26
Part of Double Layers, a story told in sky and skin, code and memory.
Keyword: Lift
Media:
5x5 archival pigment print on 7x7 Hahnemühle German Etching paper with hand-torn edges;
Dye-sublimation print on ChromaLuxe Matte Maple panel (7x7 on 8x10)
Artist Statement & Personal Interpretation:
I printed several versions of this image—some on Hahnemühle etching paper, others as snapshot prints, and even a few laser prints. Each paper choice echoed an emotional register: value vs. cheapness, permanence vs. immediacy. The repetition of text across materials became an accidental but powerful gesture. The image itself—a toned sky-blue feather, light on one side and weighted on the other, overlaying a flock of birds—was first photographed as a panoramic moment and later cropped to a 5x5 square. In the lower-left corner, faintly visible, is the number “26,” reversed.
Choosing which version to finalize felt like the project’s central metaphor. I was stuck between options, but also liberated by them. It wasn’t about the best or most beautiful outcome—it was about choosing what was right for me, now. That tension—between intuitive clarity and emotional weight—is what gives this piece its charge.
The keyword Lift came late, but once it did, everything clicked. On the etching print, the text “weighing options” failed to land—it felt too direct, too heavy-handed—so I removed it from the panel version. The panel, a soft 8x10 format, carries the image alone. That image, now free of captions, exists in ambiguity. Is the feather a sign? A remnant? A warning? Or a path?
Symbolism was layered in long before I noticed. When I began dating my love, I started finding white feathers everywhere. I kept some. This is one of them. Blue, in its spiritual and psychological meanings, suggests clarity, truth, trust, and the throat chakra: speaking boundaries. Chalcedony, a stone associated with emotional balance and communication, mirrors these associations. The feather floats between light and weight, right and left—conscious direction and intuition. In that way, it becomes not just a symbol, but a fork in the road.
The number 26 holds quiet significance in my life. I was married at 26. I’ve recently lost 15 pounds since the breakup—quiet evidence that the body keeps score, and also lets go. I’ve even daydreamed about losing 26 pounds total. Today, I literally weighed the prints in the full series. It weighed exactly 15 pounds In a recent card reading, 26 emerged again, connected to the image of a book and the idea of shared study, checking facts, and gathering insight. It was an answer to a question no one asked—a spontaneous declaration that lingered without resolution. But is the answer 26?
The feather almost becomes the path your two feet straddle. A stall in progress is felt—an edge, a hesitation—on the journey that began in Clarity. In the moment captured here, I’m literally weighing whether or not to let my love back in. I’ve set a boundary, but it feels like a hard path to walk. Lift does not offer resolution. Instead, it suspends the choice. I stand between past grief and future hope, between partners and self, between wish and wisdom. The image fails to land, and that’s exactly what makes it fly.
My experience creating “26”:
I had a hard time deciding which way to go with this image. For the etching print I wanted to trim exactly like Clarity print to keep that thought going. The subject matter is a blue feather, overlapping a flock of birds. When judging the feather, it feels heavy on the right side and airy on the left. The text feels heavy and obtrusive lowering the quality of the image. This was the best option I had to be able to move on from 26.
I played with another image that didn’t quite work. I also printed 26 as a snapshot print. It made the print lighter but felt synthetic.
The panel print is the same image as the etching, without any text. The question of weight is never answered directly. It’s only hinted at by the departure in the naming structure.
Symbolism of a blue feather:
A blue feather often symbolizes communication, truth, peace, and spiritual clarity. It’s associated with the throat chakra—speaking one’s truth, asking for what you need, and being heard. It can also suggest a gentle message from the divine or from within—an encouragement to trust your path, especially during transformation or healing. In grief or love, it may represent a whisper of connection or presence, something that’s passed but not lost.