20 (of a projected 40) Wreaths

20 (of a projected 40 Wreaths), range from 7"-16" circumferences, cast iron, 2015

There is a worldwide tradition of creating wreaths as decoration or in celebration of a festival or holiday. In American, this is normally unpaid women’s work that beautifies her domestic environment. My interest in the form began when visiting Latvia in response to their midsummer wreath-making, rooted in pagan traditions celebrating Ligo. Men weave wreaths of oak leaves while women create wreaths of wildflowers and assorted greenery. These wreaths employ texture as a way of visually representing the fossils our culture creates. Each wreath has an organic and an inorganic texture: bubble wrap and wheat, sequined fabric and acorn caps, smartphones and ferns, aluminum foil and concentric spiral shells. The first twenty small scale wreaths were cast at the 2015 Sculpture Trails Iron Workshop and the subsequent large scale public works The Eudora Welty Wreath (2016) and Trails Wreath (2018) were also cast at Sculpture Trails.