This artwork was inspired by slope fields, one of the topics in my calculus class. I was  surprised to be inspired by calculus, but thought that using a slope field would be a neat way to represent the various directions in either a person’s life, or just in a moment, because slope fields mark the possibilities of how particular equations will flow. dy/dx = (y+2)e^x could be anyone’s divided path, with a straight route to infinity, a pre-viewed turn in a new direction, or a decline into the unknown. I chose to use a slope field to represent direction in a life partly because I like the contrast between the precision of math and the organic nature of people, though rotated the field to take away from the idea of there being an x and y axis. 

Materials in this piece include pressed and laminated rose petals, cereal boxes, chip bags, clear plastic, cardstock, tulle fabric, and my favorite material, laminated panels of brown palm leaves, collected from neighbors after a winter storm week in Texas left lots of our plants dead. I used an exacto knife to cut swirling patterns out of the laminated leaves through which the silver chip bags could show.

36 x 70 inches