10 Days Before the Adventure Begins

Jesse James, age 17
Platte City, Missouri
July 10, 1864








I've been thinking about this project for seven years. As with much of my work, the universe sometimes aligns, providing me with the right combination of inspiration, time, & the 3 C's--creativity, courage, and craziness.

My fascination with Jesse James stems from childhood family lore---tales of our blood kinship to the notorious outlaw Jesse James. While some girls bragged of their pedigreed ancestral lineage to the  Daughters of the American Revolution, I could usually bring conversations to a stuttering halt when announcing my consanguinity to the daring outlaw.

In 2015, I traveled to Paris--a pilgrimage of sorts, searching for clues and similar characteristics about my namesake--the author Colette. I embarked upon a performative journey into the literary history of Paris and more specifically into the fictional stories of Colette. I filmed at the sites where she lived and wrote, imagining her life, her struggles and her triumphs. The resulting exhibition Becoming Colette shown at The Reading Room in Dallas (January 2016), featured five video book sculptures and a series of prints embodying visual and textual palimpsests. The work simultaneously revealed and obscured the aspects of both the woman and the writer, as well as her connection to place.

 Album Cover from 1960 of Colette reading
Composer and musician Dallin B. Peacock created an original sound work fusing his music with a 1960 recording of Colette reading excerpts of Gigi, Chéri and Flore et Pomone in French.

Solar Plate Etching

Chino Colle

Linocut Intaglio Relief

So while I knew that My Jesse James' Adventure would involve another performative journey---one that spanned many days and miles, for he was quite a prolific outlaw, my quest goes beyond the personal connection of a namesake or literary heritage.   To be continued....