How Fire Works Artwork

This work is about our species’ destructive potential in the natural environment we share. As is now clear, if we aren’t careful about the way we live on the Earth, damage and suffering will follow as nature’s systems are thrown out of balance. It is said that humans are the only species that does not instinctively act in its own best interest. Our abuse of the natural environment is ultimately harmful to ourselves. My images are often informed and influenced by images and objects from Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions, especially the practice of rendering even the most violent and tragic subjects in delicately rendered and highly decorative compositions. I found these beautifully made vintage Scandinavian dinner plates and painted each one with a different flame formation. It is my hope that the contrast between the subject of the title and the carefully painted plates will serve to heighten the violence described even as the viewer admires the fine objects and carefully painted images. Antique painted Japanese signs were the inspiration for this and other works. I am a wood carver and have often coloured my wooden sculptures. So I enjoy the sharp, vivid and often brightly coloured graphic that adorned old Japanese shop signs. The individual plates are easy to hang. Being lightweight, a D-ring is easily attached to the back of the plate and hooked over a small wall nail.

Multi-paneled Mixed Media:Enamel on Wood

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:27.6 W x 59.1 H x 0.8 D in

Number of Panels:9

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.