Nostalgia, 2022 (triptych)

18" x 22" each (framed)   There are just so many things I love about this piece that is technically a partially integrated collage built from scraps of old art projects plucked out of the recycling bin. Layer upon layer the composition was built from spray paint remnants on cardboard, to crisply cleaned matboard. I then drew additional details on that foundation. Throughout the process refining, reviewing, and reworking was required. That process encapsulates the deeper message!   Depending on how the light hits it, this collage displays matte neutrals and shiny reflecting metallics. It has a few rough edges and even casts some shadows. Within it I see phases of the moon in a nighttime sky - ring stains from wine glasses on cement countertops - the flickers of light that dance across my vision when I close my weary eyes. What do you find?    Like an old-fashioned filmstrip projecting sepia toned recordings of bygone times, much is left to the viewer's interpretation. I believe memories are that way, too.  I've been noticing and contemplating how different people remember the past differently. How a shared experience is not an exactly duplicated memory for everyone. I'm intrigued by how memories vary per person and how they seem to evolve upon each remembrance.    And as I continued to work on this piece in its final stages, I realized I actually like it better a bit tilted & even upside down! How perfectly fitting to the message that as we remember people and past events, our perspective often changes!  I remember and ponder, create and recreate, I do so with nostalgia.   nos·tal·gia   a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.