Happy New Year! We welcome 2021 and all that it has in store for us! Last year was a trying one for many. In 2020 we saw change in almost every aspect of our lives - personal, professional, and everything in between. While some of these changes resulted in a positive shift of pace or priority, others drug us “kicking and screaming” into spaces of great discomfort, instability, anxiety, and frustration.
You might have noticed a common theme as many sought to leave 2020 behind us. “A new year, a fresh start and everything will be better this time!” Well, 2021 is not guaranteed to solve all the problems but the rest of it is true. A new beginning feels hopeful. We may be in the dead of winter now, but it won’t be long before spring comes with cleansing showers and growth. Then summer with sunshine and a joyful splash. And after that the crisp air of autumn will offer an opportunity to clear minds and prepare for rest.
Artist Gene Owens reflected on this idea when creating a sculpture series of four porcelain trees, one for each season. He said the winter tree took him the longest to create. He wrestled with how to depict this final season. What should it look or feel like? In conversation with OJAC’s Director and Curator he said,
“Finally in a flash it hit me how I wanted to finish it. Did you notice how feminine it looks? It looks like and feels like the blush on the face of a woman with child. To me winter gives birth to the other three seasons!”
Winter Tree, Spring Tree, Summer Tree, Autumn Tree, Gene Owens, 1982, Porcelain, 2009.17, 14, 15, 16
You might be elated at the start of the new year or you might have anxiety for the unknown, either way we look ahead with great anticipation. We can’t know what is to come but we do know there will be many different seasons both up and down and this present moment, the winter season, gives birth to it all.
Molly Gore Merck
Education Coordinator