Collages
|
Different processes are used depending on the materials. With sturdy components it is one of reduction and simplification. If all the layers were to be peeled back, the beginnings that emerge might be bright and active. However, the lengthy ritual of pasting and sanding eventually shapes the piece into an arrangement of essential forms. The addition of each layer further modifies the color, making it more enigmatic. Nothing is preconceived. Each step directs what will follow, and there is no turning back since everything is glued as it is placed. Found and recycled objects are important, though these bits of the past seldom retain their identity. “Cannibalizing” old drawings, prints and painted papers restore past failures to a new level of acceptance. Work developed primarily from self-made paper and organic materials is constructed more simply because of its fragile nature. The process is less vigorous, but essentially the same as that used for more stable items. The grid series was begun in 1990. In various adaptations I have set out to establish a grid then make it disappear. The process involves gessoing and painting paper with acrylics. The back of the sheet has been marked off in 1" squares and the paper is then cut into 1,2 and 3" squares which are further cut into geometric shapes as needed. It's not unlike solving a jig saw puzzle without the help of a finished picture for clues.
|
|
|
|
|
