Monthly Statement:
February 2006
The wet winter continued in the Bay area, but I was able to get out and collect on several occasions. I’ve noticed that the gum seems to be settling in in slightly different areas. We’re talking only twenty or thirty feet away, not really that far, but still it took me a little to find the main gum deposits. It will be interesting to see if this is a long-term shift or just temporary. A total of 19 pieces for the month.

Process: I've been collecting detritus from the San Francisco bay for four years, and have noticed that it sorts itself into two categories: top floaters and bottom floaters. Gum is a bottom floater meaning it can only be found at low tide on shorelines with a very wide inter-tidal region. I carefully plan my collection visits according to the tide schedule, in locations I've previously identified to be rich in bottom floaters. Back at the studio I wash the collected items and place them in bags for later use.