Susan Gary-Lorica

Working with the body almost exclusively is, for me, like a mantra or salve that soothes and grounds me in my own embodiment experience. I work intuitively to 'find' the body in particular materials that inspire this impulse. These materials are most often wire and wood from nature or weathered found wood, which I find hold shape and expression of the body. I use these materials in combination or on their own and use carving, paint and found objects if need be, to "bring out" the image I see. The work has a sculptural or assemblage quality because the body naturally wants dimension.

My materials are always the starting point for me. I feel I am being asked to use what is there, to trust what has drawn me to them in the first place. It is a practice, really---this act of starting with what is there. It is my way, I think, of assuring myself that it is only through the material nature of my own physical body, rather than the rejection of it, that I find the truest connection to my spirit.