Inside/Outside (1994- 1995)
Wishing to combine an array of subjects/objects from the ensemble of past players, interior and exterior forms were gathered to explore new narratives. The “Affinities” series (1994) partnered pears from our trees with paint, textile pattern, Christmas ornaments, and more, under sunlight, reflected in a mirror. In “Battleground” (1995), the imagery was more about collisions, unexpected arrangements, surprising even to me as I worked. At center: “Axis Mundi”, my wife Deborah as subject, with hope that the series would talk back in some sort of unifying direction, answering swirling conflicts regarding life mission. From 1995 to 2002, I served as department head to the Art program at Mississippi State University, creating no artwork in those nearly eight years. I gave it every fiber of self/Self, as I did my painting.
Administratively saturated, I was happy to return fully to art-making and teaching in 2003.
