After having already made some 3D time-based work, in 2006 I opted simply to make a sketch in graphite on vellum each day for a year. I began this discipline on June 21st as a way of marking the four seasons; my quick drawings would reflect a certain mood or impression each day based on seasonal perceptions. Each drawing was made on a piece of 8x8” vellum, and after the 365 drawings were made, ending on June 20, 2007, they all ended up in storage. Being that this was more of an artist’s exercise, I did not have a plan for presentation.
Fast forward to 2025, and realizing that the previous 20+ years seemed to have passed by in an instant, I had a vision of presenting each drawing in the form of a fleeting butterfly shape. The basic process of origami felt like a perfect method for transforming the quick sketch from another time into a shape that is suggestive of flight, and departure. As time passes, and as human lives evolve, my message is to address memory and our perception of it. By literally folding the marks of my historic drawings into a shape suggestive of transformation, I end up exploring the notion of a buried memory. Being that the drawings are on vellum, their nuances remain barely visible, yet still present. These marks also serve to form a unique pattern on each butterfly wing.
The 365 folded butterflies are arranged in a seasonal grid, beginning with the first day of summer on June 21st. It ends up being my calendar for that period of time.