After completing the paintings of the I CHING, I searched for a new path of creative exploration.  I wanted to continue working with a large format, but I needed something that did not take up so much room.  The 64 doors, which are 36x80, are wrapped in denim cases and fill a large storage room.  Next I decided to paint “maps”.  I remembered the maps that used to hang in the schoolroom.  They could be unrolled for viewing and then rolled up again when done.  I stretched canvas on a large frame 52x 80.  When each painting was completed, I removed the canvas and rolled it up for storage. 

A picture is worth a thousand words; a symbol is worth a thousand worlds.

There are times in life when you find yourself in uncharted territory.  No one you know has come this way.  As an artist I seek to expand my consciousness, looking beyond my experience.  I paint “maps of consciousness” so that I can literally see where I am going.  Such a map relies heavily on symbols and the associations that they elicit.
I began my exploration by wondering what the map of expanding consciousness might include.  In the past I relied completely on familiar images and the ordinary way of looking at life around me.  Even now I choose a camel to represent my pilgrimage.  I identify with the grounded figure lacking the power to fly. The creatures that fly have the advantage of seeing the landscape from above.