Allyn Hart & Gerry Oyama

To support my need for perfectly useless and unproductive activities such as wandering aimlessly looking for pretty rocks; projects like this create the illusion of a purpose. I began bringing my pockets-full of rocks into the studio to scan them directly into the computer. The intricacies of color and pattern become ever-more fascinating as I zoom in and fuss with the digital aspects of imagery. I seem unable to walk in a straight line or to focus on a goal when there are beautiful rocks everywhere. I am always at odds with hiking partners who have a destination in mind. Now my solitary walks and disappearances have taken their rightful place as a legitimate part of my creative process. If I find myself crawling around on hands and knees up a dry stream bed, there is ever-so-much necessity for doing so, as I am searching for hidden treasures to bring to the eyes of the world. In making the canvas of colors and shapes more accessible by focusing in and enlarging, I hope to reveal the subtle beauty that wrests my attention away from wider views.

The collages resulted from a chance acquisition of 1950's Life Magazines. As a visual person, the colors and shapes from that era evoke a visceral connection with the child who fed on them. This includes conclusions, illusions and expectations regarding adulthood, marriage, dreams of the culture and possibilities for women. Gaining technical skill in the archival reproduction of my own work on the computer gave rise to these prints.

I also love to make sculptures out of pine needles, lithographic mono-prints using oil-paint and handmade books often with found objects sewn in. The habitual activities that result in the work are wandering outdoors, scanning the ground, picking up interesting objects, then finding some way to enjoy them in my studio, usually through arranging, containing and reproducing. The things that catch my eye include rocks, rusty things, broken pieces of plastic, nests of various kinds, lint, hairballs, feathers, seed pods, squashed pinecones, gum wrappers, pieces of wire, nails, spare parts, ad nauseum.