I don’t have a signature style. My journey as an artist has been to explore the world, particularly its systems, rhythms, and patterns, and to ask myself questions. I often start a series of works by asking myself, “What if?” and then set out to figure out how to...

Thinking through making happens in my studio at each step-by-step stage. An eventual working-out occurs as I puzzle through each part of building up three-dimensional forms. The work moves forward or backward when I am at the edges of not-knowing and continues to...

When given the opportunity to reflect on my creative process, specifically thinking through making, I naturally turned to my creative partner. Beyond being my wife, Kate is an artist who knows me inside and out, who believes in me. I’m lucky to be able to dig into...

How to Make a Picture Begin the ceremony by placing the camera over your head, red strap slashing half an X through your body. You are now a member of the Order of the Eye. Stand to attention. Remember, the camera is a Ouija board. The camera is a closet. The camera...

Consider the power of a simple straight stitch embroidered 100,000 times in a vintage canvas cot cover. Each stitch is unique unto itself, but when collected and assembled in the shape of a reclining figure, each stitch undergoes a drastic transformation in its...

My workday in the studio often begins by sweeping the floor and tidying up. If inspiration comes slowly, around the third cup of tea, it is likely to have been a fleeting glimpse of something in a painting that was not apparent yesterday or has been hidden for a...

When I was in elementary school our workbooks were called Think and Do. I think my education would have been a better fit for me if the books had been Do and Think, since I’ve discovered that I learn best through direct engagement with materials. I’ve always been...

CM: An accomplished poet, you’ve also long been committed to the practice of making visual art, primarily collage. It fascinates me that you bridge these disciplines—poetry and visual collage. When did you begin the practice of creating visual art and how does that...

 What is Spindleworks? Spindleworks is a community of makers where artists of all abilities are valued and inspired to do their best work. Artists are guided to find their creative voice, and express themselves in mediums such as drawing and painting, photography,...

Over the past sixty-some odd years, Nancy Davidson has been a constant champion of art and artists, primarily in Maine and Florida, as a gallerist and curator. As Mirlea Saks wrote in her tribute to Davidson in the spring 2028 issue of the Maine Arts Journal,...

My mother died twenty years ago, but for me, she is a constant presence. As her only child, not only did I inherit her artworks, her correspondence, and all her other possessions, I also became the repository of her artistic reputation and extensive body of work. At...