Diana's Wisteria/Yucca & Steel Mask

Diana’s Wisteria / Yucca & Steel Mask
2023–2024
The item was exchanged for in-kind services in Galisteo NM.
 

In 2023, Diana handed me several branches of Wisteria from her garden twisted, knotted cuttings full of potential and history. She offered them with the hope that I might create something from their uniquely contorted forms vines like ropes, alive with movement even in death.

As someone always searching for meaningful materials, I welcomed the gift, but it challenged me more than I expected. The Wisteria sat in my studio for over a year. I was intimidated. How could I transform this vine already sculptural in its natural state into something that honored both the material and the person who gave it to me?

In New Mexico, surrounded by harsh textures and resilient flora, I paired the Wisteria with elements native to the landscape: Yucca and steel. The result is a mask a form both symbolic and direct. It is meant to capture attention, to confront, to speak without words.

Diana, herself married to a renowned painter, surprised me by giving the piece a home in their space in Galisteo. That gesture was humbling. It’s the only time I’ve worked with Wisteria, and perhaps the last. But in that singular experience, it taught me patience, respect, and how to trust the process even when it takes longer than expected.