On Ladders (vs Fences)

Half a Ladder

Back in October 2000, I had originally planned on exploring ladders as a motif for a new series of work. This was during a workshop with Nancy Crow at Ghost Ranch in Northern New Mexico.

Due to a variety of reasons, I went with fences instead. Basically half of a ladder. While it was indeed informed by a photo of a fence in my father’s backyard, I have also always viewed it as a partial ladder.

I’ve always wondered if I had chosen full ladders if the series would have run as long. My gut tells me probably not as the openness of the fence “E” motif is so flexible and the two parallel lines of the ladder are more closed and restrictive.

Why Ladders

Having grown up in Northern New Mexico and spent countless hours crawling up and down the ladders at Bandelier National Monument, I have a personal connection to the motif.

Much of it centered around fear.

I am always very cautious around ladders and avoid them as much as possible.

When I think back to my childhood days at Bandelier, one of the strongest memories is how terrified I was to climb down the ladders, especially the ones going up to the Ceremonial Cave (now known as Alcove House). There are 4 ladders leading up to the site.

The current day ladders at Bandelier (I took the image at the top of this post in 2025) are much more sturdy looking than what I remember as a kid. Even so – these are pretty scary looking. Going up isn’t so bad – it is the coming down I do not like at all.

This is another reason I doubt the series would have been as enduring as Structures has been. Fear vs barries & boundaries. Hm. Although that that I think of it – that could be quite interesting to explore.

Nine years into my Structures series (and still going strong), I did give ladders a go.

These three small pieces were the result. I wanted to try out an approach that wasn’t the obvious. Building each section of the ladder line by line. The instability of the structure being integral to the meaning.

Some day maybe I will explore this further.

I teach classes (both in person and online) the techniques I use in constructing my work. While I no longer offer this course online, I do teach it in person if a group invites me to an interesting location. Most recently I taught this course in Spain in 2024.

I call the course Intentional Piecing, as I never do any strip pieing (which means sewing together long strips and then cutting them apart). I don’t like the resulting predictable repetition from strip piecing. I instead look to be more intentional in the spacing, color and size of my shapes and lines.

In this course, I use ladders as the motif for everyone to explore the techniques. And my students always come up with unique and interesting compositions.

Below is my teaching sample. A different in approach to the Ascending Series above, as it is much more approachable for a class.

The Path Not Taken

Sometimes the paths we don’t take tell us as much as the ones we do.

Not choosing the ladders showed me that openness and flexibility sustain my curiosity far longer than a motif that feels closed or loaded with personal tension.

Even so, the ladder is still there in the background, waiting patiently for its turn.