Cynthia St. Charles Store

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Fossils Series Continued





Last year, I started a series related to fossils. I created a lot of Thermofax screens of fossils and began printing fabric. This winter, I wanted to explore fossil imagery a bit more, so I painted a new color group - muted earthy colors - and spent a little time printing in the wet studio.

The resulting fabrics have been stitched together in strips - to express the layers of early life on this planet now buried and fossilized.

I remember digging for trilobites as a child with my grandfather and extended family. We all took a day trip to the Horseshoe Hills in the Gallatin Valley (where we lived). I seem to remember that we had access to the area on account of the fact that my Uncle Bud was running his band of sheep there for summer pasture. I am not sure how accurate the details of this memory are, but I do know that I was very interested in the fossils we found. I remember my grandfather digging with a pick, and I remember that it was a hot sunny day. I was probably 7 or 8 years old.

2 comments:

  1. Love the layers, Cynthia, and the subtle colors work beautifully. This piece is going to be a wonderful tribute to a vague memory of childhood and family.

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  2. The degrees of separation keep getting smaller. I grew up in the Gallatin Valley in Belgrade. (We went to the Horseshoe Hills to pick chokecherries.) My dad taught school at BHS. But I found my first fossils out around Shepherd, MT, during my first year of teaching in 1964. Your lovely work brings back a flood of happy memories. Thank you for your gift of creativity.
    ~Jan Myhre

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