Something that I've realized while being an Artist in Residence here at Colerain Forges Mansion is that I am deeply moved by the natural force of change—in the world, and in art.
Colerain reminds me of a great ship, a vessel built upon different pieces of history. It’s taking us, as its passengers, into the future. I think of the Castle in Howl's Moving Castle, a traveling castle comprised of many working parts.
Colerain is a place made of many parts. The Mansion slowly grew in phases of additions, and changed in times of transition. I find the presence of all these moments in time held together by the physical nails in these walls.
I love the view of Colerain when you enter through the front door—it’s frequently the first view a visitor has of the house. As you look down the hallway into each room, you are literally looking through time. Standing in the entryway, which was the first part of the house, you look through the dining room, and then the historical kitchen, and lastly the later additional kitchen. The wide pine boards that make up the wood flooring point this way and that. And you have to step up and down through the hall to get to the “present” day.
In my stay here, my work routine has shown me just how much I am drawn towards the meaning of the word accumulation. Everything around us is an accumulation of the behavior of people and nature in the past.
I appreciate paintings that show an artist's individuality through brushwork and subject matter. When I can see how an artist changed and altered their work in the process, I see the presence of time pass the same way I see it at Colerain. It’s the accumulation of moments present in one painting or house.
In my paintings of Colerain Forges Mansion, I show the house as it is today, my theme being the
presence of the old and new together—the build up of color, variations, and alterations of brushstrokes, and the accumulation of history. For example, my painting of the roll top desk in the office shows the antiquity of the furniture and books in the same space as native American art and papers spread about, which are more recent. All this I capture in one scene.
Colerain Forges Mansion is an analogy for a perfect world. By being here, you are a part of a community of individuals who are passionate about arts and preservation. Being involved in preservation means looking optimistically towards what's next (even when it's not easy).
Armed with the accumulation of Colerain’s rich history, the support of community, and endless creative opportunities to pursue, there is more to build upon.
I am eager to see what's next.
