When asked what inspires her as an artist, Ruth Daniels answers, “Everything from A – Z inspires me. Art, books, candy, detritus, entertainment, fractals, games, horses, images, Japanese prints, knowledge, labyrinths, magnetic fields, nature, optical illusions, patterns, quilts, rakes, Stonehenge, tools, UFO’s, Vikings, wavelengths, x-rays, yarn, Zen.”

She is also motivated to save the planet: ever since she read Linda Weintraub’s Cycle-Logical Art: Recycling Matters for Eco-Art, Daniels has been busy using up her art supplies. “Once this inventory is depleted,” says Daniels. “My intention is to make the most of fewer supplies focusing on less is more.” Because Daniels won first prize in the 2013 3D Small Works Salon, the results of her past year’s inspiration and motivation will be on display at the Chandler Gallery.

“Progression” includes two different explorations: “Shift” and “Tangled.” Many of the pieces in “Shift” are constructed from thin boards connected with waxed thread or nails. In “SHIFT 11,” the boards form an angular oval over 6 feet tall that hangs from the wall. The labyrinthine influence is apparent in “SHIFT 14,” as the boards wrap around themselves in a loose coil, gaining and losing height as they reach the orange center. According to Daniels, “the working process for the newer wood pieces can collapse and expand and be manipulated in different directions,” and she characterizes this malleability as “a metaphor depicting how one morphs through growth and experiences.”

Daniels created the “Tangled” series to answer her need for portable artwork, and the pieces became a source of calm as she stole time during her busy schedule to complete them. Daniels fashioned the pieces from rags, thread, rope, and wire because “these materials allow for flexibility and structure simultaneously.” Like “SHIFT 11,” “Tangled 4” hangs from the wall in an elongated oval. A third of the oval is composed of white cotton thread wrapped in a spiral half hitch, and the rest of the oval is made of braided rags, some also bound with spiral half hitches in red, salmon or beige thread. When displayed from the green wooden peg, the braided strands give a sense of downward movement, and as the oval loops around the lowest point and meets the white cotton thread, the spiral half hitches act as an Archimedes’ screw to carry the eye back up to the peg. Within the braid, this pattern of movement is repeated in miniature. Studying this work is a meditative experience, not unlike Daniels’ experience as she created it.

“Progression” will be on display at the Chandler Gallery from June 20 through August 1, 2014 with an opening reception on Friday, June 27 from 6-8 pm.