When Dana and I first discussed showing together I was both excited and apprehensive. Excited to collaborate with another's energy: apprehensive because of our obvious differences in styles and the fear of not really knowing where to go with it. In working with Dana I felt supported with trust and no judgment, which felt necessary to the process. I admired Dana's fearless exploration of her media, her acceptance of whatever comes out of her tinkering with color, form and texture, her delving into the subject matter of symbols and dreams. I learned from her that it is okay not to really know the WHY, that an artist must support the mystery in creating, and invite that which is not known.
I tried to work with letting go of having such perfect control of my work. With Dana's work up on the studio walls I worked right among her images. I found myself "borrowing" her colors, and then learned she was doing the same with mine.
I know what I see around me influences me every day, usually things of beauty, especially that in nature. This planet is so astoundingly beautiful how can an artist not be inspired by it?
I have been interested for a long time in the nature of boundaries, the edges of things: where water meets earth, where the sky meets both, light and dark. It feels like a unique energy that happens where and when opposites meet. It is dynamic and changing, a constant dance between chaos and order.
- Terry Nelson, 2011
For more information about Terry Nelson's work contact the Lucia Douglas Gallery, Bellingham, WA