Soul Map to Freedom

This is the fourth in a series of works that I started about 2000. The original inspiration stemmed from a photo of an ancient map that had rotted along the the edges of the folds.

One of the initial challenges was how to create the deteriorated look along the edges of the squares. I was able to come up with an acceptable solution using heavy watercolor paper with hand torn edges and acrylic molding paste.

Over the years, my technique has evolved yet the unique process that I go through to complete one of these is like no other type of art I have ever created. The first stage involves the preparation which can take weeks or months. I am making the blank squares and I am thinking about how many I might need. When making the 28 square version, I generally have 50 or more finished squares that I arrange and rearrange over a period of time until I come up with the one that clicks.

What is really interesting about this process is that instead of me having a preconceived vision of what it will look like prior to creating it, this type of work has to reveal itself to me over a period of time as I am going through the process of making the art and living my life. I don't know what it is going to look like but I have to open my heart and mind so it will come to me.

Soul Map to Freedom came together for me with a question. I was at a friend's home and he had his XM radio tuned to a Jamaican radio station. There was an advice program on hosted by a woman with a rich melodic voice. At the end of her program she signs off with a "thought for the day" and it was, "If you are not fully free then you must ask yourself, Why?"