ROOTS EXHIBIT STATEMENT

ROOTS

deep dark root
tangling
wrapping
spreading


In 2002, the San Juan Mountains, adjacent to Durango,were ravaged by fire.
This fire came very close to my home and studio.
A fire break was made on my land.
In this process, roots of oak, aspen, and pine were revealed...and
I collected them.


This led to amassing many roots of all sizes and from many places.
I began wrapping them in handmade paper and dipping them in sumi ink.
Their complex forms and functions began to fascinate me.


anchoring
absorbing
storing


Part of my explorations took me to a juniper forest
(an environmental art site... The Land at Mountainair, New Mexico)
where I combined handmade paper-wrapped roots from the Colorado forest
with the exposed juniper roots in the Land’s arroyo
which made for an interesting conversation.


Earth from my land in Colorado and earth gathered
from The Land in New Mexico
has been part of this combining and connecting
I have explored during the past year.


More recently, the root forms have evolved into the meandering lines of rivers.
The series Roots to Rivers is in process as I research and draw
the aerial views of the world’s great river systems.

Mary Ellen Long
2011