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Kari Maxwell

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where two meet, 16X20, acrylic on canvas

untitled 1, 16X20, acrylic on canvas
untitled 1, 16X20, acrylic on canvas

where two meet, 16X20, acrylic on canvas | Media List


Statement

 
URBAN EARTH, a shift in perception


I spent my childhood exploring the shores of the Northern California coastline.  I celebrated my birthdays in the midst of the giant red wood 
forests.  As a young adult, I spent my time in the mountain ranges of Montana, hiking, biking and skiing.  There is such power in nature's 
majesty: ocean, mountain, tall, tall tree.
  
When I moved to Minneapolis thirteen years ago, I spent years trying to find "my place" in the midwest: exploring less traveled lakes, parks, and rivers. 

I would leave these places with a feeling of defeat. Although I was grateful to have these opportunities in a city, my heart still ached for those limitless, grandiose spaces.  Where was my place?

Once I acknowledged and accepted that I wouldn't be able to experience the nature I knew, slowing but surely, nature made herself known to me.  I was surprised by her form of communication.  

It started out as quiet and subtle.   

I walk daily: in my neighborhood, around the lakes, through the parks, down by the river.  Slowly, my eyes shifted from searching for the larger 
picture to seeing the smaller one: nature's detail.  I felt reborn.  It was baffling to me that I could have the exact same relationship with nature that I had had in the past (it was just up to me to be willing to change my perception). 

These images represent the detail of nature: something I have always overlooked while being captivated by nature's giants.  I am grateful for 
experiencing nature, now, with every step I take.   Have we taken the time to acknowledge what, may at first, seem small?  Have we taken the time to experience them?  This is my attempt to do so.