Talking Leaves  Series - 2001
1'X 1' oils on masonite


VIEW TALKING LEAVES PORTFOLIO

The Cherokee way of seeing and interacting in the world acknowledges the interrelatedness of things and the existence of forces more powerful than human beings. There is a story about two Cherokee women having a conversation with birds while they were doing their laundry outdoors. I interpreted their communication as being telepathic within the languages that each species had access to. The Cherokee referred to the symbols in their alphabet as talking leaves. My ‘Talking Leaves’ series represents unspoken communication, the foundation of abstract art. The carmine palette of these paintings is characteristic of fire, the central symbol of the Cherokee people, because of their belief that fire can see into the heart.