It was the end of May in 2022 when our son and family came down to visit. Lowe was not yet 5, and her pace during our walk along Sligo Creek was just right. She communicated with a tiny caterpillar, made a home for it with a leaf, and set the tone I needed. We meandered slowly along a path of wood chips. I began to pick up twigs and small shapes of wood that “called to me.”

I was reminded, as I collected and placed more and more twigs and bits of wood on my studio table, that I often clean and lay out chicken bones in my kitchen. There is something about the rhythm, and the similarity to letters and symbols…. Bit by bit I walked, collected, placed, contemplated, and organized my treasures in different ways. I would choose one, hold it in my hand, and wait for a sense of what it needed. If it needed smoothing I would wrap it with plaster gauze, then smooth more with spackle, then paint with layers of encaustic. Slowing down had opened up a new well.