Sitting at the window and looking out over the channel and downtown Juneau and its surrounding mountains, I’m reminded of the time I excitedly messaged a friend who posted a picture with his best friend, asking him where it was taken. I recognized the shape of the land over the water behind him. It was just a snippet in the background, but when he confirmed that it was, in fact, taken in Traverse City, Michigan, I started thinking about the landforms that surround us. In particular, I began thinking about the ones we grew up with. The ones we do not give much conscious thought to, but subconsciously, they seep into our very being. For some, it may be a mountain, or a butte, for others, the shape of an island, a peninsula, or the shape of surrounding hill. In each case, Terra Firma is the land that provides a firm foundation from which to grow.
Northport is a small village at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula where I grew up. The county is made up of several lakeside villages, Leland, Suttons Bay, Lake Leelanau, Glen Arbor, Empire. Northport sits on Grand Traverse Bay, but is also very close to Lake Michigan with views of the Manitous and the Fox Islands. This thought of Terra Firma and my view of the islands is the inspiration for a new collection of enamels. I began thinking about the relationship between my location on shore with the view of the islands. In Northport, from Peterson Park, the Manitous overlap, and often appear as one island. Both North and South Fox are visible, but from Christmas Cove, North Fox Island often is not. From Leland to Port Oneida, both of the Manitous are clearly separate and individual, further south views are obscured by jutting bluffs and peninsulas. These views provide a deep connection to place, with views from the northern tip of the peninsula being most embedded in my own psyche.
This is the inspiration for a series of lockets, broaches, and pendants, Terra Firma. Consisting of enameled images, where glass is fired to metal, the images are inspired by views found along the shores of Leelanau County. I’ve started playing around with painting styles or possibly transferring sepia-toned photographic images, as well as some photo-type settings