Woodworth Art

I work in a law firm Monday through Thursday.  Other than the 36 hours a week I call myself a Paralegal, I consider myself an artist.  My friends are artists, my husband is an artist, there are artists, writers and creatives in my family.  It’s no wonder they are genuinely surprised to learn that I’m also a paralegal.  “Law is  so left-brained,” one lady told me, “so . . . NOT you.”

I like my law-firm life, and lately, it’s been spilling over into my art life.  A series of work is emerging from expired law books, and it reminds me why I was attracted to law in the first place.

Law is the summation of our society’s philosophy.  It’s how we have defined right from wrong and the procedures for how things “ought” to be done.  Law addresses our human rights . . . and responsibilities.  Law is steady and sure where art is not.

This piece is called, “Water’s Law.”  The face is my own, cast in glass with bits of dichroic that change in the light.   The glass is mounted on stainless steel stand offs I drilled into a California Water Law book I bought at Urban Ore in Berkeley.  Inside are handwritten quotes from friends, family and famous authors relating to water, our most precious resource.  I’m not sure which is my favorite – the list of childhood water holes my mother recalled for me, the quote from A River Runs Through It, or Ben Franklin’s observation that we won’t truly know the value of water until the well runs dry.

It’s interesting to me to see my two separate lives merge into one.  I used to keep them completely separate.   My law firm friends have learned about my flaky artist side that continually seeks beauty.  My artist friends have learned about my serious side that continually seeks perfection and organization.  As for me, I realize I’m a lucky lady to have both of these aspects in my life.