Julia Harris

Hello Yuma Community!  

My first Yuma experience is still months away and I’m already getting a lot out of it.  Even if you and I haven’t met, and if even if we don’t meet in February, just the possibility that we might has given me a powerful and much-needed nudge.   

I enjoy my materials (wood mostly) and techniques (carving, bending, construction…) to such an extent that I often drag my heels the closer I come to a final product (sculpture or jewelry).  Remember when you were a kid and you’d spend the afternoon running around your best friend’s house but when your parents came to pick you up you’d walk towards the door in slow-motion, as if waist-deep in flood water?  This urge to prolong the fun is probably why my desk is piled with pieces in various stages of non-completion.  

But now you are the parents at the door, gently reminding me that it’s time to wrap things up and put away the toys.  I can’t just stand up in front of an audience with a bunch of chewed-up chunks of wood and elaborate hand gestures and ask you to squint your eyes and imagine how  this chunk might one day comment on mortality or generosity or competition.  

So while I will certainly address my materials and techniques, I plan to have some shiny-new work to share.  Something I’ve been enjoying lately is working with veneer to create lightweight forms with subtle patterning.  It’s a lot like working with construction paper--the key accessories being tape, glue, and scissors.  

I am also really excited to see your work and hear about how you make it.  If we find ourselves in conversation, you can bet that these are some issues I’ll be curious about:  

What stage of your process do you find the most satisfying?  

How do you know when to stop?  

Do you ever wish you’d stopped sooner?  

Now back to work (play).  See you in February!

Julia Harrison

www.juliaharrison.net