Kōan Boxes
Prints, fiber, clay and found objects
4 boxes and 4 bowls
Boxes 10” W x 16 1/2” H x 7″ D
2018
Kōan Boxes are meditations on wild color and wild fiber. They also reflect the elusive nature of memory and time for each contain artifacts and objects, accumulated from daily life. The Japanese origin of the word Kōan is literally “matter for public thought.” The boxes are just that – they are a matter for consideration by the viewer – to which there is no correct answer or response, The fibers themselves represent both native and invasive plants asking the question what is truly native. Cattail is a native fiber, the Yellow Iris is an invasive, the Blue Flag is a native and the Japanese Plume Grass is an invasive. The box background is painted with the clay and a sample of the dried clay is in the box from each site. The bowls are made with the fibers highlighted in the photos also from each site.