!

I realize the object in this photo is a bit fuzzy, but I wanted you to see what my brushes look like! They are all a frayed mess, because when I paint, I use them to scumble....an almost dry brush with very little paint, using a kind of scrubbing action to conceal and yet reveal the drawing underneath.  When the paint dries...more drawing on top. Those poor brushes...so abused, but so loved!

All of this is to say that one of the things revealed in all of my thinking during my downswing last week was that I missed making work that dealt with these big issues...still so much a part of my psyche and how I continually find my balance and my place in the world.  I don't think one can ever fully find the answers, but the exploration of time and place, history, the object.....in short, the "trace" is, in itself, the task that gives meaning...at least for me.  Do even a little digging, exploring the world, look, touch, feel, listen....the traces are everywhere...the connections to the past and to the future....that's how we find our balance and way in the universe. 

I'm beginning to revisit these ideas again...here are a couple of detail shots of a work in progress...

The piece has a row at the bottom of photocopied fragments of photos of my own family history.  I think this piece is about the messages given to us by the ancestors....I'm still working and as many of you know by now, I think through my hands....so the meaning of the content hasn't fully revealed itself, but it will.

And lastly, I'll leave you with one other thought that comes from another relevant book in my reading history. What I remember most about it from the first reading is this notion of the earth swallowing us....a very powerful image....here's a short passage about her experience in a cave that I stumbled on last night, so beautifully written.

Dwellings by Linda Hogan

"...I walk down the passageway to inner earth.  It is almost dark inside this world's silent chambers, the dank air warm and musty. Inside is a secret place, one of the land's quiet temples where hot water journeys upward after years of travel through the deep earth.  The ceiling drips water, the slow sound of rain falling, rhythmic, as if from the leaves of forests. In places, the constant warm dripping of water has layered mineral down over rock, layer upon layer, until it is smooth to the touch.

Barefoot, naked, I go down the stone pathway and lower myself into the hot water.  Surrounded by stone, this body of mine is seen in the dim light for what it is, fragile and brief. The water closes, seamless, around me.  My foot with its blue-green veins is vulnerable beside the rock hard world that wants someday to take me in.  Can we love what will swallow us when we are gone? I do. I love what will consume us all, the place where the tunneling worms and roots of plants dwell, where the slow deep centuries of earth are undoing and remaking themselves."

Thanks so much, Glen Skien, for bringing me back to my own grounding place!  I encourage all of you to visit Glen's blog, Silent Parrot Press....always a source of inspiration for me!  Have a great week!

A Walk Through The Universe: Palimpsest

I have to say that, once again, it's been such a pleasure discovering new wonders as I forge ahead on this journey through the universe.  I'm happy to share with you my latest discoveries and hope you are as inspired and delighted as I am!  I made some preliminary queries online for "palimpsest" to see just what might pop up and then went over to etsy with the same search to see if any artists were utlizing palimpsest in their work.  There were two really amazing finds in those early searches, both of which I'll share here.  The first is an artist, Aria Nadii, whose Etsy shop WildMuse immediately became a favorite.  Her beautiful work so much embodied the notion of palimpsest that I contacted her right away. I was going to begin this post with an explanation of palimpsest, but Aria has done that so nicely, I'll just relay her contribution in its entirety!  Aria's writing has also nicely provided the introduction for the second gem I'd like to share on the subject of palimpsest, for me a fascinating subject.  I'm sure you'll fall in love with Aria's work, as I have!

Third Orbiting

From The Garden By Sea

Pisces Logic

The Road To Amyoun

Balance

The Devil's Darning Needle

Rabbit

Undersea Dreaming, Pompeii

Palimpsest (from the Greek palimpsestos (‘scraped again’) is often found in the earliest illuminated manuscripts. A palimpsest is reused writing support of papryus or parchment from which the underlying text has been erased by washing or using pumice or other scraping devices. Erasure was not always complete and an underlying text would bleed through. There came a point when I realized that I was creating pieces that were reminiscent of palimpsests, and it  after this realization that I took a closer look at the concept and began exploring it more directly.

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In my work, the written word is ever-present, but is not intended to signify anything specific. The words are there to be perceived, evoking rather than meaning. There are many layers in the construction of each piece, and texts are buried, scratched or sanded away. Sometimes they just peek through in ghostly fragments. These textual apparitions are reminiscent of the words of philosophers and poets, thought to be heretical in their time, whose carefully recorded thoughts were literally "rubbed out" and over written with religious scripture. Before the invention of paper, writing supports were expensive and the ancients were resourceful, recycling anything they could and letting very little go to waste. There is also something symbolic in this practice, that goes beyond thrift, even if it was accidental.

The canvas base of my small works are fragments of old oil paintings, which are hidden by the layers subsequently affixed. In the stitched and embroidered works, the surfaces were once parts of clothing or other textiles, onto which I layer papers made transparent by age or deliberate rubbing. I then sketch, glaze or stitch over them, partially or completely obscuring what they once were. There is meant to be a kind of poetry in the re-use and layering, resonant with that sense that comes from seeing a palimpsest, knowing that there's something hidden, half-erased beneath.

-- Aria Nadii

As she mentions in her own writing, ancient texts that included  the writings of philosophers and poets were often written over with religious scripture. I knew this to be true in an abstract sort of way, but was amazed to find a link in my search to the Archimedes Palimpsest, which can be found HERE.  An actual palimpsest!  This manuscript, undergoing extensive research and conservation at The Walters Art Museum, is a 13th century prayer book written over erased texts from the 10th century that include seven treatises of the Greek mathematician, Archimedes. Two of these are texts that exist nowhere else.  Purchased by a anonymous collector in 1998 at a Christie's auction, the palimpsest was deposited immediately at The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore for study and conservation and at this date, twelve years later, efforts are ongoing. The website for the project is a goldmine of information, images and video about the history of the manuscript, Archimedes, and the conservation efforts.  It's quite fascinating! Here's a tidbit to share...we have Archimedes to thank for many things we take for granted including the pulley, the fulcrum, and the lever...and he is apparently the first to have understood the concept of buoyancy!

Hope you can visit Aria Nadii's shop and the Archimedes Palimpsest site...both will provide a fascinating look at the layers of history both concealed and revealed in a palimpsest. 

Which reminds me...where does this path lead for next week? So many possibilities, but since it's a common connection in Aria's post and the Archimedes Palimpsest, how about looking at medieval prayer books, specifically the Book of Hours!  Love to hear your comments and anything you'd like to share about palimpsest or the Book of Hours!  

Thanks for stopping at Missouri Bend Studio!