Under the Roots, 2016, Graphite, Ink, Watercolor, Dirt, Tea
Under the Roots was a time consuming piece I made during a retreat to Airy Knoll, an artist retreat in Virginia. The project utilized counterpoint techniques as a way of creating visual focus through contrast of medium and/or value.
Under the Roots deals with a figure, a small boy, reading with a lantern in a small cavern underneath the roots of a giant tree. This is an illustration for a story of a child who is trapped in what is essentially a cellar, in order to pass the time, the boy reads through the dusty tomes that have been left in this forgotten place, acquiring long abandoned knowledge. The piece was meant to be an inspirational narrative to the power of literature, and its profound effect on the creativity and imagination of children. This piece was meant to be accompanied by another piece, featuring a small girl who found herself in the company of mandrakes, mythical, screaming plants which would tell her fables of distant lands, this piece being one of the stories they would tell to her to entertain her while she was locked away.
Under the Roots has been shown in two exhibitions, the first exhibition it was shown in was in 2016, at the Airy Knoll Farm show of 2016. The other show was at the Center for Visual Artists in 2018, and was titled Unbound, a show focused on the appreciation of literature.