Artist Statement

A Year in the Life of 8 String Theory Drawings I started these gouache on paper drawings in late 2010, about the same time I was due to give birth to our first baby boy. Needless to say, it was a time of immense change and anticipation. During my pregnancy I decided not to make any art, instead I stored all the ideas in my memory bank for future use. After our son was born, it all came flooding out. Within a year I had made a mountain of work, bought and remodeled an apartment building and helped raise a new baby with the help of an equally busy husband. Why take on so much, crazy? Part of it was having all these ideas stored up inside of me and wanting to see them realized. Another part was proving that a woman artist who has had a baby can have a family and still do the work. In the contemporary art world, we aren't supposed to talk about our feelings or our personal life, unless there is some sort of irony or sarcasm involved as a way to deflate any real feelings of happiness or frustration. Why not come out with it? During this crazy year, these String Theory Drawings were the one constant in my life. I would come to the studio for a couple of hours each day and escape into my work. The evolution of these drawings and how they slowly came into focus over time, each little line stacked upon itself, each color responding to the next, brought me peace and solace in a time of roaring distraction. These eight drawings hold the life of a year.

Growth

Carrie Marill

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