“Held in Being” is made on wool jersey cloth that I folded in a radial pattern, clamped between wood blocks, and dyed with tannins, iron, and lime (calcium hydroxide). Each dye or solution was used on only part of the piece, overlapping slightly with the others, to create the different shades. The main art process at work is the chemical reaction between iron and tannin that creates strong browns and purples. In this piece, both the dye and the wood and bark of the clamped resist blocks contain natural tannins; some of the wooden shapes both resisted the dye and made their own print. Where the iron dye is untouched by tannin, a yellow buff color reigns.
The result seems to be a cosmic scene: not in chaos, but held together in order and harmony.
