sculptural
This work is process-driven and a sensuous experience. A day in the studio often begins and ends with making paper.
After soaking pieces of abaca fibre, I put it through the blender in batches; hands plunging in and out of a deep pan of warm, pulpy water, pulling the screen up and laying it onto insulation foam. As I lift the screen off the surface, a new sheet of paper greets me with it's imperfections. I marvel at how thin I can get them. The repetition is meditative and acts as the threshold both into and out of my creative zone.
As the sheets of paper dry, I turn on an electric frying pan to melt chunks of beeswax I chisel from a large block. The smell permeates the room, further delighting my senses. While the wax melts, I may sit at my sewing machine to assemble multiple sheets of paper together, or pull out some pens and draw.
It's interesting, I think, that many of my tools are domestic objects.
It's through the exploration of materials that forms emerge. As I begin painting melted wax onto paper, something kicks in—I am propelled at a visceral level. Deep in my belly an amorphous mass grows and tries to take shape through my hands. I've tried to understand it and the best I can explain it is here.
2015 beeswax, oil paint on handmade abaca paper (sizes range from aprox. 10-14" wide by 36"-56" high)
2015 beeswax, oil paint on handmade abaca paper
2015 beeswax, oil paint on handmade abaca paper
2015 beeswax, oil paint on handmade abaca paper
2015. Wax, oil paint on abaca paper, yarn, poem.
2015. Wax, oil paint on abaca paper, yarn, poem.
2016 beeswax on handmade abaca paper (sizes range from aprox. 6-12" wide by 30"-45" high)
2016 beeswax on handmade abaca paper and hemp
2016 beeswax on handmade abaca paper and hemp