Photographs, recycled and painted algebra workbook, and recycled notebook cover
Artist Statement
The book features three-dimensional mushrooms crafted from my child’s recycled algebra workbook. The work was conceived during my month-long Artist-in-Residence stay at Weir Farm Historical Park in Connecticut in August 2024. That summer brought many rainy days, culminating in the region’s worst flooding in decades. On drier days, I walked through the woods, observing the shifting ecology around the farm. I photographed a wide variety of mushrooms—both thriving and decaying—nourished by the moisture in the ground, which became the inspiration for the sculptural forms. The incorporated photograph, taken in the Weir Farm woods, layers the imagery of nature with the recycled material of my child’s workbook.
On a personal note, this was my first extended separation from my son. While I was immersed in the residency, he worked on the math workbook at home. Incorporating its pages into the project became a way to recycle his efforts into something newly born—bridging our time apart through both memory and material.