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CHRISTINE SCHWATKEN | AN ARTIST’S STATEMENT
CHRISTINE SCHWATKEN | AN ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In the moments I am able to slow down enough to let my surroundings whisper in my ear—notice me—the ordinary world around me comes alive, and I get quiet so I can listen. This happens when I am out on walks or hikes in the paths and trails of New Mexico or anywhere I decide to give in to the moment, letting go of all the “shoulds” and “didn’t-do’s” that often wrestle with my mind. I delight in admiring the things that mostly get overlooked in our world, when we pretend we are too busy to see them. I believe that all things are unique and special if we choose to see and appreciate them just as they are. Isn’t that what we all want, anyway? To be admired just as we are?
For “Highway Scribbles” (previous page), on a drive back home from Utah, I was the drawn to the mystical artwork from the late-morning sun scribbled on the highway, revealing what once was the patchwork of past wounds made by the road-warriors before me, now turned into glowing calligraphic lines, rewriting themselves in golden-glory across the highway before me.
“Untouchable Moon” was the happy experiment of transforming an ordinary object from my backyard into the moon and layering it into a photo I took of the Sandia foothills, creating an exciting Gestalt effect. I played with texture and contrast until something otherworldly came through, telling me a new story and revealing my own.
