Ascent and Descent, 2003

Giclee on watercolor paper

The flight of a bird venturing into the unknown is an apt symbol of liberation, the breaking out of containment that for me characterizes the transcendence of the human spirit.

Each flight has the fundamental goal of initiating the individual seeker who is striving to attain a sense of completeness. No matter what level of trauma or grace is encountered during the exodus, the initiation is a necessary rite of passage designed to bring that individual further along on the journey to the self.

In this work, Ascent and Descent, the sequencing of the birds starts a visual dialog about the flight of initiation. Each bird is unique in its plumage of color – one bird almost reaches a state of translucency with the sky – another chooses to change its direction of flight. The spirit of nature begins to fuse with the spirit of the unconscious – navigating a flight path toward realization.