On Edge
I approach my work as an experimenter . Process and chance are what most inspire me . Early in my career , the etchings that John Cage did at Crown Point Press made an indelible impression on me . Cage used chance actions to create an exciting body of work that broke traditional printmaking rules and aligned his art with a spirtual practice . Instead of perfect registration , Cage made daily consultations with the I Ching to determine the placement of plates on the press bed . He made a lighthearted game of it , using the plate edges to create a dynamic record of experience . That emphasis on the edge being the place where interesting breakthroughs occur is something that continues to inform my work today .
I see my studio as a laboratory for ideas and testing ground for methods and materials . I have always been drawn to the vibrant matter of the earth , along with the traditions of cultivating and working with them . This started over twenty years ago with my training in hand papermaking and continues today with my use of encaustic . The materials I work with can be traced back to their natural sources : beeswax , resin and pigments are derived from animals , plants and minerals . My sculptures activate natural forces as well . Their shapes , colors , densitites and substances result from the same processes that continually shape and re-shape the earth : collision , eruptions , expansion , erosion , friction and enfolding .
Image Credit : all photos by Katie Lobel