Cecil Castellucci’s story caught my attention because it was about memory and the brain. Over time, our memories come to define us. If we could change them by altering brain chemistry, we might change some fundamental aspect of who we are. Remembering and forgetting might have profound consequences, as they do in the story.

Dendrites, named after the Greek word for tree, are branched structures that connect neurons in the brain, building knowledge and memories. Many images came to mind as I read the story, but I kept returning to the shapes of dendrites. The resulting image is a dark forest of neurons in which the self is lost, trying to stay warm by burning bits of memory. In solipsistic fashion, the mind becomes the entire landscape, including the sky.

The day after I chose The Long And Short Of Long Term Memory, I heard a five-minute segment on National Public Radio about the scientist and research that apparently inspired the story. There may soon be ways to pinpoint and erase unwanted memories. What would you keep? What would you burn to stay warm?

Ingrid Kallick

‘Visual Fiction’ or ‘The Metamorphosis of Vision’ evolved from a journal sketch in which I set down concepts and wrote titles of the pieces that would appear in my exhibit. These titles were for both existing works and new ones that I would create. The drawing reflects my creative process and its consequences. When I read Shira’s story, this image, the title piece of my 1986 solo exhibition at The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts immediately came to mind. The original drawing was scanned and extracted from a composition that included hand calligraphy. It was then set into a vertical format for maximum visual effect. ‘Visual Fiction’ or ‘The Metamorphosis of Vision’ evolved from a journal sketch in which I set down concepts and wrote titles of the pieces that would appear in my exhibit. These titles were for both existing works and new ones that I would create. The drawing reflects my creative process and its consequences.

Ilene Winn-Lederer

The vivid imagery in Valente’s story stayed with me for days after I read it, standing out in my subconscious even among all the other superb work in the anthology. When I set to picking a story for the IAF auction, the choice was already made – I could see this image, almost effortlessly forming in my mind. The trick for an artist is, of course, execution. This is very like what I had in mind, and also a pleasant departure, in some ways, from my other work. Instead of an easily-reproduced illustration, I took this opportunity to create something one-of-a-kind and almost dreamily abstract. I must emphasize my gratitude to Ms. Valente for the inspiration and to the Interstitial Arts Foundation for this opportunity.

Sam Haney