WORDS IN ART

I have always liked incorporating words into my work, I feel it adds to the narrative of an artwork. A while back I started using Scabble tiles to form the words. I like using the tiles for several reasons. First, they are nicely made of wood (they feel great in the hand) and the color and surface work well visually with the other objects I incorporate into the pieces. On a more conceptual level, I like the tiles because they represent a game (one that I enjoy) in which random tiles are organzed into words. I really like that concept of something ordered (and very visually ordered on the board) coming from randomness. I also think the use of words engages the viewers a little more with the piece, it gives them one more clue as to what that piece is about. In the box titled Frailty I wanted to arrange the tiles in a "Frail," unstable way. I think the instability of the objects in the box speaks to the frailty of life. Dust 7 (To Dust You Shall Return) also speaks of this frailty of life but more in the way of a cycle of life. In this box I use stained shards of clay as a base to give an almost archeological feel to the contents, but, even in this dismal layer of rubble there are objects of hope.