pad-soft, whisker driven, intricate,
a twisted run through timber, brush and tall grasses.
We-dogs work this trail with nose and eyes, confronting food,
avoiding the unfamiliar.
If man-made, the trail is wide and clear ,
pad-hard, wheel-driven, open and blunt.
They-dogs run this trail with eyes closed.
We-dogs watch for them. We do remember contact.
But they are unsafe, as exposed on these trails as they are.
We too are unsafe on the man-trails.
White Geese
Meringues
Hibernation
II. Hibernation & Possibilities
Artist's Statement
I was born and raised in Northern Ontario. My father was born on the Fort William Reserve. His father was of mixed Ojibwe parents and his mother Acadian. My mother is a war bride from England and all of my family’s stories speak of the rich experience of mixed cultures and the raw newness of the North American frontier.
The story is the primary intent of the images you will find here. Figures, actions and places, whether observed or imagined, are brought together to convey the nature of experience, feeling or vision. Beginning with line, forms grow and incline toward recognizable figures. Figures touch, or don’t touch creating the impression of relationship. If I can keep the lines and forms strong, and the relationships clear, a story will be told and will have an effect on the viewer even if I made it all up.
Va McCoy