JOIN

acrylic, thread, and California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa) leaves on canvas

detail

The word join is defined as "to link or connect" by many dictionaries.  When I think of the word join, I think of people joining hands, or two or more different things joining together to form one entity.  Joining something together can be natural or forced.  This very experimental piece attempts to join together leaves of the same species in a way that appears natural, but is in fact forced.

When observing a moving body of water such as a river or creek, one often notices the current carries with it bits and pieces of living debris.  Often, the leaves moving down the river appear to stop and connect to other leaves, making a singular journey amongst its fellow leaves down the river, from one place to another.  Although figurative, I believe this to be applicable to life as well; when we are figuratively traveling down the river of our lives, many other people (just like leaves) join us on our journey.  They stitch together their lives to our own and vice versa.  Sometimes these stitches are more pronounced, while other times, they are barely noticeable.  Oftentimes, it is the smallest stitches between us and another person that make the biggest impact on our personal journeys and lives.  When these people leave our lives, impressions of their stitches are often left behind, which can cause us pain for the loss of the stitch itself.  We long to be joined together again.

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.
"Separation" by W.S. Merwin