SuperCharged Printmakers presents “Slipping Glimpses” ~ New Work by Erin Leon.
ARTIST STATEMENT
This body of work began with a dream.
I dreamt I had moved into a dilapidated mansion with my mother…in the back of my mind, I knew that insanity lived in the house before us. In the dream, I woke to the house feeling so hot. I had to find the thermostat to turn the heat down. I crossed a large, empty ballroom- seafoam green paint peeling from the walls, six ornate marble fireplaces on the hexagonal walls, a grand chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling, faceted crystals still dusty with webs….and the floor giving way to a pouncing- as if it were that of a dancers’ studio. As I went to adjust the temperature- all six fireplaces alit with a blue, orange glow…and immediately I was whisked into the air by six blue ghosts. They waltzed with me under the chandelier. It was- all at once- effortless, loving, and ephemeral. In awe, I asked the ghosts, “Are you real”? And they dropped me, and I awoke. I was disheartened with my lack of belief and began drawing…. only wishing to feel that dance once more.
The first of my chandeliers, “Wovoka ~ Under a Chandelier”, came to me immediately. The name is from the creator of the Ghost Dance, Wovoka, a Paiute spiritual leader, and Native American leader. He believed that by dancing this dance one could experience a union of the living with the those that have passed. When I learned this, during my research of
ghost dance, it made think of those that have transcended before me. My ancestors. I draw for them and for you. Wovoka also means “cutter” or “woodcutter”, which had been one of my primary disciplines of printmaking, another interesting fact. Most of the chandeliers have been influenced by waltzes both classic and modern. I tried to convey the movement of dance in my mark making process. My daughter, a ballerina, also taught me to waltz in our kitchen, so I could translate the feeling to drawing.
