From a Florida (but, not) artist
“I want my feet to be in the water.”
I love this picture of me in the Atlantic Ocean holding a piece of my collaged textile artwork. (This came about as part of a photo shoot of quilters in Florida that will be in Quiltfolk magazine this summer.)
I can still remember the feel of the cold water swirling around my legs, and that wonderful pull of the ocean as it receded readying for the next wave
Water is the best thing about Florida. The beaches are wonderful. The inland springs are clean and cold and clear.
Yet, these pictures, to me, shows my experience of living in this place but not being from this place.
The piece I was holding in the water is “Setting a Course.” It is a beach-inspired abstract collage. The piece I held during most of the shoot is “Where it is Only a Memory After All,” a collage built from images that come from my memories and inner experiences.
in the ocean with “Setting A Course”
On the beach with “Where it is Only a Memory After All”
“Where it is only a Memory After All”
I have walked in Florida inland forests – lots of scrub palm, and tall straight pines. I absorb and appreciate the colors and the patterns of light and dark. I’ve used these observations in some of my work.
“Found There in the Quiet” monotype with acrylics - paper collage
I enjoy these images. But, this is not the landscape that speaks to my soul. When I think inwardly of trees, I think of the geography where I grew up.
Detail “Growing Unseen” - tree, leaves and house detail from memories
“Hearing Wind Voices” - Monotype with acrylics, paper collage. Memory images.
One of the first thing I noticed about Florida when I moved here as a teenager is the way the architecture of homes differ form what I had known. When my artwork pulls on memories of home, I draw from those of my childhood.
“Every One Has a Different Story,” art quilt inspired by Rodgers Forge, the neighborhood where I grew up
All of us carry within us responses to and memories of what we know. We add to them to images of new experiences. We process them and recreate them in our dreams, in our understanding of the world, and – for many of us who are artmakers – in the images we create.
If you would like more information about the works I’ve depicted in this blog, please visit the galleries of my website. (You can click the title below to go directly to the work.)
WHERE IT IS ONLY A MEMORY AFTER ALL
EVERY ONE HAS A DIFFERENT STORY
Thank you for reading. I always enjoy questions and comments.
--Bobbi
bobbi@bobbibaughstudio.com
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