Natalie Ferguson Dodge
I am a visual artist exploring the relationship between time, change, and memories through wood burning and illustration scaled between 3 inches to 3 feet. With a focus on places I've been and landscapes from impactful memories, I begin my process with illustrations pulled from sketches, original photography, and memory. Slowly burning these memories permanently into wood awards them a stable place in my mind, bringing small details since forgotten to light.
The commitment for every slow stroke is what makes this craft challenging then steadily meditative for me, putting me between a memory and a dream state, with the freedom to look around. I am often paralyzed to start my work, intimidated by the wrong change. Then, I understand that I have a live, equal relationship with this wood, a relationship of trust and growth; trusting that I make the right move, and trusting I can adapt if not. I hope to share this same understanding with viewers because in life, change is inevitable, and it is a choice to adapt and embrace the chance for growth, or simply stay paralyzed.