Cotton Studies

Here is my photograph for my entry into the Seasons show at Young Blood Gallery. Lot's of people grow cotton in rural Georgia and while driving through the farms and fields recently I was reminded of childhood and the onset of the fall. I used to love going to all the festivals celebrating the harvest season, good food, friends, carnival rides. I mean, what more can you ask for?

I picked this cotton from my grandfathers farm a few weeks ago. I figured I was rescuing it from a life of service as a napkin or pair of underwear or something. It's still pretty amazing to me that you plant a seed in the ground and make sure it get's enough water and care and three months later you have food or some other commodity like cotton or sorghum. I wanted to create a piece for the show that reminded people that something like cotton is interesting and beautiful even before it gets converted into the things we are more familiar with like clothing and linens.