Earth and Ocean,
Monoprint on Magnani Pescia,
Framed 26" x 24”
Connections,
Monoprint on Magnani Pescia,
Framed 26 " x 24”
Turbulence,
Monoprint on Arches 88,
Wood panel/beeswax, sand
Random visual quirks and oddities arranged by natural forces document fragments of time and suggest aspects of our contemporary culture and circumstances. My recent work is based on the process of erosion, the activity of seemingly solid arrangements of earth silently transformed by gravity and the forces of nature. Things in nature are in metamorphosis, transmuting minute by minute; a serene refuge of the spirit one day, drastically altered and menacing the next. The natural world has always been a sanctuary for me, a place to breathe wind and think and feel, undistracted at last. Revisiting the landscape close to home builds familiarity and personal connection, and that understanding reveals aspects of my identity in the world and my place within it.
I want to transform ink, paint and wax into sand and sea, to construct layered surfaces that become cliffs or ocean or clouds or remain abstract rhythmic patterns. Layers of pigment on paper or canvas relate to layers of land observed over time. My recent monotypes and paintings concern the possibilities of arranging earth’s colors and forms in an enclosed composition, recording aspects and oddities of erosion, and fixing in time the face of the beloved before its demise. The build-up of ink imbedded intimately into the fibers of the paper, or layers of paint that are brushed, sanded, scraped and wiped onto canvas, attempt to connect the viewer to the activity of erosion, and to perhaps consider aspects of our society, under siege from wars, recession, climate changes, and indifference to the fragility of our environment.
Erosional Evidence is a series of monoprints made from collagraph plates drawn with sticks, stones, sand and rope in wet gesso. The plates were inked, wiped and printed by hand many times through the press, on 300 lb. Magnani Pescia paper, which is sometimes attached to wood panels after the oil-base ink dried. The panels are sealed with a mixture of beeswax and damar varnish, and fused permanently with a heat gun. Monoprints on paper are framed with archival mats under conservation glass.
Monotypes and oils may be viewed at Zavorskas Studio in Orleans, MA www.joycezavorskas.com;
Left Bank Gallery in Wellfleet www.leftbankgallery.com; Shaw Cramer Gallery in Vineyard Haven www.shawcramergallery.com; and Copley Society in Boston www.copleysociety.org.
