All my life I have been drawn to the majesty and mystery of trees. The trees of my childhood and Cajun heritage—Live Oaks and River Birches, Willows, Dogwoods, and Magnolias—tower in my memory. I continue to feel a familial connection to trees, as well as deep reverence. Trees retain an ancestral and sacred power in my imagination. Through whatever media I work in, I am compelled to depict tree forms and lines: twisted trunks, their gnarled, entwining branches, their dignified beauty. Large textile pieces and ceramic votives involve detailed, repetitive labor—piecing and stitching, carving and scoring. I find these deliberate, highly repetitive activities ritualistic and centering. This labor, and the pieces that result, are forms of devotion, attempts at prayer. hand-stitched, collaged trees, 7' x 2.5'
