As early as six years old, when the delicate threads of femininity, personal power, and self reliance were not yet integrated, I decided that marrying an artist would expose me to the kind of creativity I craved.  Little did I know that what was really plucking my strings was to be an artist myself.  But first I would have to marry one to figure out that existence through someone else’s visions, instead of finding my own and a compatible relationship, was unsustainable.

Since then, I’ve put all the pieces together, pinned them in place and have surrounded myself with a variety of compatible people, many artists amoung them.

These photos are of the work of a relatively new friend, Ran Adler.  He forages and assembles plant materials, a very time consuming practice, and does on site installations The above piece belongs to my sister, Melanie, who has known Ran for forty plus years.  I have only known him for one and a half, but it feels like a lifetime.  This one is made of the inner hard petals of the Mahogany tree strung through raffia, and secured into place at the top by barbs.

This is the first one I saw, crosses of horsetail cut and pinned to the wall with barbed thorns.  Melanie and I were in Sarasota, February, 2012.  We have been going for years but this was the first time we drove down to Ran’s studio in Naples.  The wall, a cross for every lost loved one, was so poignant, my phone camera seized up in the frenzy of capturing the fleeting fragility and absence of so many lives.

Detail of that wall of tears.

And this row is now in my apartment.  I have assigned seven loved ones to the same number of crosse.  But to symbolize loss, I probably need more.  And at this rate, a bigger apartment is inevitable, even though in the name of sustainability, I have chosen less real estate as more.

For better photos of Ran’s work, to discover his personal countenance, to become familiar with his incredibly beautiful process, click here: ranadler.com