Barnacle images that will inspire TAIP grant project, “Affix.”

I’m pleased to announce that the Tacoma Arts Commission has granted me a Tacoma Artists Initiative Program (TAIP) funding award to create a new project titled “Affix.”

The grant will allow me to create a new series of sculptures inspired by barnacles with the goal of making the paper forms waterproof so that they can be displayed outdoors in a MetroParks Tacoma location associated with, or near, Commencement Bay. The barnacle forms will be displayed to invite the public to consider how ideas, people, and sea life are affixed to one another in networks of relationships.

In my art I explore the life cycle of ideas — how ideas are generated, dispersed, and whether they are remembered or forgotten. I transform books and their pages into new forms that are inspired by nature.

I’ve wanted to display my sculptures outdoors in public places but have been hampered by paper’s (my medium) quick demise in damp weather. The grant will allow me to experiment with varnishes and waxes to make my sculptures suitable for temporary display in a variety of outdoor environments.

I look forward to embarking on this new sculpture project and working with MetroParks to show my work to a broad audience.