NANCY ROMINES WALTERS

Some Families and the Ties that Bind

Groupings, subsets, intersecting sets a la Venn diagrams; social groups and families, growth and the stages of maturation – all these interest me. So do the boundaries of individuals and their relations to larger units: in-crowds, black sheep, stand alones and herds… the ways in which groups are static and the ways they change over time.

I’m exploring what connectedness means and am interested in ways of mapping traceable connections: the ties that bind, with all the positive and negative connotations of that phrase. As complex as a family chart can be, the reality of experienced relations is infinitely more so. No single relationship exists separately from the influence of others that shape us, spreading outward beyond our range of perception. A different kind of network unfolds over time, of events and coincidences, meetings and interminglings, family and beyond.

There is something arresting about our desire to belong and participate – and our fears that we may not. Bonding is a powerful instinct, in whatever form. When fate intervenes and prevents a bonding or a participation in a larger continuity, what then? For all our worrying we are part of the whole. In the words of John Donne:

            “No man is an island, entire of itself

            every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main

            if a clod be washed away by the sea,

            Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were,

            As well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were

            Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind

            And therefore, never send to know for whom the bell tolls

It tolls for thee.”        

Natural and organic forms have always seemed to me a ready stand in for human experience – as metaphors for physical and emotional states, suggestive of certain personality types or feelings. I’ve used rocks and other forms here as individuals – similar yet unique, with their permanence/impermanence – ground down, polished, redistributed but always a part of the whole, as are we.

I am interested in the differences between the beauties that arise in nature and in what we can create. I use a variety of materials - fiber, stone, wire, plastic, light and shadow - working with whatever seems to best express a given idea. I work with fiber as another sort of tie. Using age-old techniques passed down through generations, albeit in somewhat unexpected ways, reaffirms my own connection to the past and future.

Connectivity can be overwhelming and profound, but also full of surprises and humor, as we recognize our place within a bigger picture. I enjoy a sense of the ridiculous in my work even as I invite a quieter, more meditative experience.