Injury, Pain, Repair

This assemblage was shaped during a period of recovery from surgery and the long months of healing and reflection that followed. It traces progression from injury and pain to repair and rehabilitation.

At a distance, the piece reads as a wall: solid, orderly, enduring. Closer inspection reveals its construction and the history embedded in its materials. The mortar shell is hand-pounded from layered fishing weights, its scarred surface bearing the force of repeated impact. A salvaged bridge bolt - once part of a larger structure - becomes a single, deliberate act of repair. Each brick is formed from remnants of old-growth coastal redwood and sequoia. A trowel of copper and brass with a grafted walnut handle stands as a quiet acknowledgment of the human hand. The mortar binding it all together is pine reclaimed from a forest fire – altered, but not erased.

The work is dedicated to Dr. David Walbolt, whose skill and care shaped the experience behind it.

Meaning is left open. The piece does not insist on interpretation, but allows space for recognition, for curiosity, or simply for looking.