connections

in the end I made four collages... the first took the longest, the fourth came the quickest (though it is also the smallest)

the second and the third are the most interesting compositionally

in the image below they appear in this order

3    2

4    1

I think because of it's simplicity #4 was my initial favourite and I had a hankering to add stitching to it

for reasons I didn't understand I decided it needed a dark fence added to the landscape

fences were not common in the Yukon though with the number of people moving there from the rest of Canada fences are now becoming more and more common, especially in town

anyway, I wanted a fence and though it made no sense whatsoever I decided that was the point of sampling - so you could scratch the itches and see where they take you

nothing ventured, nothing gained

I had barely finished it and my thoughts wandered here...

an image of the Chilkoot Trail from 1898

(this section is often referred to as "The Golden Staircase")

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police required that each person crossing in to the Yukon had to have a specific amount of food and gear in order to survive for one year and it would have weighed in at approx. 2000 pounds

estimates are it required a minimum of fourty trips over the Chilkoot Trail to haul in that amount of gear 

day after day, week after week, month after month they climbed and carried

as I looked at the little fence I stitched, delighted with the results, I realized that if it was angled up the mountain side it would be like the climbers on the chilkoot

so that's what I did

that never-ending line

I stitched them in the same manner as the fence, first the uprights, then a linking stitch, under two posts, loop around and back under the second one and the next one and repeat and as I went I realized these tough, tough men and women (yes, they climbed it too) were also a fence

linked together they could support each other if needed - independence was valued (and required) but people also recognised that sometimes people needed a helping hand 

fences stand strong when each of the posts are strong, but when one can't be, the others will hold it upright until it is 

it's these connections that I love about the work I do - they make me think and lead my work into interesting places