The historian figure is looking behind him at his past – his back is made up of petroglyphs from ancient rock sites. He uses this history to inform and imagine his future.
The figure has been prominent in Julie’s work for more than 30 years. In 2004, a standing figure format emerged incorporating the figure’s environment onto the surface creating a narrative. Clay is her preferred medium because it lends itself to her intuitive creative process. “The clay literally guides me and takes me someplace new. Generally the work becomes a puzzle for me to solve.” Once the form is created and fired, then it is a blank canvas without a clear narrative. It is in the finishing that everything comes together. Julie incorporates some glazing with oil pigments, acrylics, stolen ink (gel medium transfers), graphite, prisma colors, fire and anything that might create an interesting effect. The pieces are titled to assist in the narrative but yet leaving interpretation open.