compendium

Compendium, 2023, Limited variable edition of 8. Box with blizzard divider, letterpress, digital prints and typewriter on paper with stones, minerals, and shells collected by the artist. Closed dimensions are  5” x 7” x 1”. Display dimensions (as seen) are approximately 15” x 10” x 5”. 

Collected by University of Miami, Richter Library, Special Collections

My personal collection of rocks, shells and minerals is a random, disorganized assortment of objects without dates or notes, gathered from forests, beaches and deserts over my life time. Even years after finding an object, I can hold it in my hand and remember certain details about where I found it, what the weather was like, and my state of mind on that day. This prompts the question, are these objects just pretty trinkets or are they better understood as devices for memory recall?

Compendium contains three main components: stones, shells and minerals from my collection, printed representations of my experiences framed as specimens, and a three-part notebook which poses questions about the compendium’s purpose and meaning. The watercolor illustration on the lid came from  sketches of objects I collected (and left behind) at recent residency in Iceland. I printed the letterpress elements at Springtide Press in Tacoma, Washington using Jessica Spring’s incredible collection of plates and ornaments, and in the process, forged a connection forged between one collector/collection and another. It was after a bone-chilling plunge into Puget Sound, when we gathered a few interesting pebbles from the shore that I began to examine my life-long habit of picking up rocks and shells. This project was an opportunity to examine this habit in a new light, and to pass objects from my personal collection to other collectors, reframing the purpose of my compendium as a vessel for both individual and collective memories.