In 2021, Artificial Heart rebooted out of the need for face masks as protection from Covid-19. The Delta wave was surging in the U.S., and face masks had become a requirement of daily life. Most options were limited to disposable, ill-fitting surgical masks, 2-layer homemade jobs or N95’s that looked like they’d emerged from children’s nightmares.

So I bought an embroidery machine. I made 5-layer masks with abstract designs and multiple lining style and color choices, cut to fit the wearer, and equipped with lanyards that not only hold masks around the neck, but can be employed to reduce tension on the ears. They were a hit, and I churned out over a hundred of them in just a few months.

As my digitizing experience grew, I found myself stitching masks with references to things I think about when I’m making art work: maps, geology, weather patterns, mechanical infrastructural systems and the tenacity of plants. All ideas emerging from experiences I’ve had out in the landscape, via motorcycle or on foot, that consider uncomfortable relationships between the things we build, our attachment to them for comfort, safety and pleasure, and their consequences revealed in social inequity and climate change. I use my own emotions as a starting point; they lead me to throw out lingering questions.

And why not? Masks, after all, are amazing vehicles for communication. I see them as opportunities ;)