Revised Artist Statement

(if I could stop posting to the main Senior Art page, maybe this would work out)

As a visual artist, my work explores around the ideas of identity, storytelling and natural and human forms. Inspiration comes from my immediate environment of everyday domestic and natural spaces from which I document the world around me.

I love to watch a piece of work emerge from a bare surface to the painted canvas before me. My passion for painting helps me visually illustrate objects beyond what we normally see and to capture this moment in time. The excitement of the process fuels my passion and reawakens memories of the journey.

Artist Statement

As a visual artist with interests in graphic design and painting, I feel I have two spaces to work. On one side, I use the canvas as an infinite space to walk into, escape and retreat. The other side considers the viewer firmly in front of the work.

My work explores the relationship of storytelling and identity. Through my own investigation of my identity and environment, I work to create and visually express ideas and concepts that transcend the boundaries of language. By sharing stories we are providing a conversation in which we can find connections to each other.

To be able to visually communicate your intention is paramount to both fields. For graphic design this means using creative and practical elements in the design. Messages are displayed with importance of hierarchy, scale and composition in mind. In this field your work is dependant on given parameters for you to create a visual exchange between the view and receiver.

In pursuing a studio art degree in painting, I have moved away from the viewer looking at my work on just a computer monitor or printout. I have found that panting helps me visually illustrate objects beyond what we normally see. I look to create an emotional imagery that centers around my personal views and experiences. Identity, storytelling, nature and human forms all provide the basic drive for my compositions. We each have a life story that has shaped who we are today and it is through reflection that we are able to gain an understanding of our identity and realize our connection to our environment. Choosing an image is very important if you are expecting it to be your language. An image left in silence can express the most powerful story every told.

Sandra McMorris Johnson

{photo credit: sandramcmorrishohnson.com}

Sandra McMorris Johnson has been a working fiber artist for 30 years. She believes fibers are a source of connection for all of us. She uses her colored fibers much like a painter uses paint.

The enclosed pictures are from her monumental clothesline installation piece called “Millennium 2000” situated in Mount Pisgah, Lake County, Oregon. To see the exhibit, visitors had to hike a 1,513 foot mountain summit to take part in this unique connecting splash of colors and motion that zigzaged across the hillside. McMorris Johnson created this piece to serve as a colorful expression of how she feels about life. It also reflects a deeper recognition that the work might also be addressing her fear of being diagnosed with breast cancer and given a 50 percent change to live past 2000. Only when given this news do you then know how you will react? For McMorris Johnson the swatches standing tall on top of a mountainside represent strength and beauty, taking each gust of uncertain swirls of wind with a flowing grace.

I am drawn to the inviting outdoor arena in which to produce artwork as opposed to a confined enclosed cube of 4 squared walls. To hike up the mountain, breath fresh air, take in the sites and hang up 2,000 pieces of laundry would make me feel at first very domestic yet I would soon realize how far away from work schedules and daily pressures I would be….sigh!…the exhibit was over before I found it.

http://www.sandramcmorrisjohnson.com/Sandra_McMorris_Johnson/Clotheslines.html

Her 3D fiber art is also interesting. Unable to get photo's off the site. Here is a direct link.

http://www.sandramcmorrisjohnson.com/Sandra_McMorris_Johnson/3-D_Fiber.html#8

Y

When I get tired of asking the question...I think there are atleast 35 "Y's" pictured in the arrangement. (my graphics degree comes in handy)

Susan Taylor Glasgow

Susan Taylor Glasgow’s Communal Nest is a series of real branches and glass twigs placed together in a nest like appearance. Inside the nest is a chair with a glass pillow. The twigs surrounding the chair and pillow are deliberately situated by Glasgow who uses the theme of containment and protection for this sculpture.

The idea started with her residency at the Pittsburgh Glass Center where she did a workshop with the Bethlehem Haven women’s shelter. A group of formerly homeless, transitional, abused or addicted women came and helped Glasgow make some final twigs to add to the oversized nest.

In total there are 500 glass branches, where Glasgow created 300 pieces and the other 200 were provided by other artists around the world. When you look at the structural elements you are given the feeling there is a more building concept where the message of this piece speaks to the concern with womanhood, domesticity, nesting, and relationships.

The exhibition benefits Pittsburgh Glass Center and Bethlehem Haven, a women's shelter in Pittsburgh, Pa. The exhibition debuted in Pittsburgh this year and will be traveling across the U.S. Image from http://www.taylorglasgow.com/