job sleeves, paper collage materials, copper tacks, small hammer, table cut in half, markers, small vessels
installation 9′ x 6′ x 3′, each piece 7″ x 9″
don’t settle on tomorrow was my first project in which visitors were invited to contribute directly to the work during the exhibition. Participants could work within the gallery, take materials home and return them later, and choose to leave their contributions behind as part of the installation. The project began with a poem and a series of collaged elements reflecting on the dangers of postponing life for some imagined future moment. The title references the tendency to defer dreams, risks, creativity, and joy until conditions seem ideal, while the work itself encourages participation in the present. Contributions created a layered record of responses, additions, and shared authorship. The installation was also shaped by a desire to challenge traditional hierarchies within art and education. Many of my students attended the exhibition, and their work appeared alongside my own. Rather than separating artist, teacher, student, and audience, the project created space for collaboration and exchange. Creativity is something that exists across communities rather than within a single voice, and this reflects on the value of making, sharing, and participating now rather than waiting.
