Holding Water exploring the history and present intersection of trees, water, and human construction/industry via an installation that acts as a log flume in the shape of the French Broad River, and is a conveyor of a video projection of moving water.

The piece was constructed using debris resulting from Hurricane Helene. This includes a metal shed in our yard that was crushed when two pine trees fell on it, branches from these downed pine trees, fiber optic cable torn down, an old dresser that became waterlogged. Besides the material touched by the storm itself, the piece integrates artifacts of the post storm conditions, mainly the boxes of shelf stable water the city of Asheville gave out while potable water was unavailable. I began the project by building a cardboard model of the flume out of these boxes.

I am very interested in the meaning and history of materials. Materials have a life and story and can be shaped into art objects without losing that history. In recognizing that history a different type of regard or consideration is given to a material than if that history is overlooked. This is what inspires my making. The materials I choose to use are sourced based on personal criteria and have a profound impact on what I make. Many times when people salvage materials for reuse they process it in a way that brings it back to some amount of like new raw material.  I try not to do that, I want to preserve the artifacts of a material’s history. This creates challenges in making because often processes that have been formulated to shape, cut or join raw materials don't translate perfectly to these kinds of post consumer materials. This means I have to be more creative in adapting processes so as not to lose the expressions of the materials' past histories. Being able to make new work as well as highlight the past lives of materials is a big inspiration to me.