susurrus

earth mineral plant acrylic painted organic cotton & linen collaged on wood panel

20.5 × 16.5 (cherry wood flush mount framed)

When I am wise in the speech of grass,
I forget the sound of words
and walk into the bottomland
and lie with my head on the ground
and listen to what grass tells me
about small places for wind to sing,
about the labor of insects,
about shadows dank with spice,
and the friendliness of weeds.

When I am wise in the dance of grass,
I forget the name and run
into the rippling bottomland
and lean against the silence which flows
out of the crumpled mountains
and rises through slick blades, pods,
wheat stems, and curly shoots,
and is carried by wind for miles
from my outstretched hands.

-Mary Gray

Inspiration arrives in many forms — an inner or outer landscape, a poem that shifts my perspective, words and symbols deeply felt. Wherever the muse appears, working with natural dyes, earth minerals and textiles is a joy-making process.

Sewing is my first love, but collage opened a floodgate. It offers a freedom to experiment with shape and scale that sewing doesn’t readily allow. I love both: the clean closed seam and the raw cut edge — each a metaphor for life. Moving between them keeps my creative center alive.

The collages begin with natural dyed textiles. The hand dyed fabrics are then painted with pigments and oxides I hand-blend into plant-based acrylic, creating bespoke colors. I build up multiple layers to create desired opacity and depth of color on flax linen, organic cotton and/or hemp, then hand-cut the dried forms and collage them onto wooden panels using natural adhesives. A coat of plant-based varnish finishes the work — framed and ready to hang.

note: please hang away from direct exposure to harsh light (natural/artificial) as well as direct heat source and areas of high moisture.

for international orders, please email for shipping quote.