Biography

John Rodzvilla is a Malden-based artist who also works for a Cambridge publishing house. He is an active member of several online mail art communities. He has participated in several mail art shows around the country and other local group shows. Recently he has been working on paintings based on microscopic organisms and maintains a general interest website- guttertype.com.

Roots & Rhizomes

Winter is a time for sleep. I find myself going to bed earlier, waking up later, needing more coffee to make it through the day. On weekend mornings, I would much rather stay under the thick down comforter than get up and walk on the cold wood floor. Even just to go get the mail I need to Dress in layers- sweaters, heavy wool coats, gloves, hats, boots. Winter forces preparation in order to go about our daily lives. There’s no quick start to the day, but long deliberate decision on what to do and how to traverse icy roads.

The rest of nature sees this as foolish. Why not stay inside and sleep; conserve energy; wait for spring? The trees are silent in their disapproval. Only the hare and a few foolish starlings or the neglected stray cat cross the snow-covered yard, their tracks leaving records of where they’ve been.

Beneath the snow, beneath the leaves and the grass and the topsoil studded with small rocks, there is still some movement. The roots and bulbs of plants send out tentative shoots to pull nutrients and water in. This underground world is the real world of the winter. It is our deep unconscious allowed more time to dream. It is the burrows of the rabbits and moles lost in hibernation. Beneath the surface, winter’s cold and blinding snow cannot reach and life goes on slowly, quietly; preparing for the show in spring.