My Father's Stuff II

     This same day last year, I shared my experience in emotionally transforming the anniversary week of my dad's passing, which happened to coincide with an Open Studios event here.  Throughout the summer, I continued work on My Father's Stuff and for this year's Open Studios this past weekend, I installed five of the new pieces. As an artist and Christian, I am always amazed and humbled and grateful when I experience God's presence in the process.  I remarked to a friend just last night that I can tell when I'm only "making something" and when I'm truly experiencing His grace.  These pieces, the time spent working on them, being engaged with them, was grace abundant.  And I have the wonderful privilege of knowing the worship they contain and embrace, every time I look at them.
     Below is my artist statement and photographs of the work installed. (Apologies for the big orange date stamp on all the photos.  Oops!)

My Father’s Stuff

Unfinished Works

Though each of these pieces represents a static moment in time, they are in fact the culmination of many moments that transpired in the event of my father’s diagnosis with lung cancer and eventual passing one mid-November afternoon. They continue “My Father’s Stuff”, a body of work I started last year* to sort and process the deeper spiritual and personal truths of my father’s death.  They were created using rusted objects he left behind. Destined for the trash heap, instead these tangible bits and pieces of his life were gathered and collected and used to not only transfer marks to fabric, but also to imprint the remaining bits of message each object possessed.  Collectively, all those marks come together in raw form to tell a story.

And so it is true with each of us. Ever changing, ever evolving, we too are unfinished works, a kind of continuous moments collective. Building upon each experience, we move forward with a new understanding that becomes our reality, if only for a millisecond, until the next bit or piece comes into focus and plays into that understanding.  And when it does, we collect it up into who we are and continue on.  Until the time comes when our gathering here is done, the last bit is collected and dropped into place and we are finished. Our time is complete and our story can be told.

Pam Lacey

November, 2011

* See case display for a portion of the 2010 exhibition and an explanation of “My Father’s Stuff”.

Upheaval of Emotional Kinesis

unbleached muslin, rust-transfer dyed

2011

Escape To Personal Geographies

unbleached muslin, rust-transfer dyed 

2011

The Dismantling

drapery interlining, rust-transfer dyed

2011

Dancing with Emerging Awareness

unbleached muslin, rust-transfer dyed 

2011

The Great Good-Bye Usher

unbleached muslin, rust-transfer dyed

2011

[Case Display]

Portion of 2010 exhibition/

Explanation of My Father’s Stuff

About The Artist

Pam Lacey is a self-taught artist currently working in fiber, metal clay and glass to convey experiential messages centered on transformation.  Just as heat, friction, fusion and most recently, oxidation are necessary to transform and merge her chosen media into finished work, so it is with life and the necessary heat, friction, fusion and oxidation that transforms all of us from who we are to who we will become.  Sometimes organic and spontaneous, sometimes intentional and planned, the end result of transformation shares the message of the transformed.