art journal: chicken and rice
I’ve been drawing “just rice” and remembering the origin of this drawing project in last year’s food shortages and protests. The idea grew when I began to think about what eats what, evolution, and the connections between all living things. Some of the imagery that went into the drawings were new material for me, and some were a reworking of old favorites. Was it just a coincidence that searching through my collection of collage materials yielded that page of pictures of different breeds of hens? Had I thought about hunger in past projects, or were the hens collected for a different reference?
Until today I haven’t cared for the idea that artists should keep all kinds of junk that we will one day use in our work. But now I have this image of myself traveling through life with an archive of paper. Bits and pieces come out that are coincidentally relevant. Periodically I dip into the archive and whatever emerges will influence how I frame the issues of the day.
