Louise Kames

“Slow down your seeing.” This is a directive I often give to students in my drawing classes, as well as a practice I endeavor to follow myself. It opens the door to seeing and feeling the sensitive and often ephemeral relationships between forms.

Whether in drawings, prints or installations, my work follows a history of slowed seeing. Fallen branches, uprooted garden vegetables and scattered organic matter are claimed from roadside walks and taken to the studio to become still life subjects. I draw from direct observation, calling in the limits of my senses. It’s a meditative practice that recalls the rigor of a religious practitioner. Organic forms sometimes wilt while I engage them, as my observation charts their minute changes in structure, yielding forms striking and yet subtle.

I find pleasure and solace in the simple act of seeing and wish to share this experience with others through my work. My hope is to draw the viewer into a similar contemplative space.

IA