Thought Lines is a project that not only documents how often I am in the studio but also maps the thoughts and experiences that find their way into what I do.  I always think I am a well-informed individual, mostly because while I am working I listen to NPR or books on tape. I am constantly taking in aural information while engaged in the process of making work.  But in reality I know very little and I often have to supplement what I know with conjecture because while I am listening I am engaged in another activity and all that “important” information I think I am taking in is really background.

The process behind this piece is as follows:  while I am working I write down sentences that make an impression on me-they may be from news stories, interviews or books on tape.  Because I am doing this over a span of time (anywhere from 1/2 an hour to 10 hours, depending on how long I am working) the sentences I collect are random and at times inaccurate. Each day of listening is transcribed on to clayboard.  Each clayboard is dated and the place where the date is written becomes the starting point for the sentences.  I write each sentence in painstakingly small and accurate print, at the end of each sentence I turn the board and go in another direction.  When a day’s collection of sentences is completed what is seen is a mapping of what I heard as I worked.  It also becomes a mapping of news and what is worthy of being repeated as various news stories are repeated and elaborated upon.

Images: each panel is a 7×5” clayboard written on with ink and graphite, 2005

Installation view: San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery 2005