Eau de Vie Series

“Eau de Vie” Series Artist Statement

Eau vive, in French, is running water. Water from a spring, live water. “Eau de vie”, my new series, is more: water of life, early morning rain, larks in a meadow. Dawn’s rosy fingers, the wine dark sea. The promise in a cloud. Also, a human construct. Booze, spirits, distilled fruit to celebrate a good harvest, the birth of your child, life bubbling over.  And sometimes: drinking alone. Floods. New Orleans. A well run dry. Parched fields. Water rights, water fights. Don’t drink the water. In Santa Fe, on the high plateau, I saw someone growing strawberries. No. Don’t. In Las Vegas, in the desert, fountains run day and night. Why? Some say: remove all joy, all celebration. No. Why? Spring showers. Radish seeds sprouting. A Zen garden. Rain barrels. Yellow-booted kids stomping in puddles. Champagne at your wedding. “Eau de vie” is about celebration, really. For the sheer joy of living. At my age, I should know.